As Cathey Kalista ages she feels younger. “I’m going backwards in life,” she says. That partially explains why she signs her paintings and creations “Yehtac.” She also signs her name backwards to remain anonymous, not necessarily to let the work speak for itself or because she fears attention, but to avoid people commenting on her art or telling her how to paint.
Kalista has retrieved things from other people’s trash for as long as she can remember. The things that she reclaims have life in them. She considers herself less an artist than an environmentalist, helping by “repairing” the world. Referring to her wide-ranging tastes: “It’s like psycho,” she explains. Kalista’s unassuming, non-conformist attitude is refreshing and germane to the nature of self-taught art. “I try to use as many colors as will be friendly with each other.” As she says, “There’s room for everything.”