For the Common Good: A Community Artist Interview with Kristin M Roach
Kristin M Roach foraging. There’s a visual metaphor here somewhere as to how Kristin approaches her creative and community practices by finding treasures and transforming resources.
Photo courtesy of Kristin M Roach.
Introducing Kristin M Roach, Ames-based artist, author, and entrepreneur. If you live in Ames or central Iowa, you undoubtedly know of Kristin, as her hands metaphorically (and sometimes literally) have been in many, many, MANY creative projects and places. Here are a few, just off the top of my head:
Founding Member, Ames Collaborative Art (Ames C.Art for short)
Author of Mend It Better: Creative Patching, Darning, and Knitting
Founder of Craft Leftovers, one of OG craft blogs
Creator of the many, many zines and the Roach Motel, a portable zine shop
Lead Artist Consultant, Intertwine
Owner, Little Woods Herbs and Teas
As you can see, Kristin is legit. And she’s incredibly wise. And she’s simultaneously one of the most humble and most fearless people I know. And full disclosure: Kristin’s one of my go-to people. If I am mulling something over or have a crazy idea, Kristin’s one of the folks I holler at.
Let’s jump in, shall we?
Philadelphia Viero, mixed media, 2019. This adorable fella is part of Kristin’s Junk Mail Migration series. In Kristin’s words, “Being part of a larger ongoing series about backyard ecologies, the Junk Mail Migration examines the direct impact of junk mail on the immediate environment – our backyards.
For this portion of the project, birds were selected that migrate through Iowa seasonally, are not year round residence of Iowa, and have over 70% of their breeding ground in the North American boreal forest ring — 37 birds in all.
All are represented in life size scale, drawn with graphite, charcoal, gesso, and ink on junk mail laminated to cardboard and supported with reclaimed or sustainably forested wood.” Photo courtesy of Kristin M Roach.
Kristin setting the stage right out the gate:
My first community art group was called Art Operation and met in the basement of a church. The sole idea even back then was to get artists together, making work together, and figuring out together how to make this whole working artist thing work. I was 17. The internet was just starting to be a thing so I made a Yahoo email for the group to communicate with the public and started hanging fliers for it around town.
Now, 20 years later, I still have that same impulse to bring art makers together -- share our skills, knowledge, opportunities. I truly believe that no matter your age, background, or even experience, if you have an idea on how to connect one person to another, you should do it. The rest will follow, or it won’t. My projects have failed many times, but each time I’ve learned something, grown, and jumped back in to try again. Failure only defines you when you don’t take time to reflect and grow from the experience. When you give up completely.
Kristin M Roach. Material Studies Installation at ZW Mercantile, Art Vacancy Downtown, Ames, Iowa. In 2020, Kristin wrote a successful Iowa Arts Council grant to support Art Vacancy Downtown, through which she curated twelve local artists in the front windows of downtown Ames’ businesses. Photo courtesy of Kristin M Roach.
Who are you in 10 words?
Resilient as a Roach! Ha. Okay, seriously.
Resilient, creative, resourceful, persistent, curious, terrified, intuitive, strong, empathetic.
What are your creative rituals?
Getting up with the sun and starting my day with tea and drawing outside. Even in the winter. Okay, some days drawing outside from the inside. After that first cup of tea and drawing, my day is on the right path no matter what comes next.
If I’m coming into the studio in the evening, I start with music or weaving. I have an old basement piano and a cello. Something about running through notes or over the threads settles something deep inside and prepares me to create something new.
Solomon Seal, gouache, Backyard Ecology project, 2021. Follow Kristin’s morning ritual drawing practice on Instagram. Photo courtesy of Kristin M Roach.
What community rituals do you value?
Storytelling. Maybe it’s not a ritual, maybe just an aspect of being a part of a community. One of the things I enjoy about knitting circles, mend-ins, quilting bees, plein-air painting in a group is that they all invite the community to share their stories with me and with each other.
How do you merge your creative work with your community work?
Over the years I’ve done everything from create an 80 foot mural with over 70 people to creating a meditative installation on living with a seizure disorder -- it gave space and opportunity for people to hope and process grief of living with epilepsy. Sometimes it’s creating exhibit opportunities for myself and other artists; other times it’s creating an opportunity for non-artist community members to create or experience a creative project larger than themselves. Even when I think my work is completely selfish (like Aura-Clonic-Tonic), in retrospect I find it’s still about building a connected, compassionate, creative citizenry.
Aura-Clonic-Tonic, mixed media installation, Iowa State University Design on Main, 2015. Aura-Clonic-Tonic is a meditative installation on living with epilepsy. Photo courtesy of Kristin M Roach.
How has that changed recently?
In the last 6 months, I’ve taken a step back from community work in the sense of bringing people together at the same time. Previously it was coming together around an event, a task, a performance, an exhibit. Now it’s shifted to this staggered feeling of leaving messages in the bottle for each other. Art Vacancy Downtown (thanks Iowa Arts Council for helping make this possible and paying the artists’ stipends) was this very thing. Come see this thing, experience art safely, participate remotely, leave a comment, email your reply.
Kristin M Roach. Material Studies Installation at ZW Mercantile, Art Vacancy Downtown, Ames, Iowa. Photo courtesy of Kristin M Roach.
What has been your hardest community lesson?
