Remembering The Artist Kirk Williams
Artist Kirk Williams - Photo sourced from Pioneer PBS
“You’re an artist, aren’t you?”
That’s how he started the one and only conversation I had with the now late artist Kirk Williams.
For those who may not be familiar, my home community in Minnesota said goodbye to an incredible artist and dreamer known for his surreal illustrations, grand sculptures, magical pastel paintings and wildly interesting assemblages yesterday morning.
Many of our mutual friends are sharing photos, stories and memories of their time together on the socials, and though I honestly can’t claim to have been close enough to call Kirk “friend,” I feel an odd overwhelm of gratitude for him and sorrow for our community’s great loss.
Pioneer PBS recently produced a feature on Kirk for their series Postcards, and in it, Kirk said he wanted to be “remembered as an artist.” The whole episode is engaging and tender, but when he said those words, something resonated deeply inside of me.
Being an artist is SO MUCH FUN. I get to spend my days dreaming up new ideas, concepts, dimensions and worlds - and I prioritize putting paint on paper, playing with color and water bending with brushes. I get to create something out of nothing, or someTHING out of somethingS. I get to make my dreams a literal reality and allow others a glimpse into my perspectives without saying a word.
And also - being an artist is SO FREAKING HARD. For me it is, anyway - and for Kirk too, I suspect. He mentioned what I - or possibly all of us - continually face in this identity of “artist”..which is that “some people don’t/won't understand.” And despite, or in spite of, that fact, we keep creating. A spiritual act all in and of itself.
The one and only conversation I had with Kirk Williams took place “by chance.” I had gone on a walk around Lake Alice in our shared community and saw him coming down the road in his wheelchair toward me. We smiled at each other and he greeted me with that question that felt more like a statement. Through that short conversation, Kirk blessed me with these words of wisdom:
“As an artist, you’re always creating.”
A six-word-story that would later form the foundation of my most innate and honest identity: artist.
I wish I could raise a glass to Kirk - his life and his light - while he was still with us on earth. But that moment has passed, and since this newsletter is reaching your inbox in the morning, I’m going to raise a toast to Kirk with a cup of coffee:
Here's to the oh-so-sur/real Kirk Williams
known in his life as a "fish out of water"
forever remembered and revered as an artist.
Cheers,
Nancy X. Valentine
