Welcome to KTM, a creative space founded by Makafui, a Ghanaian-Italian multidisciplinary artist and writer based in the U.K. KTM is where Makafui explores softness, memory, and identity through painting, collage, digital art, and writing.Whether working with digital photography, mixed media, or set design, the art brings a subtle, intuitive approach to each project, balancing artistic depth with clean, elegant execution, offering thoughtful visuals that linger long after the image fades.

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K.T.M Creative Studio

thank you for being here!

OUTSIDE MY CREATIVE SIDE

HIII! It's Makafui, I go by Makafui my Twi name as an artist (since you're here just call me Michela) I’m an Interior Architecture student living in one of the quietest corners of the United Kingdom. Life here moves slowly, which is a pace I have always been drawn to, it has taught me to find joy in stillness.I’m someone who craves alone time and silence; but I also deeply value quality time with the people I love. I listen attentively, talk fairly queitly (if you get to know me I can be loud), and I always show up with care (although I struggle with expressing how I feel most times). Still, I make sure to be there for others, whether through conversation, presence, or a shared meal, which is something I hold close.I love cats, taking care of children, and cooking for the people I care about. There’s something sacred about feeding people. I enjoy editing and just bringing things into life, walking long distances just to think, and discovering new places in my small town. I write and read during my free time, or spend hours debating discourses, theories, or the state of the world with friends (which is probably the only way to get me talking for more than twenty minutes, since I’m usually someone of few words).I grew up watching family channels and video essays, which shaped my empathy and who I am.I’m an intersectional feminist at heart, a Marxist in soul, and a Pan-Africanist by nature. I carry a little bit of everything (honestly I can't stop thinking). My worldview is shaped by theory and experience, a mix of head and heart that guides how I live and create.More than anything, I love soft pleasures: fresh air through the window, warm sun on my face, discovering a quiet café or hidden corner in my town; you’ll most likely find me wandering galleries and bookstores, collecting stationery I’ll never use and saving jewellery on Pinterest boards. I love observing the world more than being in the center of it (when I care about something, I care deeply). All of these small joys of solitude, of connection, of care are what shape who I am, far beyond my art.

K.T.M Creative Studio

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SEMESTER 1

I’d love to share one of the most meaningful parts of my 1st year — my self-directed Semester 1 Project 2: ‘Graduation Station,’ titled "Summer Solstice."The brief challenged us to design a graduation space that was: easily demountable and reconfigurable, inclusive and accessible, economically and environmentally sustainable.
I approached this with the narrative of creating a prom-like experience for graduates who missed out, offering a space that brought a sense of closure. Inspired by the work of luxury wedding planner Ziad Nassar. I drew from his ability to create sultry climates and alluring atmospheres that blend opulence with nature.
That emotional connection to the concept became a strong source of motivation, and it kept me going through a tough first year.This course has challenged me, pushed me outside my comfort zone, and helped me discover what kind of designer I want to be.With love.

SEMESTER 2

ARTIST STATEMENT

I am an multidisciplinary artist, going into my second year of a BA in Interior Architecture. This summer (2025) I have been focusing on a small collection Summer Interlude on 8.3"x11.7" watercolour paper, using watercolour as a main medium.When it comes to using watercolours, each piece I create carries something personal, a feeling, a story, a trace of growing pains turned tender, the way the mixing of the medium isnt certain just like the “Summer Interlude” collection of “unfinised” watercolour portaits to symbolise the things unsaid this summer, the amount of potential my art has.I explore the journey of self-discovery, anxieties and excitement that come with growing up. My practice is grounded in storytelling, and I create a space where I can celebrate the beauty of these complexities.Majority of my work is deeply influenced by the raw, sultry emotionality found in Richard Siken’s writing (Crush), that feverish intimacy, the urgency of feeling. I create in that same spirit: intuitively, instinctively, and entirely led by how I feel in the moment.I am to develop my art to critique consumerist culture by reusing old, forgotten paintings, further using more old magazines, transforming them into something meaningful, and giving them a second life. I want to create art that can be donated to charities, placed in coffee shops, sent as gifts, art that lives softly and speaks in quiet spaces. I also hope to sell my work, not only to support myself as an artist, but to help care for my family, friends, and community.Eventually, I want to use the revenue from my practice to invest back into Ghana; to cultivate young talent, to build, to donate, to plant, and to give others the space to dream and create.I’m grateful to have both the desire and the opportunity to make art, something that could have easily been lost, but was quenched and kept alive by the people who saw my potential and poured into it. That act of belief, of being seen, became the spark. Now, I hope to pass that forward.

