About

Kerry Szympruch Welton

The path to finding your authentic self involves getting lost, having interesting adventures, making embarrassing, slightly regrettable choices, being willing to fail. I’ve done all of those, several times!


True story: Soon after snapping this hiking selfie, I got off trail and literally, “got lost.” In my defense, hiking trails, animal trails, and random gullies all look VERY similar when covered in fallen leaves.
#embarassing #notmyplan #feltwickedstupid


I LOVE STORIES OF THE WEIRD AND WINDING WAYS PEOPLE HAVE ACHIEVED THEIR DREAMS.   ADVERSITY, FAILURE, SUCCESS; THOSE NARRATIVES INSPIRE AND ENERGIZE ME, REMINDING ME THAT YOU SHOULD NEVER LIMIT YOURSELF TO ONE PATH.  BE BRAVE AND EXPLORE!   THIS IS MY STORY…

 

AT THE BEGINNING: I grew up in the mountains of New England. If you were raised in the Northeast, you might understand this to mean our house was on a gravel road (it was), we heating with wood stoves (we did), shoveled snow (not joyfully), and had neighbors who could have walked straight out of a John Irving novel. It was beautiful, often freezing, and getting lost in dreams of places that were wilder, weirder, warmer, and more sophisticated than my little rural ‘hood was what kept me focused. Reading, drawing, sewing, creating catalogs of my own creations for I’m not sure who – my dolls? – I was the kid who designed her own clothes to avoid looking like an LL Bean clone, made her own jewelry and tried for edginess in a very UNedgy town. My big dream was to go to New York City, using art school as a stepping stone to a career in fashion design. I had a passion for art, but “fashion designer” seemed a career choice more likely to be able to pay off student loans than fine artist.
 

NAVIGATING: Ten years of city living made for some VERY interesting stories. While my fashion adventures could make one helluva book (true tales of FBI wire taps, truck hijacking, extortion, and meetings outside the Holland tunnel!!), that path didn’t turn out to quite how I imagined. I stepped back, focused on making art, painting, figuring out what to do next, and… floundered. A trip to the West Coast experiencing the colors and crazy forms of succulents blossoming in Spring convinced me to reroute to California. Strange that plants could motivate me in that way, but oh, those colors! I suppose there are crazier reasons to pick up and move cross country? Still in my twenties with few responsibilities, I could go anywhere, be anything, leave the fashion world, experience life in a place where the temperature rarely dropped below 50 degrees. I would boldly make the leap with no safety net, no job, and embrace the opportunity to find my true calling! At least that WAS the plan until the tempting call of security pulled me back. A position on the west coast opened up the same day I give my notice. I took that as a sign from the universe that I was meant to STAY THE COURSE, stick it out in fashion. LA bound, I was off on a California adventure.

FALSE SUMMIT: A metaphor for getting to what you “think” is the peak, reaching your goal, only to find out there’s a LOT more to climb (cue feelings of despair and failure). Rock climbing, hiking, jumping out of planes, traveling the West, backpacking, still tethered to a regular job in fashion, but wanting to work for myself… torn between a life more wild and free, but craving the traditional role of wife and mother. And instead of quitting fashion to become the working artist I fantasized of, I got married, switched paths to web design, telling myself that channeling creativity into graphics and marketing pitches was almost as good as being a fine artist, and with a MUCH better guarantee of regular income. With my company, Zynk Designs, I was web designer, merchandiser, Photoshop editor, brand and marketing consultant, copy writer and more for clients. The flexibility of working from anywhere with a good internet connection AND making my own hours was the perfect job to have while raising two boys. This should have been it, the peak, the apex! And yet, somewhere along the way, I realized that I had been so busy “doing” for others, that I had stopped doing things that made me happy. Mindlessly going through life, I had lost who I was. Or maybe I had never been brave enough to blaze a different path? It was time for another serious course correction.
 

CONTINUING ON: It is hard to admit failure and own your mistakes, easier if you can master the art of not caring what people think, much MUCH easier if you have a network of people to support you and be a guide. When I finally admitted how far from “happy” I had fallen, it came with the realization that to divorce a good man (who just wasn’t the right man for me) was part of my rerouting. Choosing to leave that old path allowed me to see what I was missing, to remember what fueled and excited me: Artists, writers, quirky characters, all who shared their stories of how they had tried, failed, then got up and tried AGAIN till they nailed it. These people who shared their journeys have inspired me to shed my fear, to return to being an artist, a creator, a person who lets intuition and passion be my GPS on this fantastic journey.


 

I ADMIRE: Anyone who follows their passion, living life on their own terms without concern to what others think or say. This includes great artists, writers, quirky eccentrics, and moms who admit that not every moment with their kids is a walk in the park, but “just keep swimming” and do the best they can.

I LIKE: Irony, honesty, candor, dark coffee, good design, art, turtlenecks (thanks to those freezing winters in my childhood). Also a sense of humor – things get very bleak without one. A sexy pair of shoes, a great book, and my first and forever love are also on the list – is it possible to have all at once? Yes, please!

FAVORITE COLOR: Impossible to pick just one – they’re all great, except for pink. That’s top of the “not favorite” list.

FAVORITE ART SUPPLIES: Daniel Smith PrimaTek™ watercolors, Staedtler Triplus Fineliners, wax, words.

FAVORITE PLACES: The mountains of New England, the coast of Maine, Iceland. Okaaay, I’ve never been to Iceland. It’s on my list though. In the interim I’m learning Icelandic phrases such as “Áfram með smjörið” which, loosely translated, means “On with the butter” or “Move your butt and keep doing what you’re supposed to be doing.” Which I think for me means to get my butt to Iceland…?

FAVORITE QUOTE: “We’re all different… there’s something kind of fantastic about that, isn’t there?” {From The Fantastic Mr. Fox}

  • ABOUT KERRY SZYMPRUCH WELTON

    Inspired by art, amazing places, gorgeous colors, quirky creatives, savvy writers, and great coffee, I'm an artist, a designer, and someone who appreciates the absurdities of daily life.  Learn more >

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