Kristin Sanders | Home Roots — subtle-arts

Kristin Sanders is a textile artist based in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas. One day last year, Connie’s breath was taken away by a beautiful piece of art she saw hanging in her massage therapist’s home studio. She learned about Kristin (also a Jacksonville native) and immediately commissioned her own piece. Since then, we learned the story about how this beautiful human stepped into her full creative power just 4 years ago when she opened Home Roots Shop. In her free time, you can find Kristin outside photographing nature, ripping up magazines for a new collage, spending time with her husband and kitties and “talking to [her] plants, of course.” Please enjoy this inspiring interview with Kristin and consider following and supporting her work. She puts her heart and soul into each and every piece.

If you attend a virtual, group session with Connie, you may have the opportunity to see the commissioned piece in the background!

S-A: What type of art do you create?

KS: I am a fiber artist!

S-A: How did you come to this as a practice? As a profession?

KS: I’ve been an artist most of my life. I graduated from Douglas Anderson School of the Arts in 1999 with a focus on drawing and painting. Throughout my life, I’d turn to art in difficult times to ground me, but I never felt truly free when I painted. It always felt like a struggle over what choice(s) to make. In 2015, I began experimenting with rug making, and I fell in love with the combination of fabric and yarn. As it would turn out, I was not a great rug maker, so I continued painting and collaging in my free time. In July of 2018, my partner and I moved from Utah back to Texas, and the job hunting began. With a background in customer service, I applied at a local call center and felt every happy and creative part of me shrink and hide. I had to figure something else out! I had no idea what I’d do, but I was committed to finding it. I picked up a temporary nannying gig, and by that September, I started my company Home Roots Shop - making dreamcatchers and wall-hangings. Fast forward to today, and my work is taking on a whole new shape as I push myself to explore new ideas.

S-A: What is unique about your style? What would you love for people to say about your art?

KS: What makes my work unique is the materials I use and my technique. I combine upcycled fabric with thread and yarn in a technique I call knotting. I especially love using upcycled curtains and linens and often imagine the home they were hanging in and who the woman was that picked them out for the home.

S-A: What other techniques or media have you practiced / do you enjoy?

KS: I love taking walks and photographing nature, it’s my daily therapy and how I remain balanced. I also enjoy collaging from time to time when my emotions feel knotted up. Collaging for me is a way to release the blockage subconsciously and move forward.

S-A: What would you like to try, but haven’t?

KS: Oh my goodness, so many things! I have a love for printmaking and I’ve always wanted to try ceramics as well. I can imagine myself as a witchy woman in the forest collecting plants and taking them home to my little cottage in the woods.

S-A: What do you wish you’d known sooner?

KS: That who I am is amazing enough

S-A: What understanding do you wish you could share with the world?

KS: That you are amazing just as you are. Be true to yourself and the people that dig your style and relate to your story will find you.

S-A: What is a negative core belief (lie) that you told yourself along the way in your artistic career?

KS: That I would not be able to financially sustain my life as an artist.

S-A: How did you break that lie?

KS: I realized one day that in order to have success, I had to make room for it, so I began clearing out my schedule so I could dedicate myself fully to my art.

S-A: How do you self heal?

KS: I have to constantly remind myself to self heal these days. There are so many avenues to take, and I am just now scratching the surface of my healing. I unexpectedly lost my mom on Easter of 2020, and that sent me head-first into learning a new way of living. Being in nature is what grounds me; it feeds life into my soul and has been a good foundation for me. I'm learning to listen to my body and intuition when it’s talking to me. Sometimes healing for me also looks like crying, forgiving myself, talking to the little girl in me, journaling, resting when I need it and learning a new way of being in my own skin that feels safe and accepting.

S-A: When do you feel most authentically yourself?

KS: I feel most myself when I am creating.

S-A: Who are the people that inspire you the most?

KS: I am inspired by so many things and people. First and foremost I am inspired daily by nature, the sun and the weather. I'm inspired when I see other artists uniquely expressing themselves. Good craftsmanship inspires me as well as free expression of color.

S-A: When you “check out,” where do you go?

KS: I check out when I am photographing nature. There is something that happens when I'm searching for the perfect light and angle that closes the door to everything else and brings me into the present moment. All I'm thinking about is reflections, shadows and the way nature dances in the breeze. Nothing else matters in that moment but the beauty of life.

S-A: What is a personal mantra of yours? When do you bring it to mind?

KS: I am perfectly made. Like most of us, I have the tendency to talk down to myself. Not only about my appearance, but about my contributions to the relationships I hold dear and also about my work. When I feel myself dragging this negative self-talk around behind me, I try to remind myself of this mantra.

S-A: How would childhood friends describe you?

KS: Creative and supportive

S-A: Describe the “season of life” you currently find yourself in.

KS: I've spent the last year working through so much sadness and grief after my mom passed unexpectedly, followed by another two friends I’ve known for years. After functioning at an unhealthy high speed for years, my life stopped and I began searching for who I am and what’s important to me; how I want to be seen; what I want to wear; how I want to be treated and what my future looks like. It was as if my identity fell apart in my sorrow. My partner and I are moving soon, and I'm very much looking forward to starting a new chapter, moving into a new season of peace and growth.

S-A: Who has helped you along the way?

KS: That’s a big question! I think everyone who has been a part of my life has contributed in some way to my progression. The obvious ones would be my parents — my mom taught me love, communication and how to be a woman, while my father taught me practicality, attention to detail and that he always believes in me. My partner, however, has made the biggest impact on my life. He has given me space to be myself no matter what that looks like or how it changes, helping me to create a safe place to learn how to love myself and grow.

S-A: How do you most like to connect with others?

KS: Through conversation, be it face to face or over the phone. I enjoy getting lost in conversation especially during walks in nature.