Today we’d like to introduce you to Kae Pea

Hi Kae, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.

My story in a nutshell, My name is Kristen Powers. My friends call me Kae Pea. I am an artist, maker and entrepreneur. My studio is, The Moon and The Maker – my home studio and the home of ArtFoamies® What’s an ArtFoamies® you ask? We are foam-art stamp company. We make stamps from my own original art plus we collaborate with a long list of other artists too. We have hundreds of designs from over twenty contributing artists. Plus, we offer custom designs and host a variety of pop up shops, online, throughout the year.
I show and share how to create with ArtFoamies® in a myriad of ways through my patron group and social media and YouTube. ArtFoamies® can be used for so many things, such as, card making and printmaking. T-shirts and fabrics,. home decor, art journaling and mixed media. Use on paper and wood and walls, floors, glass and plastic and canvas with a multitude of inks, paints and mediums. Pretty much, anything you can think of!
I was, serendipitously and quite miraculously, able to buy ArtFoamies® almost five years ago, from the original owner and creator of ArtFoamies®. I brought it to the USA from Canada in early 2020 and though I honestly didn’t know much about how to make or use ArtFoamies® back then, I felt, in my heart, it was going to suit me to a T. I am glad I listened to my intuition! My family and I have worked tirelessly to grow the business year after year and to bring such fun and inspiring products to the world! I feel very lucky and honored to be collaborating with so many wonderful artists and to work from our humble home and pole barn/studio with my husband and our oldest daughter. And to host and run an online community where I show, share and teach all the ideas I can dream up using ArtFoamies® and all the art materials I mentioned! It is the job I dreamed up and manifested for myself and I am amazed every day. I am no spring chicken, so a lot of life has led me to this point and I am grateful everyday that I get to be an artist of my own making!

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?

1.Learning as you go. This is one I have had to do a lot. Just keep at it. Ask for help when and where you can.
2. Lack of funds. This has always been a thing. You just make do and juggle and the money will come. Just don’t give up and ask out loud for what you want and need.
3. Social Media content. Seems like now you must do a LOT more than run a business. So many demands on time and how you market and ‘sell’. I have vowed just to be myself and do what I feel able and capable of. So far it has worked.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?

My work is all over the place as I love to experiment and innovate. While I do love making and producing creative works with ArtFoamies®, I also do love to paint from my own imagination and often turn my paintings into ArtFoamies® for others to be able to create from! My work is very fluid and I go where my heART leads on a daily basis.
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The following is my Artist Statement. I wrote it in 2011 as I was about to graduate with my BFA in Studio Art. It is still true today:
Making art gives me the opportunity to reinvent myself on a daily basis. Each painting, for me, feels like the chance of a lifetime and every time I begin to create, I am challenged to contemplate and experiment anew.
I have learned that intuition and impulses during the act of creating are worthy voices to be heard. And I believe it takes courage to listen and to follow.
My artwork is an eclectic mixture in both medium and content. It is ultimately unified by love, life, change and courage. ~ kp
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I find this applicable, still, to me today in my business and in my art.

What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?

Don’t believe everything you think.
Don’t give up.
Show up and practice daily.
Ask for what you want.
Didn’t work?Try again or try a different way.
Rest.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.ArtFoamies.com
• Instagram: @themoonandthemaker
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/artfoamies/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ArtFoamiesUSA

Image Credits

art and images by Kae Pea