Check out Kimberly Rumfelt’s Artwork

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kimberly Rumfelt.

Kimberly, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
I have been a maker for as long as I can remember. I attribute this to my father; when I wanted a house for my dolls, we made it. When my gerbils needed a multilevel cage, we made it. When our dog Cleo needed a doghouse… well you get it. I have always loved creating and feeling the satisfaction in the completion of a project. Although, like my father, I can figure out and work with most materials; I always loved the malleability of clay. It is equally forgiving and inspirational. Clay made me realize that my hands often know what to do before my mind, allowing what I thought to be mistakes turn into what should have been my original plan. More recently, I have started to draw… or should I say, let people see my drawings. I have always felt that drawing was my weakness; in fact, my sketchbooks were often filled with words and lists rather than images. This worked for me, as I was able to express the visual aspects of the stories I wanted to tell through clay. However, five years ago, I left the college adjunct world (and an abundance of studio time) to tackle teaching High School Art. I have loved and learned more than I thought possible in teaching High School, but I have also had to re-evaluate my studio practices and loss of time. Drawing quickly became the best way, to express the stories I want to tell; it is not time sensitive, it transports easily and I can work in the five-ten-minute spurts of down time I get while teaching. Life is funny like that, steering you in the direction you might not have gone if given the choice, allowing me to create the work and stories I have always wanted, using both drawing and clay as my vehicle.

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 have always been interested in identity, how we create it, live with it and change it. The ways that I have explored this have developed with time and most recently, I have been using animals to help me create the visual stories I wish to tell. These stories are told through illustration, clay sculpture and in collaboration with my partner Blake Kennedy (who is a potter) on mugs and tumblers. Both my illustrations and clay creatures maintain the playful, friendly and funny nature of animals, but upon closer inspection, you will notice their unique physical and mental traits: grandiosity, innocence, loss of limb, gluttony, etc. It is my hope that these images will be relatable, laughable and sometimes slightly uncomfortable, providing a glimpse into our own personal identities and self-objectivity. I desire to reveal how individual traits can cultivate our identity but do not have to define our attitudes about it. The work aims to maintain a playful nature and encourage the act of positivism even when faced with uncontrolled diversity.

Do current events, local or global, affect your work and what you are focused on?
I think artists maintain the role of educators; we express, teach, question, entertain and communicate about the world around us; it is what all artists have in common. Artists reflect what we see and what we understand, therefore the climate, whether it be social or political will always affect the work that we create. Personally, I watch people; I notice meanness and insensitivity as well as kindness and compassion. My work is affected, but I choose to focus on the latter. That, despite each individual’s shortcomings or uncontrollable differences, there is always someone, animal or human, who sees through those distractions.

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?
Images of my work and more of my journey can be found at my website www.kimberlyrumfelt.weebly.com. You are welcome to contact me via email or follow me on Instagram to find out when and where I am exhibiting or selling.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.kimberlyrumfelt.weebly.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: @kmrumfelt

Image Credit:
Kimberly Rumfelt

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