Kirstin Elizabeth Voelkel was born to a farming family in southern Indiana. She grew up in wide open spaces and the wet woods, shooting archery and raising pigs. In 2008 she left home to study Art and Landscape Architecture at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. She was accepted into the School of Art through her portfolio and as a spring entry (SPARKY) into the College of Architecture and Planning at BSU. Through her years in the CAP program she traveled to Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, Boston, and New Orleans with her peers to conduct field studies. She received her Bachelors in Landscape Architecture after completing her grueling 5th year project researching phytoremediation of soils and comprehensive park design over an empty former GM factory lot. After graduation she treated herself to a drive through Pennsylvannia to Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater and the Longwood Gardens. In 2011 she began her cultural education and began working at the DIY music venue BE HERE NOW. Beertending, planning events and designing event spaces. Throughout the years she dabbled in various expressions- costume work and cosplay, staff/totem building, painting, jewelry and accessories, stage setup- made for events and holiday themes. She became a part of the Glue and Scissors art society in 2012 and planned the Winter Gala 2013 and the Swinger's Ball that following Valentine's Day. In 2014 she decided to move to the mountains of Asheville, North Carolina. She was then accepted to intern at the North Carolina Arboretum in June. There, she learned horticulture and offered design help in projects such as the outdoor dining courtyard, and planting the miniature train Rocky Cove Railroad. She also worked independently to design the "Children's Naturescape" playground for the environmental education department. She visited the Chapel Hill Gardens to attend the Natural Learning Initiative's Early Childhood Outdoor Learning Conference with childhood researchers and teachers. Her internship was extended to the fullest extent through the "Winter Lights" event. She attended the Atlanta Botanical Garden and NC Arborteum's meeting discussing Winter Lights and holiday event planning outdoors. She was supervised under Mac Franklin [NC ARB] and taught certified plant professional courses to identify botanical cultivars and native species by Cliff Ruth [NC STATE]. Kirstin has traveled with her art all around the southeast. She began applying for art grants and her SPIRIT STAFFS were accepted to ART OUTSIDE in Austin, TX in 2014, and regional burn TRANSFORMUS in 2015 and 2016. She has also lugged her art around for fun and can be found at events at AVALON and the DEERFIELDS set up in the deep woods with her staves and fairy lights. In Fall 2015 Kirstin traveled with her Art Mentor Alex Alford to Europe. They visited France, Netherlands, and Belgium. They toured the Rijksmusem and Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. In Paris they saw art in the Louvre, Musee d'Orsay, and Centre Pompidou. They explored the artists' district of Montmartre, and an array of cafes. There was wine in the jardins and walks along the Seine. Alex Alford drew people and places while Kirstin sketched streetscapes and statues, and filled her journal feverishly. They ruturned home just one day before the attack in Paris, on November 13th 2015. In 2016 she drove her truck across the country to Architectural Landmark ARCOSANTI, AZ and back from Asheville. Travelling the highways, stopping through the Ozarks, Oklahoma, Taos, the Earthships Biotecture, up to the Four Corners, around the Grand Canyon, to Arcosanti, then the White Sands National Monument, Roswell, and Dallas, for a total trip of 4,389 miles in 11 days. At Arcosanti she stayed with her architecture colleague, Peter Seiter, a part of the live / work community there, the Arconauts. She collected rocks, pine cones, sticks, and bones to arrange temporal nature art. The entire trip had one layover in (unincorporated) Seneca, New Mexico for a busted power steering belt (on the Great Plains, in the high desert) and one new alternator cylinder from the bless'd boys of Benton, Arkansas. After her cross-country adventure she started taking classes at Empyrean Arts for Aerial Silks, Dance and Movement. She started performing in 2018 at the annual student showcase and XpandFest outdoor street festival. She began a work-trade internship and hosted open studio time until early 2020. Kirstin enjoys working and living in Asheville. She loves to go on high elevation hikes and work in the yard on her native plant pollinator garden. She collects crystals and houseplants and has a beautiful maine coon cat named Cafe. CONTACT: [email protected] Last Edit: 9/16/2020 |