Today we’d like to introduce you to Kelsey Overstreet.
Kelsey, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
I vividly remember, in high school, my love for not only the ocean but for SURFING. I wanted so badly to recreate and express my experiences in the water. My parents helped me cut up cereal boxes, and I started painting my first waves.
…THEY WERE TERRIBLE.
I took an art class in high school, and my teacher gave me the freedom and tools to explore this new terrain. I was immediately hooked and spent all my lunch breaks painting. I ditched more classes than I care to admit and snuck into the painting studio. I was lucky to have Mimi Ralson who always opened her door to me and never made me go back to my other classes…because she knew art was what I was supposed to do…. And I knew very clearly that this was what I was born to do.
In college, I majored in art and was fortunate enough to be in a small private university that could dedicate resources to foster individual growth. Thank you, Susan for being here.
I was known as the phantom painter in college because I would break into the art building late at night when it was already locked up…to paint in silence and peace. Even now, silence and solitude is an important part of my studio practice. And I still like “breaking the rules” as an artist.☺
I was forced to take a printmaking class for a college prerequisite and less than thrilled. To my delight, only after a few weeks, I fell in love with the process. I was fortunate enough to take five semesters of printmaking from the master printer Tony Askew. I continued my studies in Florence Italy where I acquired a post-bac certificate in printmaking. I only had one suitcase of clothing and mostly black, since my friend suggested that no one gets sick of black clothing…
…So, being sick of my black clothing, and having no money, I decided to start printing my own clothes. Against my instructor’s request, I started printing old school etchings onto silk, and the transfer turned out beautifully. In order to create actual clothing, I had to learn how to sew. Because I had little to no skill with a sewing machine, I didn’t know how to change a bobbin, and I kept refilling the machine with seven bobbins of colorful thread. My first silk-etched skirt was just as interesting on the inside as the outside. I wore this skirt the next day and was stopped on the street.
“Dove comprare questa gonna?” (Where did you buy this skirt?) “I made it.”
… So long story short, this started an 8-year journey of hand printing textiles and selling my one-of-a-kind clothing to a fancy boutique right in the heart of Florence, across from the pitti palace and steps away from the famous ponte vecchio. Every time I would get paid in cash I would instantly feel like I must be doing something wrong. How were people paying this price for my clothing when I didn’t even know what I was doing? This dream of making unique creations with my own two hands felt too good to be true. Indeed it was.
Following the advice of my professors, I decided to pursue this unique opportunity and not finish the last two years of my MFA. This felt irresponsible and yet thrilling. I was traveling the world and living my dream…. Until the economy flopped in 2009.
All the boutiques shut down, and I was forced to go back to waitressing and move in with my parents briefly… Not on my 5-yr plan.
I started reapplying to complete my MFA and was rejected. I was shocked and saddened and gave up for a couple of years. I didn’t have a space or funds to create …I gave my creative energies to salsa dancing and cooking, but I was never fulfilled. I knew that I had to find a way to make some form of creating a part of my life. I started making and selling jewelry more regularly and set up a small section of my room to paint.
In 2012, I was accepted into APU and was thrilled that I could manage a low residency program with working and starting a family.
I took a year off to focus on my daughter’s first year of life and continued to make art and bring her to the studio almost daily. And each day of showing up has brought me here.
Art is my life. It is my breath. I pour my blood, sweat, and tears into my work…. It is my connectedness to the human experience. And my work forms a blueprint for this experience.
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?
My multi-media abstract paintings are blueprints: a visual reference for the structure of the human experience. This structure is divided into three rooms: the body, sensory experience, and thoughts and feelings. I create the blueprint for these rooms using the principles of embodiment, awareness, and the tension of yin and yang.
My work is intrinsically autobiographical and focuses on the benefits of embodiment within the process of creating. It is a timeline of the personal history and evidence of being present; a photo emulsion of felt experience.
My work blends contradictions of seemingly contrary forces that may, in fact, be complementary or interdependent in the natural world. I often paint in pairs and consider them cohorts in traction. I use paint to reflect relationship, conflict, connection, resolve, and beauty birthed from chaos.
My process uses the pacing of impulsive movements and with slow, meditative marks to portray the power and fragility of the body. The senses are an exploration of the specific meanings and stories our bodies tell. I paint in silence to heighten the other senses and increase sensitivity to the mystery and breadth of the human experience. In a way, my art is an act of sensory sharing between the artist, observer, and blueprint of what it means to be human in the world today. The painting process teaches me how to live more effectively outside the studio, respecting the senses, inspiring focus, and honoring the rhythm and beauty of life.
Like the rhythms of life, my work is in constant flux. I relish the anticipation of what will come while venturing out with no destination in mind. Borne within me are the experiences, memories, and emotions that will eventually reflect themselves on canvas. The human experience is pregnant with this living potential, deepening our understanding of consciousness and shared existence.
Do current events, local or global, affect your work and what you are focused on?
I wouldn’t classify my work as political or disrupting; however, I am affected deeply by the happenings in our world both environmentally and politically; therefore my work is a reflection of that. I am not directly touching on one particular subject or event but rather all of them combined. My work is about the human experience, and what we are currently going as a nation and in the world is directly connected to the work.
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?
The best way to see my work regularly is to follow me on Instagram @Kelsey_overstreet. I regularly post and let people know where they can see my work in person. I will be having a solo show at the Encinitas Library in November and December. The opening reception is Saturday, November 3 from (1-4). I also have a few pieces up at Solace and the Moonlight Lounge in downtown Encinitas. I will have a painting in the Point Loma Nazarene Auction show, Nov 26-December 7, opening Reception November 27. I also currently have my work up at a couple of places in Santa Barbara. You can also email me to set up a studio visit. I love to show people the works in progress as well as studio visits.
Contact Info:
- Address: 7931 Calle Posada
Carlsbad, CA 92009 - Website: www.kelseyoverstreet.com
- Phone: 760-889-4948
- Email: www.kelseygiusta@gmail.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/kelsey_overstreet
- Other: www.instagram.com/giustajewels
Image Credit:
Sarah Shreves Photography
Meghan Nicole Photography
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