Kerry Simmons
CREATIVE CONVERSATIONS
Kerry Simmons
has been working as a fine artist since 2003. Her work is collected nationally and internationally and has been shown in a number of galleries and shows throughout the United States. Simmons lives and works in the Chicagoland area.
Where you can find Kerry
What’s your earliest memory involving flowers?
I remember my mom sitting on the ground doing something with daffodils. It’s a very comforting memory to picture her gardening in this way.
Are there personal stories or elements incorporated into your botanical pieces?
I was born in 1976, so my early experiences in life occurred against a backdrop of wild floral wallpapers and natural hues like “harvest gold.” I find comfort and familiarity in daisies, a favorite of my mom’s, and the theme of my childhood kitchen wallpaper.
I also love geraniums, which I associate with my grandma. She always had red and white geraniums in the pots at her summer cottage on Pistakee Lake, which is part of the Chain of Lakes in northeastern Illinois. Their scent brings me immediately to summers spent there. Honeysuckle was the scent of my Avon body powder that I used after baths as a child and will forever be a favorite for that reason.
What drives your creativity?
An inner compulsion? I have so many ideas and feelings I want to express and I love the act of creating, the most satisfying thing for me is to make things.
What role do flowers play in your life?
To me, flowers are like a bonus in nature, spots of color and fascinating design crowning the beauty of nature as a whole. They walk me through the pace of the year, from the first snowdrops at the end of winter to the riot of sunflowers and asters in the fall. They bring joy.
What were some of the major points along the trajectory of your floral-related work?
Ordering my first “real artist” paints from the Blick catalogue was huge! When I was twelve, an artist from my church came to my house for private lessons, and she really opened me up to new media and new ways of looking at things.
Studying abroad in Russia and Ukraine definitely took my technical skills to the next level. Being represented by Robert Lange Studios in Charleston, South Carolina, has been another huge milestone.
What’s the connection between your creations, community, and the cycles of nature?
The focus in my work on local garden flowers and wildflowers helps me feel grounded and connected to my Midwestern landscape. The cycles of nature connect me to the people around me as we communally experience the four seasons, the bitterest winter days, and the abundance of sun and green in the summer.
“Have your work come out of
love for and interest in what you do.”
Tell us about your wildest floral creation.
I created an oil pastel floral piece that essentially covered a wall in my apartment at the time. I almost felt like I was living in it!
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given that’s helped shape your work?
To draw what I actually see and not what I think I see.
Many of your portraits feature a straight-ahead gaze. What influences your approach to your subjects?
I think they are most likely influenced by the work of Alice Neel and Margaret Keene of the “big eyes” children. I like the way they stare back at you as the viewer!
The variety of media you use is incredible--does your choice of a specific medium pair with a certain mood you’re trying to convey in a piece?
My choice of media is probably more linked to whatever medium I’m obsessed with at the current moment. I am forever seeking the “ideal” medium and it keeps me jumping around a lot!
What would you create with floral patterns if you had unlimited resources?
I’d love to do a floral mural that covers an entire room with each flower being individual, no exact repeats.
What advice would you share with others who are beginning to develop their creative styles and find their own way?
Working from a place of fear or haste is rarely productive, instead have your work come out of love for and interest in what you do, if you have that luxury.
All images & artwork above by Kerry Simmons
Handpicked
A few of Kerry’s favorites…
Favorite flower
Michigan lily in the early summer and jewelweed in the late summer.
Current inspiration
The work of Gustav Klimt and Cedric Morris.
Favorite kinds of florals
I love to see wild floral wallpaper.
Fun activities & creative hobbies
Hiking, ice skating, waterskiing, and making or remaking things.
Thank you so much, Kerry!
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