We were lucky to catch up with K Kriesel recently and have shared our conversation below.

K, appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

In undergrad I studied art therapy with an emphasis on recovering from spiritual trauma. In my artwork I separate religious symbols from their contexts, utilizing them as tools for healing rather than for abuse. For example, I created a small hanging quilt depicting the Sorrowful Heart, a red heart pierced by seven swords, and I based the swords’ design off the sword from the Zelda videogame series. Ordinarily the Sorrowful Heart has been, at best, a symbol of grief and, at worst, a tool for shaming congregants. By adding the videogame-based swords, I replaced the shame with camp. The person who purchased the piece said the Zelda series was their childhood coping mechanism for the abuse they faced!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I was raised very strictly Catholic in Chicago and was kept away from my creative, loving extended family. In high school these relatives interceded and both helped me recover and also taught me textile arts. Their intercession inspired me to study art therapy in undergrad so that I could help others in a similar, professional way. My eldest aunt was a master quilter and when she died, she left me all of her quilting material – my pieces today still contain Aunt Pat’s gift!

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

I wish my educators had taught me how to better discern which resources are helpful and which are a waste of time. Some galleries and fairs simply aren’t for me, and my time and energy are spent in better ways than attempting to fit into those spaces. I’ve found a wonderful art community, and however grateful I am for it I could’ve found it much sooner had I known how to look for it rather than just throwing spaghetti at a wall to see what sticks.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

My work involves sewing, embroidering, and beading – all of these take a long time and a lot of practice. Non-creatives seem to struggle with understanding both the time it takes and also how much practice it took for me to develop these skills. One piece might take a month or more to stitch, and I was able to make those stitches thanks to years of other stitches. A comment I get frequently is “I could never do that” and I gently counter that ten years ago, I couldn’t have done that either! Every stitch is practice for the next one, and the best way to get better is to just start now.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://kkriesel.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kkrieselart/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KKrieselArt