Bring the Outdoors In
Existing at the intersection of nature, craft, and science, my art is a visual meditation exploring the intricate tapestry of our backyard ecology.
Bring these reflections into your own home—through original paintings, prints, and letters from the studio.
Let your curiosity guide you.
You’ll find paintings, weavings and immersive installations throughout my studio practice. Formed with scientific data and cast off materials, bird enthusiasts will enjoy the Junk Mail Migration series of paintings. For plant friends, the Backyard Botanical series is a great starting point for your explorations in the struggle between weeds and wildflowers. Find your way to the studio journal to get a more in depth look in the creation of the works.
Iowa | You are invited to join me for mending each month at the Octagon Center for the Arts, Quarterly Open Studios (sign up for local event updates), and visit my main street shop Little Woods Herbal when you need a quick art gift (& tea). I’ll see you soon!
Online | Dig into the pattern archive over on my craft blog, Craft Leftovers. Using up leftovers is another chapter in the story of resourceful making and using what’s on hand.
About Me: Kristin M Roach
Born and raised in Moline, Illinois, I attended Northern Illinois University where I studied oil painting. It was there I first encountered textiles as an art form. Drawn into the Fibers program, I earned my degree in painting with nearly every elective devoted to weaving. I also minored in art history—proof of my lifelong love of research and how the past continues to shape my present studio practice.
Balancing art and craft has always been a thread running through my work. I learned to paint from my dad and to sew from my grandma. While in school, I worked at a local yarn shop, painted an 80-foot mural, and wrote Mend It Better for Storey Publishing. Over time, weaving became painting, crochet became sculpture, and the distinction between disciplines began to dissolve.
These creative impulses—art and craft—were never truly separate. And at the heart of them both is a steady curiosity about nature, our bodies, and how they hold space together in this tangled world we call home. My work often reflects that—small pieces coming together to form a larger whole.
I believe in the power of small stories. That’s why I make zines and write letters.
Each month I send Studio Letters—handwritten reflections scanned and read aloud, paired with artwork and field observations. Paid subscribers to my Substack receive weekly autobiographical letters, access to my archive of zines and patterns, and behind-the-scenes glimpses of studio life. You can sign up [here], or browse the archive on my Journal page.
If you’re in Ames, stop by my apothecary style tea bar and spice shop on Main Street. You’ll find original paintings on the walls, plus prints, zines, and greeting cards. You might even catch me behind the tea bar, serving up my herbalist-inspired blends to the masses.
Kristin M Roach
Explore: Abridged CV | Portfolio | Available Works
Press, Presentations, Commissions & General Inquiries
If you have any questions or comments,
please contact me via email or phone.
Email
kristinmroach.art@gmail.com
WHERE TO BUY
Little Woods Herbal | Ames, Iowa | Originals, Zines, Stationary, Prints, Book
Octagon Center for the Arts | Ames, Iowa | Prints, Book, Zines
Dog Eared Books | Ames, Iowa | Book
Quimby’s Bookstore | Chicago, Illinois | Zines & Book
Microcosm Publishing & Distro | Portland, Oregon | Zines & Book
Weekly handwritten letters about art, nature, and daily making—sometimes a finished painting, sometimes a backyard encounter. Subscribers get exclusive zines, audio, and behind-the-scenes studio glimpses.