Hi, I'm Kristy

Hi, I’m Kristy ~ you know, the “money” person, newly “graduated” Cordova MOPS Coordinator and the one who really likes to do arts/crafts. Hello! 

As I sat and read some of the other ladies ‘get-to-know-me’ intros it got me thinkin’ that maybe I should write one too…after all, not everyone knows me and why I love arts/crafts. 

So ~ here goes.

I have always been surrounded by talented women. My grandma was an amazing cake decorator, doll maker, painter and seamstress. My mom could sew by the age of 8, paint very detailed landscapes and loves to scrapbook. They both can cross stitch, knit, crochet and embroider and well…you get it. They always have a Joann’s or Michael’s coupon ready and waiting. 

Me…I can do all those things to a certain extent, but none of them felt satisfying. I wanted to find my own creative outlet and even though my grandma and mom tried (bless their hearts) like crazy to teach me all the things they loved to do I just refused to make them ‘my’ things. What I did know was that I had a passion to imagine and create as far back as I can remember. All my projects in school were very elaborate and over the top. In middle school I took my first art class and my mind raced with endless possibilities of my future career in the art world. I clearly remember wanting to be a comic strip writer and a set designer/creator. 

Remember in high school all the school spirit banners that were hand painted? Ones that would be at games or rally’s or just hanging up on campus? My high school had a class that you could only take as a senior and the class was in charge of making those signs. You had to master 10 fonts with a Japanese paintbrush before you could even step near the poster making area. Fellow classmates and people from the community came to place orders for banners and signs and our class of 20 would fill the orders. Our school was in charge of all the posters at the Jazz Jubilee in Old Sac each year. I wanted to be in that class so bad and at the end of my junior year I found out I was one of the 20…I was elated!!! I still have the pictures of my posters from the ’92 Jazz Jubilee…ya..I’m old! To this day, it is that class that gave me my love for fonts, handwriting and printing in all forms. My most recent lettering can be found in the Cordova Church hallway and nursery rooms. I love calligraphy and have addressed and decorated thousands of wedding invitations over the years for friends and family.  

In college I took art classes here and there and seriously thought about majoring in Graphic Design-but just didn’t love it. I focused my studies primarily on Art Studio and graduated from Sac State with a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Art Studio in 2003. My favorite classes were Art History, Photography, Color Theory, Pottery and Collage. The only thing I thought I would do with my degree was move to New York, be an artist/waitress, have some gallery showings, sell some of my work, make some money and travel all over the world seeing everything I had studied and loved in person. I was going to be ‘that’ family member who was never around but sent post cards filled with stories of my adventures. I never thought I would be married or have kids…I’m serious!  

Well, a handsome, charming, not artistic by any means but very creative guy named Kevin Bowman changed all that in November of 2001. We met, started dating, fell in love and were married in August 2003. He made my dream of traveling to Europe a reality in our first year of marriage – we toured all over for a month and we both can’t wait to return. We have been blessed with two wonderful kiddos, Matthew (6½) and Cortney (3½) who both have their own unique artistic abilities. They are always asking to do art/craft projects and from time to time I find them trying to do their own unsupervised which I love! 

This year Matthew is in 1st grade and I am the Art Docent and volunteer Art teacher for his class. Each week the kids have so much fun and get so excited as we learn and create. I know I will never lose my passion for creativity and I feel so happy and blessed to be able to spread that passion to those around me. I have so many ideas to share and I am grateful that Courtney asked me to be a contributor to this awesome Cordova MOPS blog. I hope you enjoy my ideas and get together with your kids and each other to get messy, use your imagination and be creative.