Today we’d like to introduce you to Kellie Sorrows
Hi Kellie, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I started down the path of becoming artist as a child. I loved being able to look at something and figure out how it worked and how I could make it from things around the house. I dappled in artistic endeavors in and out of school and will forever be grateful to my mom who let me constantly redecorate my room because it introduced me to my love of spaces.
When I went off to college in Arkansas I knew I was going to be an Interior Designer. I couldn’t believe this thing I loved as a hobby was an actual career. However, my sophomore year I felt a little aimless. I was really enjoying all my classes and my fellow classmates were nice and talented but something was…..missing. One fateful night I meet a girl at a party and something about her energy made me want to desperately befriend her. After some small talk I found out she was a theater major (something I had always been interested in by not brave enough to really pursue) and she talked me into taking on intro class. Coming into my college theater program felt like meeting family members I never knew I had. I quickly learned that acting was not path for me, but I remember wondering who designed the set and next time can it be me? It dawned on me that what I was missing was a passion for the kinds of stories I was telling the being around the kind of collaborative environment and community of the theater was invigorating. My school didn’t have a design program so with help of some amazing professors I built my own. Next up was grad school, M.F.A in scenic design, and after that working in as many theatrical design aspects as I could.
In 2010 I was ready for a new challenge and kinda stumbled across a position with Anthropologie. I had always loved the store and one was opening in Little Rock and they were looking for an artist and I thought why not? Now I’m coming up on my 15th year with them. For me moving into the retail space was simply another opportunity to tell a different story with art. I was at the Little Rock store for two years before a position opened up in the downtown Austin location and off I went. I had visited Austin a few times ( I almost went to grad school at UT) and it was always a city that intrigued me. Now in a lot of ways it feels like home. I continue to design for Anthropologie as well as many other clients around town that I’ve had the chance to freelance for; and I’ve met and worked with so many talented artists here. Having the freedom in creative vision and the relationships I have built with clients, customers and other members of the Austin artist community are two of the most important values to me.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I think moving to Austin was a hard decision for me even though I knew it was the right one. It’s alway tough to move away from everyone that you know and to be a stranger in a new city but the artistic community here was so exciting that I’m glad I didn’t pass on the opportunity.
It’s a cliche to be a self-described struggling artist, but that struggle is real. It’s no secret that Austin can be a pretty expensive city and I’ve seen a lot of creatives move away or leave the field for better opportunities. Artist deserve to earn fair wages for their art and I still don’t see this happening consistently, especially in a city with a booming tech business. It can really start to erode your mental health and I’ve definitely had my struggles with this over the years. It’s taken many years but I feel like now I have established healthy habits for dealing with stress and surround myself with a supportive network of people for the lean times.
I can also struggle with burnout and feeling stale with my designs, but I’ve found the best solution for that is to find a new project or work with a new client and that definitely reinvigorates my soul
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
When I tell people I’m and installation artist I’m always prepared for the perplexed look on people’s faces followed by the inevitable, “what is that?” A friend once described me as an experience curator and I loved it so much that I’ve adopted it. In the simplest terms I design and build site specific art for clients. For events I am usually working with the coordinator to craft pieces to enhance the experience for attendees, for retail spaces I’m designing pieces or furniture to enhance the shopping experience, for theater I’m designing a space that the characters exist in for the play. I’ve also designed pieces for private residences, art directed photo shoots and blank. All this is to say that no matter what the environment is I’m I’m workin in I’m always trying to tell a story.
I specialize in transforming raw materials and working in tight budgets. I can work in a wide range of supplies which I think is really exciting for my clients even if they already have an ides for display because I’m able to bring unconventional ideas and many years of experience to the table. But, I also love learning how to use a new material or tool in a different way and like to challenge myself to do this every year.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
I was always a kid who liked to tinker and experiment. To dig through the trash or recycle something into art was one of the greatest thrills. I loved to read and I remember being pretty consumed with making dioramas of all my favorite book chapters. My mom donated many shoeboxes to this obsession. Any kind of craft was fair game at my house and I would dabble in sewing, embroidering, woodworking, collage. I pretty much wanted to know how to do everything and loved keeping my hands busy. The other main preoccupation in our house was movie night. I credit my mom and grandma with introducing me to classic films at an early age and still continue my film obsession to this day,
Contact Info:
- Website: https://k-sorrows.com
- Instagram: @k__sorrows
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellie-sorrows-32a300b9/
Image Credits
Cass Klepac, Good Friend Studio
