Featured Artist: Kimberly Speer

We’re delighted to spotlight Kimberly Speer! Her striking use of color amidst muted hues transforms fabrics, yarns, paints, beads, and found materials into evocative pieces. Each work is layered or woven with immense poignancy — from magestic contrasts to subtle, floral flourishes.

Where are you from?

I’m from Yuma Arizona

What got you started making art?

I’ve been making art for as long as I could get my hands on supplies! I made my first candle and started sewing when I was about 7, and I got my first sewing machine around age 11. Creation is how I survive.

What’s your artistic background? (experience, education, etc.)

I’ve painted, sewn, knit and played guitar since I was very young. I took every art class I could, and I got a BFA in theater tech with an emphasis in costuming, and a minor in studio art.

Who or what are your biggest artists’ influences?

In studio art, I like the works of Degas and other impressionists. I’m drawn to the aesthetics of dark florals and Victorian design. I also love art nouveau, and the fashion of pre-industrial eras in which all of the work was done by hand. I like that I can elevate mixed materials by putting in the personal labor that creates value. I’ve developed a style of combining thrifted and found supplies as I am disabled and have limited access to materials.

Where do you get your inspiration for your art?

My studio art has largely been a way of processing my childhood trauma from being raised in a Christian cult, suffering abuse, being trafficked, and having my kidneys almost fail due to lupus nephritis. I was also married at 19 to an older man in the church. Many of my pieces transform over time as I revisit the trauma and continue to process through things. The bags and apparel I make are inspired by the fabrics I find or am given. I like the idea that each piece is one of a kind and that none of my products are manufactured. They can only be made by hand, and can never be recreated.