ABOUT THE ARTIST
Kristin Kleyer Mangum (b. 1976, Illinois, USA) is a Contemporary, Fiber Mixed Media artist residing in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Organic in form and material, she creates her International Fiber Mixed Media Sculptures to showcase the growth and natural beauty found in nature, within us, and globally all around us.
Her tactile sculptures are a reenvisioned take on traditional techniques and mediums, inviting viewers to connect and engage with their senses.
Each creation derives from her international treasure hunts, seeking and using only local, natural fibers and inspiration gathered from experiences, culture, history, and essence of each country.
Created meticulously by hand, woven stitch by stitch, she further integrates her ceramics, woodworking, and metals — the culmination of her BFA, MA, MFA, and years as an artist, art educator, and gallery consultant.
Her sculptures can be found at galleries, Visions Museum of Textile Art in San Diego, California, and in corporate and private collections.
KKartista sculptures stand strong alone or unite beautifully with others.
Displaying “A Piece of the World - A Piece of You” . Natural . Earthy . Elegant
Organic in form and material, she creates her International Fiber Mixed Media Sculptures to showcase the growth and natural beauty found in nature, within us, and globally all around us.
Her tactile sculptures are a reenvisioned take on traditional techniques and mediums, inviting viewers to connect and engage with their senses.
Each creation derives from her international treasure hunts, seeking and using only local, natural fibers and inspiration gathered from experiences, culture, history, and essence of each country.
Created meticulously by hand, woven stitch by stitch, she further integrates her ceramics, woodworking, and metals — the culmination of her BFA, MA, MFA, and years as an artist, art educator, and gallery consultant.
Her sculptures can be found at galleries, Visions Museum of Textile Art in San Diego, California, and in corporate and private collections.
KKartista sculptures stand strong alone or unite beautifully with others.
Displaying “A Piece of the World - A Piece of You” . Natural . Earthy . Elegant
FROM THE ARTIST
MORE ABOUT THE PROCESS
Introduction to Weaving
My artistic journey began with my Midwestern USA upbringing and grew exponentially with exposure to art history and travel.
After earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Studio Art, creating in various art mediums, I pursued a career as an art educator.
However, it was returning to school to pursue my graduate studies for a Master of Arts (MA) and Master of Fine Arts (MFA) that I discovered my passion of fibers, ending up living in culturally rich city of Florence, Italy, further expanding my love.
This intense immersion allowed me to explore different weaving styles from numerous historical periods, but it was the coil technique that truly captivated my heart. Instead of crafting traditional baskets, I embraced my own organic sculptural fiber style.
Evolution of My Technique
Over the past 25 years, my weaving practice has evolved to incorporate my hand built ceramics, woodworking, metalsmithing, painting, drawing, and design. I exclusively use pure, natural wools and cottons sourced locally from the countries I visit.
This approach transforms each journey into a treasure hunt, where I immerse myself in the vibrant colors and cultures, seeking out local farms and fiber shops. Working to communicate in whatever local language it may be, my desire for only 100% local natural materials, I gather these treasures and incorporate them into my creations, all while maintaining a hands-on approach.
Nothing is outsourced; every component is crafted by me, ensuring a deep connection to my work.
The Art of Coiling
The essence of my coiling technique lies in a series of wrapping and stitching with a needle. I minimally wrap pure wool around hand-dyed cotton, resulting in sculptures that appear to have a wire-like core due to the vast quantity of stitching, despite being entirely composed of soft cotton and wool. This meticulous process, which often takes months, allows me to control the shape of each sculpture while also listening to the materials, giving them a voice. This dynamic interaction between my guidance and the natural tendencies of the materials creates a harmonious balance, echoing the philosophy of going with the flow in life.
Creating a Symphony of Materials
Back in my Scottsdale, Arizona studio, I handcraft additional components, such as my ceramics, wood, and metal, to complement my fiber sculptures. This allows me to continue exploring various art techniques, including painting and drawing on wood and ceramics.
By layering ceramic glazes, I achieve unique textures and illusions, expanding the visual possibilities of each piece.
An Organic and Unified Vision
Every sculpture I create is a testament to the natural, earthy, and organic beauty of the materials. I avoid using synthetics or glues, opting instead to solve the puzzle of how to attach different mediums in a way that highlights their unique qualities. The result is a unified, growing structure that engages the senses and invites viewers to experience art in a tactile and immersive way. My sculptures are a celebration of the natural world, a testament to the beauty of listening to and working with nature's materials.
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FIBER
My fiber sculptures feature a woven coil technique, historically used to weave vessels.
Stitch by stitch, coil by coil, with hand & needle, I weave my international pure wools around cotton - raw / refined, scratchy / smooth, no synthetics - unifying global natural beauty.
CLAY
I hand build my clay structures out of stoneware and fire in my studio kiln. Each creation is then painted with a unique glaze combination, mixed & varied, creating a one of a kind result upon the second firing.
WOOD
The wood structures, I build out of solid wood - cutting, hammering, nailing and sanding.
PAINTING & DRAWING
I use different types of paint, graphite, charcoal, inks and other 2-D art materials to give character to the structures that I build, giving them depth, in preparation to unite with fiber.
METAL
Metal additions are metal-smithed sheets and wires that I cut, heat, hammer, drill, file, stamp, connect and polish, to best contrast with the soft to scratchy fibers that will accompany it.
PRECIOUS FINDS
Then there are the found objects that I just could not pass up as I wander, which are incorporated into my sculptures, woven in, set with clay, wood or metal, like a gem set into jewelry.
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