Artist, writer, and teacher Kirsten Beitler. Originals and prints available. Deep thoughts on the blog. Teaching studio is currently closed.

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Thoughts On Palm Sunday

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Sunday, April 2, 2023, In : A Brush With Life 

Some thoughts on this Palm Sunday 2019

Today the Christian world commemorates the entering of Jesus into Jerusalem. In fulfillment of prophecy, Jesus entered Jerusalem on the back of a donkey, was hailed as a king, and honored with the laying of palm fronds along his path.

Now, Jesus wasn't dumb. He knew what was really coming. He didn't get caught up in the adulation. He didn't tally up the palm fronds and equate the number to his self worth. He knew what his worth was. He was the Son of God, ...


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Uncomfortable Truths

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Sunday, January 16, 2022, In : A Brush With Life 


We cannot change what we do not acknowledge. I am by no means an expert on race or history. I am just someone who didn’t know what I didn’t know until I needed to know it. Because it is my honor to be the mother of children of a different race than mine, placed into my hands by their first-mothers and through our open adoption arrangement, it is my privilege to have my eyes are opened on a daily basis. When I share things about race, it’s not out of a desire to be performative, to shame...


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It's Not Just About The Lump

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Thursday, December 2, 2021, In : A Brush With Life 
I wasn't planning on publicly sharing this, but after watching a variety of different types of posts on social media yesterday (which was International Women's Day for whatever that means and whoever made that up and whatever that's supposed to fix) I decided to go ahead and share this experience I just walked through. I think it encapsulates a lot about what it's like to be a woman and I don't share it to get sympathy or attention, but because I feel like I can and most women that go through...

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Paintings from the show...In the Eye of the Beholder

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Tuesday, April 14, 2020, In : The Art of Painting 

In the Eye of the Beholder, 2012


Oil and gold leaf on panel


14” x 18”



I did this piece when I first found out I had the degenerative eye disease called keratoconus.

I was full of fear.

Losing my eyesight had always been one of my great terrors, and now it looked like having serious vision challenges was going to be a part of my life forever.

This painting began a series of works that turned into my first solo show, Beauty in the Eye, which was all about vision loss and eye diseases.

My family...

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Paintings from the show....What He Threw Away

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Tuesday, April 14, 2020, In : The Art of Painting 


That's me as a first time bride in 1995.



And that's me, divorced, in 1997 and standing next to the only time I ever showed this painting of my first ex-husband, Doug, until showing it in my solo show, Couch to Canvas.

I called it What He Threw Away.

It was an assignment in class in the style of another artist (Klimt).

I remember when I did this painting I was only a month or so out from my separation from Doug and in the middle of big pain and complete confusion. I now see how this work, even the...

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Paintings from the show....Kitty Hawk

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Tuesday, April 14, 2020, In : The Art of Painting 

Kitty Hawk (assemblage version), 2018


Watercolor and paper


24” x 30”


This is a portrait of Nora. Nora is a spitfire of a girl whose personality reached out to me so strongly, that I could feel it over the internet. She stands boldly in her body and I felt it was appropriate to juxtapose her in front of the hill at Kitty Hawk, which holds deep personal meaning for me as a place of bravery and discovery.

It is also an homage to all the brave girls and women who must learn to fly in the conte...

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Paintings from the show....Finding Out I'm the Sister-of-Jared (or Tight Like a Dish)

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Tuesday, April 14, 2020, In : The Art of Painting 

Finding Out I’m the Sister-of-Jared (or Tight Like a Dish), 2019


Oil on panel


18” x 36”



Here what it's about.

One day I was lamenting to my therapist about how I didn’t think I could take anymore, go any further; how I was feeling abandoned and broken beyond fixing.

Right in the middle of processing these feelings I had a very forceful memory come to mind of a talk I had listened to months earlier. The talk was When My Prayers Feel Unanswered, which people commonly refer to as the “fo...

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Paintings from the show....The Fire Inside Her Burned Brighter

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Tuesday, April 14, 2020, In : The Art of Painting 

The Fire Inside Her Burned Brighter, 1998


Oil on panel


12” x 20”



This is the oldest piece I had hanging in my solo show Couch to Canvas.

