Artist's Statement

Once upon a time... My name is Kim Power and I'm a visual storyteller. Since 1990, I have been creating richly colored and highly embellished textile paintings that tell stories from my imagination. Stories have been an ongoing inspiration for me, from childhood fairytales to myth recounted by various cultures. My tales are built up from imagery that appears to me in subliminal dreaming with a combination of in-depth research into the symbols that appear in these dreams. In this, I have found an affinity with the Pre-Raphaelites in the use of story and symbolism and also the Surrealists who combine symbolism with psychology and magic.

These yarns are inspired by diverse interwoven themes. One of the major inspirations for my paintings is nature in its many forms; the nature of flora and the nature of animal and human nature. I explore this through drawing the human figure and observing my surroundings. Through nature and the figure I am in touch with the archetypal feminine, Mother Nature. Themes of the feminine are present in my work, the mystery of woman, her strength, her power and magic; the ability to nurture and her intuitive capabilities. My choice of working in textiles has been, consciously and unconsciously, an outgrowth of this connection with my own gender.

The textiles I have created up to this point have been filled with pattern and texture. Beginning by an exploration into textiles through direct dyeing, batik, and dyeing with thickened dyes, they have evolved into a more sculptural form with high embellishment of embroidery and beading. In using embroidery and pattern, I have been developing a style that stems from exposure to the intricate psychological aspects of Art Brut. This genre of art influenced me to apply detail to its maximum intensity. My colors have also been bright and rich, based on a palette viewed from my youth in Southern California. The colors and stitches I apply in an intuitive way during the creation of each painting. They grow each day, building to their ultimate blossom.

As the current of a river changes with time, so has the river of my creation. While I have been working in this very intricate and concentrated way for several years, I am experiencing a divergent path. That path is one in which I seek peace in life and in my work. As I travel this road through yoga and the study of Eastern religions, I am now seeing and feeling a sense of openness in my work, a looser quality, less based on intricate detail and more based on space and light. My work is developing in this new direction through the study of realism in oil painting and the layers of color in batik. The feminine, nature, symbolism, pattern, and, above all, the magic of storytelling continue to play key roles as this new path unwinds before me. I can only follow as it reveals itself and perhaps, you too will follow my travels upon it. Let me tell you a story...