Welcome to 12 in 20! Once a month this year I will highlight a woman who has found and followed her passion. Enjoy their stories, find yourself in them, they are wonderful women. It’s a blessing to highlight them. Thank you for joining me for the second post in this series.
The first time I met Kristen was a few years ago in a business networking group we were both members of. She was the fun, bubbly, smile in the room. I recall that back then she told her story with a bit of nerves showing in her voice. Fast forward to 2020, here she is this amazingly strong, confident, game changer of a gal with no sign of those nerves! Her story will leave you inspired!
So, what do you do when you find yourself a bit behind on bills? Well, Krisiten was geared up and ready to take on a second job at Payless Shoes. Already working for a Durable Medical Equipment company in Florida full time she mentioned this part time gig at Payless to her boss who than asked “How would you like to make more money in less time?” Wondering what kind of trouble she might be getting caught up in Kristen asked what she had in mind. Turns out this employer had a husband who ran a clown company. Next thing ya know she was dressed as a clown, making balloon animals and painting the cheeks of small children. She never did take that job at Payless.
Soon Kristen and her then husband found themselves expecting a baby and living far from home. A move back to Michigan to be near family was one move closer to fate. Still needing that extra income for her growing family Kristen went to a church service geared toward entrepreneurs. There the question “What do you have?” was asked. This question is what sparked her business nine years ago. She knew one thing that she had, a barely touched face painting kit in her closet. She got that kit down and began watching YouTube videos realizing she was capable of doing some pretty impressive designs.
Healing through art... Fast forward five years and see where talent and determination has led her. Although her body art had been featured in Several publications, and she had ongoing contracts with amazing companies, she knew that she wanted her art to have a purpose. She attended another life changing meeting in Grand Rapids, Michigan about their annual event “Art prize.” Knowing that she wanted to make a difference and would literally be in front of thousands, she decided to paint nude bodies in public. These bodies would be painted with messages of personal trauma that each model had encountered. A risky move that had her getting rejection after rejection from each venue she asked to be affiliated with. Kristen approached The B.O.B. Venue and finally got her yes! Now, to make an impact!
That’s when healing through body art was born. Kristen will tell you she had no idea what she had gotten herself into. Seeking the help of a therapist friend, she was sure not to cause more trauma to her would be models. Feeling like she had set herself up for the impossible she went searching for her “unicorns.” Her unicorns were people brave enough to be nearly naked in public, brave people who were wanting to share their most intimate horror stories. Surprisingly enough, her unicorns showed up. They came with bravery and beauty to share their stories with the public. For Kristen this meant getting hit with the reality of others. Friends were telling her stories they had never shared, others came to her to tell their stories too. PTSD, depression, child sexual abuse, addiction to alcohol and drugs, bi-polar, suicide of a loved one, medical conditions and more. As hard as it was to hear the stories, Kristen knew they needed to be heard. Art prize kicked off and for eighteen days these models showed up literally and physically exposed to tell their stories and share their trauma. Most beautiful, was that they could embody their stories through paint… then wash them away.
Eighteen days of eight to ten hour days brave models shared their stories, and the public responded by telling their stories as well. Kristen found herself hugging and crying with total strangers as many in the crowd broke down telling their own stories, the exchange of vulnerability between strangers was the most beautiful thing she had ever witnessed.
Something unexpected was that Kristen found her own wounds were healing. She began to express her own suppressed trauma that she had been wearing as shame. It is true that when you heal others, you heal yourself. As you can imagine, Art prize was a huge success! Coming off of the high of Art Prize, and knowing the healing had to continue, Kristen took her next step. She went to the UK and brought healing through body art to women who were on a spiritual pilgrimage. This lead her to believe in a world where women connect with their inner voice, their higher self and their body to remove blocks, to heal from their past. She also adopted the belief that we can go from “fight or flight” to “stay and play.” Believing it’s possible to overcome being stuck in self sabotage and self doubt and become empowered to take the next steps in life.
Kristen now holds a safe space for women to remove the blocks and heal. She provides all the tools she has learned from her body art project, and from her own healing from trauma journey. She provides guidance and coaching, and holds amazing retreats where women can come and experience the healing process- they can even have their body painted if they choose. Of course she still paints the faces of smiling children, but healing through art is her passion! Healing is a journey.
Thanks to Kristen for sharing her journey to fulfilled passion. Please check out her business Facebook page.
http://kfxbodyart.com/