Bast & Baetyl
Alchemy (Kimberly walker)
Belvidere, IL
Five years ago, Kimberly Walker started electroforming. She started mixing metal and chemistry and literally sparked a passion for making jewelry. Nature is a common theme in her work and can be found in each one of her pieces.
From rocks and bones, she finds items found in nature and melds them together to create a truly one-of-a-kind piece that you can’t find anywhere else. You can find Kimberly and her incredible pieces in downtown Beloit at DEVIATE!
Tell us about you. I am a self-taught jewelry alchemist living in an ancient house with my husband and 3 old cat children. I've always searched for the art medium that was mine, the one that spoke to me on a deeper level, and I finally found it in 2019 when I began electroforming. Something about the mix of metal art and chemistry settled something in me that had been restless my entire life. I started out just making for myself, but that quickly grew impractical and sharing my art became necessary if I wanted to continue. And continue I have, with no end in sight. This year will be my biggest yet, and I'm so excited to share that at Deviate again.
What inspires your art? My art is inspired, in large part, by the natural world and the gifts nature bestows upon me. Many of my pieces are made with natural elements I have found or foraged from the forest, from leaves to rocks to bones. Even when I purchase supplies to use, I strive for naturally shed or foraged pieces. There is no beauty that compares to that of nature herself, and I am always seeking to capture that in my work.
Knowing DEVIATE is an experiential, interactive art event, how do you envision participating? While it isn't practical or really even possible for me to do a live demonstration of my process, my goal is to make my booth an atmospheric experience rather than a demonstrative one. In stepping into my booth, I hope it will be as if you are stepping into a completely different place, and I am so excited to improve and upgrade from last year's booth.
How did you find out about DEVIATE and why do you want to be involved? I participated last year after one of the coordinators saw me at Pride and told me I should apply. I had such an amazing time, and it was unlike any show experience I've had before. I have so many new ideas for how to improve my booth, and I can't wait to try them out at this year's show.
Do you have any artist imagery you can share for us to feature on our channels? Facebook.com/BastAndBaetyl