Meet Kim:
In her own words…
“I believe…
happiness is both a choice and a practice
creativity can transform lives
smiles are contagious
in kindness
everyone is worthy, including myself (such a hard-fought belief for me)
I am right where I am supposed to be – and so are you
in Brene Brown and Dr. Seuss
that everyone has a story to tell…
Here is mine…
For me, the path to where I am now was a circuitous route. I never expected that I would call myself an artist. In fact, there was a point and time in my life when I didn’t even think that I was creative! In high school, I enjoyed art classes, but never excelled. Pursuing art, as a career, didn’t even cross my mind.
Instead, I went to college and on to graduate school and then worked on college campuses in the residence halls and student activities.
Then, I met my husband. We got married. A year later we had our first child and I decided to be a stay at home mom. Fourteen months later, our second son was born, and I was fully entrenched in motherhood. Being a mother of two little ones is wonderful – and it’s also SOOO hard and consuming! I felt like I had lost a little bit of myself in the muck of motherhood.
Creativity became my escape, a stress relief, and the path to caring for myself and my dreams.
So, dabbled in jewelry making, scrapbooking, home decorating, drawing, painting, illustrating, graphic design plus much more. I started blogging and writing and eventually I wrote a children’s book. On a whim I doodled the illustrations and to my surprise, they weren’t half bad. The thought occurred to me that “maybe I could illustrate my book” – and, after lots of battling with that mean little voice inside my head, I decided to do it.
In 2013, published my book, Moments Meant to Savor. I did the illustrations in paper collage and I loved the medium! So, I kept doing collage art. And I am, happily, still at it!
By using everyday items, like magazines, newspapers, books, tissue paper, postcards, maps, ledger paper with colored pencils, paints and glue, I create pieces that are colorful, whimsical, and HAPPY!
My mission for my art is to bring a little bit of HAPPY into the world, one piece at a time.
In today’s world we are so divided, surrounded with lots of anger and fear, and grappling with hard issues like racism, xenophobia, and misogyny it is hard to feel optimistic and positive at times.
The negativity can be overwhelming, and the creative process is my way to practice and choose happiness. And, the bonus, is that I get to share my art with others! We all need happy little reminders of the good that is all around us. It is my hope that my art brings smiles to faces and adds a little bit joy into the world!”
See more of Kim’s art – http://www.kimdettmer.com/ and on Instagram – Process video below…
*** Please follow along on instagram as well and learn more about Kim. This year for my birthday, I am embarking on a weekly photo essay project highlighting 52 Phenomenal Women. This is week 46 of 52. Participants in this project will be supporting the efforts of Dress for Success Worldwide – Central. We are all stronger together and it is my sincere hope that we will be inspired by each other’s stories. Now is the time to celebrate as well as encourage one another. Tell your story!**