We were lucky to catch up with Kim Chesney recently and have shared our conversation below.

Kim, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

Back when I was a young mother with two small children (2 & 3) I took on my first fundraiser. The non-profit was for an organization that provided daycare for medically fragile children. This daycare gave the children’s mom’s a chance to safely leave her child with registered nurses while she did self-care or anything else she couldn’t do with her child. From soup to nuts, I created a huge fundraiser with practically everything donated, from the venue, the food, the wine, the band and all of the silent auction items. It was a good thing I had been in sales right out of college so I was bold in what I asked for from donors.
It was a big risk for me that I could pull this event off with so many moving parts and a very small committee. I had to give a speech in front of the 400 people (yes!! I was able to fill the venue), make sure everyone was having a good time etc.
It was an incredible event that raised thousands of dollars, a beginning of many successful fundraisers to come.

Kim, 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?

My name is Kim Painter Chesney and this will be my 70th year. I grew up the middle of seven children and of those seven, I was the only creative. Loving to sing, be on stage, run for school offices and create art. I’ve tried many forms of art over the years, but once I discovered encaustic art and learned of its expansive history (2,000 years age it was developed by the Greeks and Romans) It became my main focus. My grandparents being born in Italy gave me a feeling of kinship to this ancient technique.
I work BIG, it’s not unusual to see me and my husband hauling a 60 x 84 canvas up the stairs to my fourth-floor studio. To create my work, I use organic beeswax pebbles delivered in 55# boxes and use thick heavy fibrous papers made from the fig tree (Mexico) and the Mulberry tree (Thailand).
To add pigment to my pieces I use the finest Sennelier Oil Pastels developed by Pablo Picasso in the 1940’s, and…. Lots and lots of electric fry pans with temperature controls so I can control the melting of the beeswax and what colors I’m using.
My work is large, highly textured and unique.
Raising money for children’s causes by designing and holding huge art events is another passion and over the last 2 decades I’ve raised over $300,000..

“Art is a universal language that unites us spiritually, culturally and historically” Kim P, Chesney

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

I believe that our society would be so much kinder, empathetic and happier if we could focus our tax dollars more on the arts in our children’s education. The term “the arts” covers so many areas like music, dance, visual, culinary, literature, design. Vital areas of learning that enhance our freedom of movement, create ways of expression, feed into our passions and help individuals to find ways to express themselves in a positive manner. Whether they decide to make a career in the arts or it becomes a hobby, it develops people into more well rounded and compassionate human beings.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

Being married for over 40 years to a CFO (Chief Financial Officer) who is very linear in his thinking, has been most enlightening. He sees the world through rules, regulations and boundaries. One thing my husband has added to his life is BAKING! He loves the fact that baking is precise and if you follow a recipe to a T, your cake or cookies will always come out perfectly. Overseeing billions of dollars, everything has to make sense to the bottom line and you have to be able to show how you got there.
My desire to act, develop a series of culinary classes for children, create large art events for fundraising, melt wax and colors on large canvases and then use a blow torch to fuse them, has always been a bit of a mystery to him. It’s so different in scope then what he wants to achieve.
I believe that if he had found more creative ways to unwind and free his brain of numbers, he would be much more light-hearted an able to relax.
I believe that if everyone could find a creative outlet, our world would be a better place to live.

Contact Info:

• Website: kimpainterchesney.com
• Instagram: kimchesney_fineart
• Facebook: Kim Chesney

Image Credits
Casen Ogletree