K.T.M Creative Studio

thank you for being here!

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY

Makafui is a Ghanaian-Italian multidisciplinary artist working primarily with watercolour, acrylic, oil paint, collage, and digital mediums like Procreate and Photoshop. Her work lives in subtle colour palettes, layered textures, and emotionally intimate storytelling. She is currently living in London pursuing a BA degree in Interior Architecture.Her artistic journey began in childhood, when the bedroom walls she shared with her siblings became her first canvas. She formally studied Art, Media & Technology at GCSE, followed by Fine Art and Product Design at A Level, to Interior Architecture at university, and she continues to evolve her practice alongside her academic work. Her influences are rooted in both literature and music: the raw, feverish intimacy of Richard Siken’s poetry and the quiet emotional power of Sade’s (Helen Folasade Adu) music, particularly “Pearls” and “Jezebel.”Her work has appeared in group exhibitions and publications including Pure Wata Zine and Artit Heat-Archives. She is currently developing Summer Interlude, a growing series of “unfinished” watercolour portraits created daily since June. The collection invites viewers into a slow, reflective space where silence, pause, and emotional proximity are central themes, all whilst challenging modern notions of art being “completed”.Makafui’s practice resists perfection in favour of presence. Her work is emotionally driven, led by instinct, and often explores self-discovery, identity, and the tender complexity of coming of age. She believes art should be a place where contradiction, chaos, and softness can coexist freely.

K.T.M Creative Studio

thank you for being here!

OIL PAINTINGS

PEN WORK

ACRYLIC

PENCIL ART

WATERCOLOUR ART

DIGITAL ART

DIGITAL COLLAGE

COLLAGE ON PAPER

SUMMER INTERLUDE

My ongoing collection Summer Interlude, which is a series of intimate, unfinished watercolour portraits that I’ve been creating at a pace of around one per day since early June. While the body of work is still growing, the idea is that only a carefully selected few will be displayed, making the experience feel quiet, close, and deeply personal.The vision is to create a space that encourages “forced proximity,” inviting the audience into close physical and emotional contact with the work. The smaller number of pieces allows each one to breathe while giving visitors space to reflect and interpret. The experience becomes a conversation, not just between the viewer and the work, but among viewers themselves. I want people to linger, to share what the titles and expressions evoke for them, to speak the things that often go unsaid, just as the unfinished nature of the watercolours suggests.At its heart, Summer Interlude is about pause and transition: the quiet moments that shape us, the things we carry but never name. The concept is also inspired by my favourite childhood show, Mia and Me, where the characters (Mia, Mo and Yuko) search for scattered pieces of a powerful object, the Trumptus, in Centopia. Similarly, the experience becomes just one part of a larger narrative. Other related artworks will appear in different galleries, encouraging the audience to actively follow my journey.To experience the full story, viewers will have to find my art account and follow along as I grow not just as an artist, but also as a poet. The exhibition becomes a breadcrumb trail, an invitation to search, to feel, to connect.

August Love Galore, 2025
8.3"x11.7" (Watercolour on Paper)
£222

Requeim of a Dream, 2025
8.3"x11.7" (Watercolour on Paper)
£222

Look Closer Mo, 2025
8.3"x11.7" (Watercolour on Paper)
£222

Dawn In The Sun, 2025
8.3"x11.7" (Watercolour on Paper)
£222

K.T.M Creative Studio

thank you for being here!