Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Faith Watkins. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Faith, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?
The most meaningful project I’ve worked on is my BFA final show, “A Fray to Mend.” It was more than just a capstone; it became a turning point for me as both an artist and a person. The project centered around themes of mental health, healing, vulnerability, and symbolism, using embroidery, lace-making, and painting to explore emotional repair through the language of textiles.
When I started the project, I had an ambitious vision of turning fragile materials like thread into sculptural forms. I wanted to create something that spoke to the slow, tender, often invisible process of mending. What I didn’t expect was how deeply personal the work would become, or how much the process itself would mirror the emotional themes I was trying to express.
Learning how to digitize my drawings and turn them into freestanding lace was a huge technical leap. I spent countless hours testing, troubleshooting, and starting over. Every setback, whether it was a machine jam or a collapsed sculpture, taught me to slow down, let go of perfection, and approach my art with more patience and self-compassion. That became a big part of the work’s message: that healing is nonlinear, sometimes frustrating, but ultimately worth it.
One of the most meaningful moments in the process was when I decided to cut up some of my own paintings and crochet them back together. It was a physical act of deconstruction and repair, taking something I had made, unraveling it, and reworking it into something new. That process felt incredibly symbolic of the healing I was exploring, and it became one of the most personal and powerful aspects of the show.
What made this project so meaningful was the way it brought together so many parts of myself: my love of delicate detail, my interest in symbolism and hidden meaning, and my lived experience with mental health. I also felt supported in new ways—by mentors, visiting artists, and even my therapist, who encouraged me to embrace my love of beauty and softness as something powerful rather than superficial. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so honest or so seen through a body of work before.
“A Fray to Mend” helped me understand what kind of artist I’m becoming: someone who tells stories through texture and tenderness, who uses traditional craft to talk about contemporary emotions, and who believes that small, quiet things can carry great weight. It changed how I think about making and reminded me why I make at all.
Faith, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I’m Faith Watkins, a mixed-media artist and recent BFA graduate with a passion for turning personal, emotional, and spiritual experiences into visual stories. I’ve always been excited by anything creative, whether it was sewing, crafting, flower arranging, soapmaking, ceramics, painting, or experimenting with color and materials. My amazing family and husband have kindly supported every creative direction I explored, and that encouragement helped me believe that a life in art was truly possible.
My BFA show, A Fray to Mend (a play on the phrase “afraid to mend”), explored themes of emotional labor, mental health, and healing. I combined embroidery, painting, textiles, and found materials to create works that feel both personal and familiar, like relics from a home full of memory. I’ve always been drawn to beauty, not just surface-level prettiness, but beauty that carries weight and tenderness. My work often incorporates flowers with deep meanings, fabric, hidden words, or stitched details to honor the invisible work many people do every day.
Now that I’ve graduated, I’m pouring my time and love into building my art business. I offer original artworks, note cards, stickers, archival prints, and creative pieces that are meant to bring light, emotion, and connection into people’s homes. Whether someone connects with a painting, a pattern, or even a single flower I’ve included in a piece, my goal is to spread a bit more joy, honesty, and gentleness into the world.
What sets my work apart is the emotional openness and care behind it. I create from a place of lived experience, working through mental health, inspiration, healing, and everyday resilience. I want people to feel seen when they look at my art. My hope is that my pieces don’t just decorate walls, but help tell the quiet, powerful stories that often go unspoken.
What I’m most proud of is the connection my art creates. I’ve had people share that my work helped them feel understood or helped them process their own emotions, and that means absolutely everything to me. At the heart of my brand is compassion, creativity, and a love for small, meaningful moments.
Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?
I wish I had discovered Notion earlier! It’s a free, customizable workspace that’s incredibly helpful for artists. I use it to organize my to-do lists, plan content, store all my social media links, and keep track of business details like commissions, expenses, and goals. You can create mood boards, project timelines, inventory trackers, and even embed visual references or inspiration. It’s been such a game-changer in helping me manage the behind-the-scenes work that comes with making art your career.
I also wish I had started using a time tracker sooner. I use the free version of Toggl Track, but there are plenty of similar apps out there. Time tracking helps me stay accountable, especially on days when motivation is hard to find, and gives me a clearer picture of how long a project actually takes. That’s been incredibly useful when pricing my work or planning future deadlines. Both tools have helped me take myself more seriously as a working artist, and I think they can make a big difference for anyone trying to turn their creative practice into a sustainable business.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
One of the most challenging and meaningful experiences in my journey was creating my sheer house piece, “A Welcoming Appearance”. The process was intense and full of setbacks. The design was incredibly detailed and dense, and when I digitized it for my sewing machine, my program couldn’t handle all of the detail, so I had to find a way to place each programmed stitch by hand to make it work. When I was stitching the drawing out, I had to stop every few minutes to untangle the thread, sometimes spending more time fixing the machine than actually stitching. The tulle was so delicate that it tore multiple times, forcing me to start over again and again. I learned that using fewer stops and starts during digitizing helped reduce tangles, but turning such an intricate drawing into stitches was still a complex and time-consuming process, with many hours of work that no one ever sees.
At one point, faced with a looming deadline and the pressure of balancing school, work, and my mental health, I had to step back and create a solid fabric version of the house instead. While it felt like a setback, it was necessary for my well-being. My therapist’s advice to think of mental health as “extra credit hours” reminded me to be gentle with myself and recognize that taking care of my mental health was an essential part of my creative journey.
Later, when my professor and a gallery curator showed real enthusiasm for the sheer house, I found the motivation to try again. I worked many late nights, even pulling an all-nighter to finish sewing it, and drove straight to the gallery to deliver it. I was discouraged and doubted if the piece would come together, but their encouragement pushed me forward.
Through this experience, I learned a vital lesson about being an artist: the importance of balancing when to pause, when to stop, and when to push through. I’m grateful I created the fabric house for my own sanity, but I’m even more proud that I persevered and got the sheer house into the gallery. Both pieces ended up in my final BFA show, enriching each other and adding meaningful context to my work.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://faithwatkins.art
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/faith_watkins_art?igsh=MWs4ZWdwd2N5cXd5OQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FaithWatkinsArt/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/faith-watkins-91a745233?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCGIDhjUYfwhnY3Qt7SaTOEg
- Other: Etsy: https://faithwatkinsart.etsy.com/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/faithwatkinsart/
TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@faithwatkinsart
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/faithwatkinsart?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAadO8nyLQm0dfWj7IsLkJpEgLFu88AxAM2COzV0HYS4P-5sQmxs6e8rQpJbqYw_aem_MfKvGLC_DPzwT89DKEyQpQ
Image Credits
Melissa Allen