Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Colleen Couch. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Colleen thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Do you wish you had started sooner?

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I attended the Memphis College of Art and received a BFA in Sculpture in 2000. I was fortunate to take Papermaking classes from artist Allison Smith, who taught me to use the medium sculpturally. My conceptual art typically consists of handmade paper stretched over wire forms though sometimes I will also cast paper pulp into moulds. In addition to showing work locally I have spent the last year or so applying to shows in cites across the US. This allows me to travel a bit, to attend the opening receptions and make new connections through my work. Commercially I design and fabricate custom light fixtures using handmade paper and other materials. It is always exciting to create pieces that perfectly fit a client’s design tastes yet also illuminate the other exquisite features of a room.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

While not art related, this particular experience opened up a source of strength for me that I have fallen back on many times in my life. When I was a senior in high school I had to walk into school on the first day with a huge, pregnant belly. Only my closest friends knew of my situation so that day, when I got out of the car, I had to choose how to walk across the parking lot, down the entry way, and on to my homeroom. I knew there would be stares and whispers following me all day. But in that moment I had to remind myself how little those reactions would impact my life and that it was imperative to hold myself up high that day. No slumped shoulders, no defeat on my face, and just give off the vibe that I could not only handle this but keep my life on the successful path it was already on. Which I somehow managed to do. That strength and resilience was probably always there for me to discover but discovering it that particular day made it more impactful.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

While in the middle of a creative block I attended a talk given by a friend who is a filmmaker, hoping to glean some insight and inspiration from the experiences he shared at this event. The question he asked of the audience was “Who are you? And what do you make?”. When I went home and let my monkey mind wander with these questions I realized that I needed to drift my work into a more focused place. I felt like I was still living in the shadow of my past life of wife/mother/business owner and needed to let my new creative self take center stage. His questions at that talk seemed simple to answer but it felt like that was the wrong way to go about it. It took deeper reflection to get to the core of them. But I think I’ve gotten off to a great start with redefining who I am and what I make.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.colleencouch.com
• Instagram: @instantkarmen
• Other: www.flaxandfern.net

Image Credits
Colleen Couch