Born to teenaged runaways, and then raised in Kansas by conservative farmers
and schoolteachers, Kristen Ferrell has dealt with juxtapositions since birth.
In her adolescence, she was sent away to live at an Evangelical group home for
teens; but instead of embracing religion as was hoped, she clung tighter to science
and psychology and learned that introspection and strength through self-reliance
was all she had. Nature vs. Nurture and the battle between her rebellious tendencies
and being raised to “sit quiet and be pretty like a good girl” forced Kristen
to express her internal struggles through artistic outlets at an early age.
Through her art school education she discovered the historic language of symbolic
imagery, and has since been using this imagery in modern terms. Using the classical
meaning behind the objects and animals represented in her work, she relays her
reactions and observations to incidences in her own life - such as motherhood,
neurosis, divorce, distrust, and the confusion that presents itself when dealing
with others.