Meet Kristen Elaine Whalen | Artist & Creator of Flowers With Legs

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kristen Elaine Whalen and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kristen Elaine, what inspires you?
Travel, nature, color, design, interiors, fresh flowers, art, fashion, light, animals, sunsets, food, textures.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I found my voice as an artist while sitting in my studio in New York City in January of 2014. I was very uncomfortable with my life at the time. I was in a painful and disconnected marriage. I’d been trying to get pregnant for years with no success. I had suffered a miscarriage. My parents were going through some scary health issues. I would sit in my studio with fresh flowers, drawing and painting as a way to emotionally regulate. One afternoon, I was playing with fresh flowers and clipped the head of a bright orange Ranunculus and placed it on top of a photograph of a pair of bare legs. I loved how it looked! I immediately began creating all kinds of Flowers With Legs using Hydrangeas, Peonies, Gerbera Daisies, Orchids. When I ran out of photographs of bare legs I began drawing legs and arms and began painting designer shoes on them all. There it was! My voice as an artist. Flowers With Legs was born.

When I was in the hospital when my son was finally born, I had to be there for two months on bed rest and then in the NICU. It was such a scary time. I began creating my Flowers With Legs using some of the fresh flowers I had been sent by friends and family. The nurses and doctors would stop by my room all the time to view my new paintings. I overheard one of the nurses say to her colleague, “she came here for us to heal her but she’s healing us.” I think that’s what really sets my artwork apart. It has a healing quality, not only for me but for others. I call my work Flowers With Legs, Art That Heels the Sole which is a play on words because usually they have feet and designer heels.

My work is created through self awareness, emotional regulation and play. I give myself the time and space I need to connect to how I’m feeling first before I get to work in the studio to invent and discover. The process is daunting and sometimes painful but it can also be exciting and energizing and have great results! The biggest challenge for me has been time management and knowing what is important each day. As a self employed artist, there isn’t anyone standing over me with demands and deadlines, it’s up to me to set priorities and meet my own goals. I get out of it what I put into it. I’m learning that routine and treating it as
a typical 9-5 job is crucial to getting to where I want to be.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
First, I would cook most of our meals in my little kitchen and we would eat here in my home. We would grab coffee from either Trio Coffee in Flower Mound or Re:defined in Grapevine. We would have a spa day at Relache Spa at The Gaylord Texan. I love getting reflexology there, it’s life changing. We would sip gin & club sodas with fresh lime and mint while sitting on my porch listening to bull frogs and the whippoorwills. We’d walk to the lake and swim. We’s spend time with the horses on the horse farm where I live. It would all be very relaxing and give us plenty of time for deep conversations and connection. Oh and I would take them to the new WorldSprings in The Colony where we would soak in the healing pools!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’d like to dedicate this shoutout to my eight year old son. It was in waiting for him that I became an artist. Seven years of infertility messed with my psyche and so I used art to self soothe and to work out complex emotions.

Website: https://www.flowerswithlegs.com

Instagram: @kristenelainewhlen or @flowerswithlegs

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristen-elaine-whalen-234561307/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/flowerswithlegs

Image Credits
Kristen Elaine Whalen/Flowers With Legs