You need support for your project. Sometimes what you think is great for a community doesn’t have the decision makers in mind. You need to win them over and communicate with all parties involved - even the ones not directly impacted or participating in the project. There is this wall in campus town that was blank and on a prominent corner. It was the perfect mural wall. When I asked why it had never been painted, the answer was a complex pile of red tape because the wall was private, but the ground was public. So even if you could get building owner support, you needed to go through all the city red tape. The mural hadn’t been painted on this perfect mural wall because the parking lot would have to be shut down for at least two weeks. I personally went around with a design mock up and talked to every business owner so I could get the parking lot closed. (And then invited them to come help paint the mural of course). Then I petitioned the city council with letters and public council presentations. The city manager was never going to shut down a parking lot without both the business owners’ and the city council’s okay. If I hadn’t done that pre-work of getting buy in, the project would have never happened.
Thinking of Ames, 12” x 80”, 2010, Ames, Iowa. Kristin designed a Campustown mural as a giant paint-by-number project to facilitate community participation. Photo courtesy of Kristin M Roach.
Okay okay okay, I couldn’t resist this other one. One of the most powerful things about community projects and social practice is that you can create work larger than your own capacity. When the project is so large, some things are beyond your control or workload, you can’t just brute force it and do everything yourself. Let things go, let other help, and if they don’t show up? You have to adjust, pivot, and sometimes -- which is the hardest part -- let things fail or you will burn out gloriously and quite fast.
Library of Backyard Ecology installation. Learn more here. Photo courtesy of Kristin M Roach.
What has been your most fulfilling community moment?
The stories! I love hearing the history of the town, the connection of people to places, objects, emotions. When I was working on the Backyard Ecology Library project, I was able to hear all about the birds in people’s backyards -- many of which they identified for the first time by their song using the songbird boxes. When people remember and then share a story from their life it feels like my work has forged a new connection.
The threads from past and present are woven together. I think the first time I experienced this was my BFA final project called On Finishing where I knit and crocheted on public display in a yarn shop window for a month. While many were inspired to try their hands at knitting, others were moved to tears because they were overwhelmed with loving memories of a long-since dead family member (this happened more than once). It’s hard to reopen memories because they are filled with both love and loss. But in remembering and sharing the stories, we heal and recover both our past and current selves.
Guiding the sharing down a healthy constructive path is extremely challenging. Some people are walking with a lot of pain, but that’s the power of art too. Sometimes giving space to pain helps one move on, even without saying a single word. The art, the process of creating something together does all the talking.
On Finishing, BFA project, Northern Illinois University, 2005. Photo courtesy of Kristin M Roach.
What tips might you have for artists who want to dive into community work?
Find a partnering non-profit organization to work with on the project. This will open up all kinds of assets and possibilities (grants, volunteers, project management, finance management). But if no one is able to (non profits are often hesitant because they already have a crushing workload, are underfunded, or might be worried it won’t pan out and you’ll make them look bad), don’t be afraid to jump in feet first if you need to -- they will come along eventually once they see how awesome the project is. Embrace them completely when they get there.
Which reminds me, build bridges, don’t burn them. Many people I thought hated my guts, have later rallied behind the project. I am always respectful and don’t talk about them even when I’m exploding inside. Sometimes, cough, like all humans, they are seriously just having a bad day or you miscommunicated. Try to be patient, persistent and graceful.
Community Mural, Kate Mitchell Elementary School, Ames, Iowa. Photo courtesy of Kristin M Roach.
If you as an individual artist are planning on making community public art as a habit, file those letters of incorporation and get yourself some limited liability insurance. That protects you when someone trips over your extension cord and breaks a hip. They sue your business and your insurance pays the bills -- not your own personal bank account. It also shows organizations you are trying to partner with (and the city manager) that you are serious and know your shit. Some non-profits can’t partner with you because it would be expanding their liability coverage beyond their policy terms. It’s also good for doing farmer’s markets, festivals, or organizing large events.
What tips might you have for communities to support artists?
Take a chance! If an artist tells you they are going to do some amazing project and all you need to do is let them use a space, send out an email, or sign off on a grant and pass through the funds -- do it! I mean, sure, do a little research. Look at their other projects, have a chat about how they are going to actually make it happen (i.e. do they have help?), or if they have permission (and liability insurance, see above).
While you may not be able to manage the project for them, can you sit down for an hour and have a conversation? There is so much you know and take for granted that an artist is capable of but just might not know yet -- like what council person to talk to first or what local business to ask to host their project. Or even just basic free resources like local community calendars.
Modular Mural, an early community project facilitated by Kristin. Photo courtesy of Kristin M Roach.
What motto or creed do you live by?
My first few versions of this were so lame, so I’m going to borrow the words of an artist that has inspired me greatly: “I've been absolutely terrified every moment of my life and I've never let it keep me from doing a single thing that I wanted to do.” ― Georgia O'Keeffe
To learn more and keep up-to-date with her projects and practice, connect with Kristin on Instagram and Facebook, visit her artist website, check out her zine shop, and send her an email at kristinmroach@gmail.com.
Photo courtesy of Kristin M Roach.
Like learning about the ins and outs of being a community artist or a community arts leader? Check out interviews with artists Akwi Nji, Catherine Reinhart, Jordan Brooks, Reinaldo Correa, Rami Mannan, and Jill Wells, and interviews with community arts leaders Amber Danielson, Allison McGuire, Andy McGuire, and Jennifer Brockpahler.
Have a phenomenal community artist or an inspiring artist leader to suggest? Comment below or email jennifer@whatsgoodproject.com.