Becoming Midwest: Life Between

Biography

A former public school English teacher, Kristin Gifford now devotes her time to writing poetry and parenting. Her work, done primarily in free verse, is woven around human transformation–spiritual, emotional, and physical.

Deeply influenced by an upbringing in the Midwest, her writing is full of images evoking fields, animals, open skies, and small town life. A spirit of gratitude for life and hope for a more loving future threads through her work. She recently completed her first full poetry collection as a resident in the Loft Literary Center’s Poetry Apprenticeship Program and is in the process of seeking publication for her manuscript.

Kristin Gifford’s poems have been published in a variety of magazines and literary journals, including, The Briar Cliff Review, Scrawl Place, The Oakwood Literary Journal, The Heimat Review, Willows Wept Review, Sheila-Na-Gig, and Sojourner’s. She is a Pushcart Prize Nominee and was awarded first place for poetry at the International Sigma Tau Delta Convention.

Artist Statement

As a child born and raised in Sioux County, I’m so grateful that my roots are inextricably tangled with the Midwest. Furrowed fields stretching to the horizon beneath skies drenched in blue is the landscape that first taught me to love the earth, embraced me as beloved, even while the horizon line let me know that a whole-wide world was waiting for me just beyond.

My poetry examines the blessing and beauty of growing-up and living in this area of the Midwest, and speaks to the restrictions small-town, rural life can impose, particularly on women. Many of my poems are from the perspective of a young girl observing her mother struggle and thrive in rural life. Some poems examine whiteness, and the harmful ways that whiteness informs existence in this part of the country. And, many poems celebrate the beauty of the Midwestern landscape while holding concern for what the future of this landscape will be.

I hope readers experience the hope, rootedness, grief and deep love that exist between the paradoxes of this place.

A note on the paper artist:
Julia Kuhns of Dancing Armadillos (www.dancingarmadilloshenna.com) is the creator of the beautiful, handmade paper my poems are mounted on. Using my rough drafts, colored construction paper recycled from a local elementary, and dried plants from her garden, Julia designed and created these custom, beautiful papers.

Biography

Judy Thompson is a watercolor artist whose richly layered work celebrates the beauty, history, and resilience of the Great Plains. Originally from the Chicago area, she has lived in Northwest Iowa for over forty years, drawing inspiration from the prairies and farmlands of America’s heartland.

Her artwork is informed by her artist residencies at Homestead National Historical Park and Badlands National Park, with her resulting Homestead Series now part of the National Park Service’s permanent collection. Judy also created the cover art for the Pioneer Girl series published by the South Dakota Historical Society Press, which features the life and literary legacy of Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Judy’s paintings are exhibited regionally and nationally and can be found in both private and public collections. Her gallery representation includes Rehfeld’s Modern (Sioux Falls, SD) and Prairie Edge, (Rapid City, SD). She is a Signature Member of the Iowa Watercolor Society and an Associate Member of Women Artists of the West (WAOW).

www.judythompsonwatercolors.com

Artist Statement

Rooted in the expansive Midwestern plains, my work explores the region’s quiet beauty, its history of displacement, and the complex nature of belonging. The exhibition title, “Becoming Midwest: Life Between,” addresses my experience as an outsider navigating the tension that arises from living within a dynamic, changing landscape and a rural culture anchored in conformity and tradition. This space of negotiation is the “Life Between” — where identity is forged between what the land promises and what society demands. 

My watercolor paintings use familiar imagery, rich textures and vivid color to explore these connections.  Outlined shapes draw the eye to new connections within my compositions, providing a metaphor for our profound connection to the landscape and our desire to connect and belong in community. Through my work, I invite viewers to engage with the beauty of the region and the deeply personal process of “Becoming Midwest” — of finding one’s place within this compelling and challenging environment.