Throughout October and November, I found myself deep into a collection inspired by Joy (my favorite state of being). And for a while, I was really into it. You might have seen some of the work-in-progress photos. I was really excited that a vision was beginning to crystalize. A collection was starting to take shape. Then I hit a wall. Nothing was working. The pieces felt forced and disjointed. The inspiration was gone. Damn it. So, I did what any self-respecting, courageous artist would do. I got out the white paint and painted over all that work. Sigh. I will…
Author: Kristen Marie Schuerlein Ferry
Kristen Marie Schuerlein Ferry
We vote with our time and our money. If you want to know what's important to me, notice what I do with my time and how I make and spend money. That sums it up.
Persistence is powerful. 9 years ago I left Seattle and moved to New Mexico. Why? A fire had been lit in me and I was ready to be an artist. And I knew if I stayed in Seattle, it would never happen. The distractions were too great. The pull to a life that I wanted out of was too strong. During that time, my art always seemed to take a back seat. There was always a new client, a meeting, a networking event, or, or, or. New Mexico gave me the fresh start, and the physical space I needed to…
“How Do You Measure Joy” progress.
August 2021: Well, it took me another 2 years, but finally I have a painting studio all my own. In September 2020 we bought Sky Oak Acres in the San Bernardino Mountains in Southern California. This summer I started painting again. Below is my post from May 2019 when I was getting my groove back. Now, things are in full swing. More on that to come. May 2019: After a six year break, I am back. Back to feeling like me. Back feeling free to create. Back to sharing about who I am and what I am up to. The…
I have hundreds of collages stuck in my head. They’ve been there for years. Strangely, whenever want to start to a collage, I get stopped in my tracks. Today I decided to start. Just put some paper on the canvas… and begin. So, here we are. Below are three little frames found at Goodwill that were painted black a couple of weeks ago. Today, I pulled out my 1945 Edition of Trigonometry for Home Study, ripped out six pages and decided to use them as the basis for what is to come. I suspect I’ll be back to these in…
Back in the studio today after a long summer dry spell. Been dreaming about a new piece (well, actually I am dreaming of a six-piece series) and today was the day to start. For now, I am keeping the name under wraps. Instead, I thought it would be fun to photograph each step. Here we go… Sunday progress… Everything was feeling too linear so, I decided to mix it up and add some movement with pastel. Then, it was time to start adding more depth. These layers are the foundation for the theme, which will begin emerging later this week.
I am fascinated by money. Having it. Not having it. How we spend it, save it, invest it. The idea of “currency” and our cultural agreement that a piece of paper has a measurable, exchangeable value reminds me that at a very base level, we all agree on some things. Even if we disagree about what something is worth, we agree that a dollar is a dollar and $100 is $100. Years ago, I started a series called “Time & Money.” After all, they are what we “spend” everyday. As a result, I thought it be cool to use money……
Lately, I’ve been inspired to merge two of my worlds: spirituality and art. I have about half a dozen 30″ x 30″ canvases that I’ve hauled between our last 3 moves (yep, we are in house number four in over 6 years). I found them on Craigslist for a stupidly good price the night the seller was moving out of her apartment. As I recall is was like 10pm on a Friday night when I drove to pick them up and I remember thinking “what the hell are you doing?” you don’t have anywhere to paint! When I decided to…
For the first time since leaving my home/studio in New Mexico in 2013, I painted today. It feels so-f’ing-good. I started watching videos by Pamela Caughey Art a couple of days ago and in the process transformed from thinking about it (I started setting up new studio in the garage a couple of weeks ago), to taking action. What made today the day? Putting it on my schedule. Yesterday at 1 pm, I hit the road and started getting supplies. Today, I promised myself I would finish a project by 2 pm, and start painting. I did. It felt like…
I am not really sure how it happened. But somehow, somewhere along the line, I adopted a old, outdated, ridiculous idea that my male counterpart, my business partner, my man should be paid more than me… by businesses that we co-own. WTF Kristen Marie? The realization was a wake-up call… a midnight gasp for air coming out of a bad dream. How in the hell did I fall for it? How on EARTH did I allow this… No… how DID I SET IT UP so that he makes more money than I do, from the businesses we are building together?…