About the Artist
Kimberly Sewell is a creator and educator located in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She has a background in jazz performace, studying jazz vocals at the University of Denver, as well as singing in a variety of solo and ensemble groups over the years. Kimberly has taught classes on a variety of visual art subjects to students of all ages, toddler to senior, and has worked as an adjunct professor of English. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Regis University, and while studying there, she took an exploratory course into printmaking and fell in love.
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“I believe everyone is an artist with a unique story to tell.”
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Kimberly’s creative endeavors now center around visual art, which she creates and showcases in a wide variety of mediums. In addition to relief printing, Kimberly also works regularly in watercolor illustrations and fiber art 2-dimension and 3-dimensional pieces. Since moving to New Mexico, she joined a fiber arts guild, Las Aranas, which has allowed her to grow her fiber art skills and participate in her community.
Much of Kimberly’s work is motivated by her lived experience as a chronically ill, disabled, and neurodivergent creator. Her identity as a queer woman and her work fostering cats with her husband also inform her work.
Kimberly creates a spectrum of work from fun and funky earrings and small relief prints which she sells online and at vending events and local shops, to larger and more complex individual pieces and collections intended for gallery display. Her style is still developing, but much of her work focuses on storytelling and advocacy at its heart.
You can follow along with Kimberly’s creations on her Instagram at @housecat_creations to see her latest work.
Block Printing
Block printing (or linocut) is a method of relief printing where an image is carved into a block made of a variety of materials (linoleum, rubber, wood, etc.). Once carved, the surface of the block is then rolled with ink and paper is placed over the surface. Pressure is applied to transfer the ink onto the paper and the result is a one of a kind individually pulled print. All prints and printed materials (earrings, bags, etc.) on this site have been hand pulled by Kimberly.
Hand Spun Yarn
Hand spinning yarn is an ancient artform at the heart of modern textiles. Using either a drop spindle or spinning wheel, Kimberly takes pre-prepared and dyed wool (called roving or combed top) and drafts it onto her tool adding twist to create the foundation fibers. These “singles” are then plyed together to create finished yarns.
Kimberly uses a variety of fibers including sheep’s wool, alpaca, silk, and bamboo in her yarns all sourced from indie-dyers and other independently owned fiber preparers. The resulting yarns have a slight thick and thin variation that creates a light texture when worked up, or in the case of bulkier “art yarns,” the thickness and shape of the yarn varies greatly across the skein to create bold textures and shapes ideal for weaving.
Needle Felting
Needle felting is a method of felt making where loose wool (called roving) is arranged and then manipulated into a solid piece of felt. The fibers are joined together by stabbing with a specially designed needle and the resulting fabric is soft yet solid. Needle felting can be used to create 2-dimensional objects and images as well as 3-dimensional objects and even large “soft sculptures.”
Book Binding
Having studied with multiple professional binders across conservation and artistic professions, Kimberly hand binds all of her books using art-grade interior papers, waxed linen thread, and beautifully handmade papers sourced from local art stores for the covers. Each book requires cutting and folding pages individually, glueing and/or stitching together the pages to create a functional and aesthetically pleasing interior all cased inside a hand cut and glued cover.
Jewelry Making
Kimberly uses a combination of handmade felted or printed elements and found objects and beads to create fun and funky, colorful jewelry. Her earrings use nickel-free metal pieces and even very large pieces are made of lightweight materials designed for all day wear.
Gallery Exhibitions and Vendor Shows
You can find out where Kimberly will be selling or displaying new work on the EVENTS page. Kimberly regularly contributes to open calls for group shows across Southern Colorado and New Mexico as well as occasional solo exhibitions of complete collections. She sells her prints, jewelry and hand spun yarn at small pop up vending events across New Mexico and Colorado. You can also find up to date information on upcoming events on her Instagram at @housecat_creations.