Get to Know... Kristine Bolhuis

OOAK:  Describe your work.

Kristine:  My work is an exploration in lightweight metal constructions that move, flex and collapse.  These are minimalist pieces in which the skin has been removed, leaving only the essential structure--a structure that responds to the inevitable pull of gravity and the motions of the body that wears it.

OOAK:  How did you get started?

Kristine:  I've always been interested in working with my hands, making and designing, and my father is a woodworker so the lifestyle was familiar to me.  But I didn't discover metalworking until I was an adult.  I took one jewelry class and was immediately hooked.

OOAK:  What inspires you?

Kristine:  Early in life I was drawn to the bent plywood chairs of Charles and Ray Eames which were manufactured near my childhood home.  The chair's paired down to the bare structural essentials fascinated me.  This early interest and the later discovery of the metalwork and wire jewelry of Harry Bertoia, led me to study at Cranbrook Academy of Art which is known as the cradle of American Modernism.

OOAK:  If you weren't an artist what would you be?

Kristine:  Probably an advocate for the disadvantaged.  My son has special needs and I realize now that being a voice for people like him would be satisfying work.

OOAK:  What makes you happy?

Kristine:  My husband, kids and cats most of all.  But also my beautiful mid-century modern house in which I have my studio.  It's my favorite place to be.

OOAK:  What's the best gift you ever received?

Kristine:  A pair of Harry Bertoia earrings given to me by my husband.  Bertoia is my jewelry idol.