Frequently Asked Questions

Do you do custom work?

Yes, if my schedule allows! I would love to create a custom craft activity—for your child or for a party or for a babysitter or or or or…

Occasionally I illustrate other people’s children’s books. If you have a project up your sleeve, let’s chat about it.

Please check out my other site for examples of my handmade art.

How do you pronounce your name?

Kate TAY-viss. Blame the Germans. (And here’s a funny video.)

Do you have kids?

No.

But you wish you had kids, right?

No.

Come on, you’re not fooling me.

No. I have no kids, no pets, no plants. I have my art and my writing—they are my babies and I give them everything I have.

Did you go to arts school?

No. I studied cultural anthropology at Carleton College and at Cornell University. I lived and worked for years in Nepal, Vietnam, and Mali; then I worked for years at National Geographic, The Asia Society, and Ogilvy. I did not start trying to be an artist or a children’s writer until I was 39 years old.

Were you ever a teacher?

For several years, I taught English to countless children in the developing world. I also spent a year teaching at the Cornell Nepal Study program. In the USA, I created and ran a writing and arts summer camp on letter-writing (it was a blast!). Through my work at The Asia Society, I wrote and produced a massive curriculum for American schools on the history and culture of Afghanistan, and a smaller one on China.

But the greatest education of all: I survived my 20s and part of my 30s by babysitting constantly. No curriculum, no state-mandated benchmarks. Just pure joy.