Today we’d like to introduce you to Kirsten Merinda.
Kirsten, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
My childhood was rich with nature, which has been a source of inspiration for my art since I could pick up a pencil. My mixed media works have evolved as a result of many years of playful exploration, starting first with oil paint, moving into watercolor before encaustic and eventually my current mostly acrylic medium, which is a unique process and combination of techniques.
My earlier years in New Hampshire, blended with my vivid dream world, illuminated my creativity from a young age. I quickly found self-expression to be an essential thread in this cosmic constellation which has impacted my ability and desire to show my works since the age of fifteen.
After spending my youth in a variety of art courses, I went on to study art in college before realizing I would carve my own creative path, combining my knowledge of natural wellness with my love for people and expression. I attended graduate school at the University of New Hampshire where I eventually worked as a licensed social worker, incorporating expressive techniques in my work with adolescents, along with those experiencing homelessness and incarceration. I truly believe our wellness lives and breathes within our creative nature.
Along with creating mixed media art, I own and operate two holistic wellness organizations (Cobabe.Co and TruthPaste) with my husband, Peter Cobabe, sharing our time between Northern California, New Hampshire and Utah.
We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
I create worlds within worlds, celestial oceans that come from the space before place. My mixed media approach is a process involving several steps where I am mostly working with acrylic, though there are some secret mediums involved that help to create the unique texture that can been seen on my original works.
I see myself as a vessel where energy is both sourced and expressed. By choosing to channel my feminine energy into the creation of colorful worlds, reminiscent to where we all originated, I am able to connect with the eternal light that is within each of us. Each celestial ocean, every world within a world, is an expression of my most intimate dreams for humanity as a whole. My hope is that each painting reminds us of this one truth…unity. We are born creative and born from creativity.
The sterotype of a starving artist scares away many potentially talented artists from pursuing art – any advice or thoughts about how to deal with the financial concerns an aspiring artist might be concerned about?
Becoming clear and intentional with one’s vision, as well as values, are both essential pieces – to my puzzle at least. I’ve always been deeply connected to my creative nature and held space for this people within my time as a social worker. Creative expression has been a steady force of healing for me for my entire life and I’ve watched this unfold for others as well. It is a natural state.
We are all feelers, artists and dreamers – it’s our true nature and when we connect to this truth, we can bridge it into our current reality.
Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
I have an exhibition at the Partnership Gallery in Salt Lake City Utah on October 11, 2018. We have some exciting new paintings and engaging projects that I’m looking forward to sharing. My current works are also available at the Partnership Gallery and online at www.kirstenmerinda.com.
The best way to support my work is to contact me directly via my website. I love connecting with new people and supporting the process of brightening personal spaces!
From the froth of an ocean wave to the rainbow of a butterfly wing, or a celestial nebula to a coral reef, we all choose what we see.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.kirstenmerinda.com
- Phone: 5302639945
- Email: kirstenmerinda@gmail.com
- Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/kirstenmerinda
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/kirstenmerinda
Image Credit:
Christin Olive
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