Lady Krishna is Seattle’s brightest icon. Her personal style, vivid paintings, righteous music, and art-adorned vintage apartment offer evidence of a life rich with color, meditation, and creativity.
As a teenager, she studied with second-wave feminist art legends like Miriam Schapiro, Elizabeth Murray, Lynda Bengals, and Judy Chicago as part of the Feminist Art Program at CalArts. From there she moved to NYC to become enmeshed in the 1980’s art scene, where she ran with celebs and radical artists before moving back to Seattle in the late nineties to be with her grandmother, create stunning installations like Lady Krishna: She Bleeds for Me Menstruation and Menopause, and sing in her art-rock band, Lady Krishna’s Peppermint Lounge.
She currently writes and performs music with her righteous girl band, Cosmic Panties, and teaches meditation at Seattle’s Eight Limbs yoga studio on the last Thursday of every month. Her vivid artwork can be viewed at Baby & Company, a retail clothing shop located in downtown Seattle. How does Lady Krishna thrive? We were able to gather a couple of tips straight from the Queen, herself:
HB: “What is your beauty ritual like?”
LK: “Generally my bathroom has a lot of art in it, [so] I take a bath every day [to protect the art].
“I learned this from a book about great beauties or something…this queen…every day in her bath, she would spend ten or fifteen minutes thinking beautiful thoughts. This is something I have taken to heart in my life. I cultivate…every day…as far as ritual…I try to think beautiful thoughts. And whatever else, I certainly try not to be negative.”
HB: What do you do when you’re happy and what do you do when you’re sad?
LK: “Well, you do the same things…I mean you do the dishes. That’s a ritual. Look, the simplest things that you’re doing every day are the rituals in your life, and then it’s about…how to pay attention.
“The right balance for me is: I’m painting, I’m writing songs, I can get into my closet…I have systems!…and always doing yoga. I mean, I’ve been practicing yoga since, what—1986? I mean look at this!”
She lifts one leg over her head.
“I keep it together! I work on it! I’m light on my feet. I’m rocking out with girls and boys considerably younger than me. I like to be flexible.”
HB: Who is an inspiring woman in your life?
LK: “My mother. We drive each other crazy, but…
“I love Amma [the hugging saint).
“Jill Donnelly is also an inspiration to me, in addition to my mother. She is the owner of Baby & Co. and has been a huge support towards me as an artist and has given me the opportunity to have an ongoing [art] residency at Baby & Co.
“I would have to add Seattle painter Fay Jones. She is a lifelong friend of my Mom’s and I have been inspired by her my whole life.
“Also Linda Derschang. I recorded my last record [Cosmic Panties Live At Linda’s] at Linda’s [Bar].”
HB: What advice do you want to give other women?
LK: “Try [to] not be a fault-finding person. Seek beauty in everything—everyone! Make friends with your inner being. Meditate and be happy.”