In 1997 I had returned to SUU after separating from my first husband to finish my degree in Illustration. Waiting for me there was a new art teacher, Brian Hoover, who was a visual storyteller, and the medium of oil paint which I had not previously explored much. I had originally come to school with the intent of being a teacher, children's book illustrat...

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Paintings from the show...The Process of Laying It Down and Picking It Back Up

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Tuesday, April 14, 2020, In : The Art of Painting 

The Process of Laying It Down and Picking It Back Up (assemblage version), 2019


Oil on panel


24” x 30”



This piece started out as a series of small watercolor studies that I did to try and reclaim and heal something.

I knew I was going to do the piece, but I wasn't sure if I would show it to anybody.
One of the scariest (and coolest) things about art is that you can't control what happens in the mind of the viewer after you put it out there. I had a very personal and specific meaning for this...

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Post Couch to Canvas Show Musings

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Tuesday, April 14, 2020, In : The Art of Painting 
The show is not what I originally had planned. I signed up to do it early last fall when I was feeling really good about my life, like I had the energy to execute my vision. I had solid recent works I was proud of and ideas for five new pieces in my head.
Then things got super messy again and I was in survival mode from the end of 2018 through the summer of 2019.
You know what happens when you're in survival mode? Not much. So there I was, two months out and only two of the new works done beyon...

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An Interview with The Spectrum News

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Thursday, August 1, 2019, In : A Brush With Life 
https://www.thespectrum.com/videos/news/2019/07/31/st-george-local-artist-grocery-shopping-more-fun/1874674001/

Here's a little interview I did with The Spectrum News about my job making signs for Harmons and my upcoming shows.
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Upcoming solo show, Couch to Canvas

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Sunday, July 7, 2019, In : The Art of Painting 


I'm pleased to announce Couch to Canvas, 
A solo retrospective focusing on how the artist uses art as a tool for healing.

(Or, in other words, a vulnerable spill of horcruxes ranging from 1997 to the present showing how I use therapy as art and art as therapy, heavy on self portraits that at this point I'm wondering why in the world I decided to publicly share.)

Showing at The DiFiore Center
August 17- September 28th

Opening reception August 17th 
6:30-8:30 pm

If you'd like a mailed invite or to be ...

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Jane and Emma and Living IN Discomfort

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Monday, October 15, 2018, In : A Brush With Life 
"I been trying so hard. I'd like to believe that this is right. That I'm where You want me to be. That this is Your church and  I am Your child. 'Cause it's too much pain, Lord. Too much suffering."



This is Jane Mannings heart cry in the movie Jane and Emma, and as I watched her, my heart reached out in sympathy and my face was wet with tears. Her cry was my cry.  I was grateful for the dark of the theater. (See a portion of the scene here, along with the wonderful I Am A Child of God music vi...
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Broken Family

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Thursday, June 14, 2018, In : A Brush With Life 

Broken family.

I’ve heard this phrase slung around since I was a kid. It was always said in hushed and judging  tones. “Well, no wonder that happened. She comes from a broken home.” “What can you expect? He comes from a broken family.” But nobody ever explained why the family was broken, who broke it and how they broke it. There was just this horrible feeling of un-redeemability that surrounded the whole idea along with the idea that any bad thing that happened could and should be ...


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A Very Merry Re-Birthday

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Tuesday, May 22, 2018, In : A Brush With Life 
Today is my Re-Birthday.

I've spent the last four years working hard to find this girl again. This spunky, spitfire who loved with everything in her, raised her chin and eyebrows in the face of the haters and was glad to take a backhanded comment by a tired parent ( "Go jump in the mud, Kiki!") and make it into an adventure in joy.




I needed to understand her, help her, and make peace with her. And I needed her help as well. To reclaim my joy, my spontaneity, my desire to live as my soul was mad...

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Fear, Faith, Forgiveness, and Other F Words

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Sunday, February 4, 2018, In : A Brush With Life 

Soooooo, it’s been a little crazy. There’s been some stuff. There’s been some things.

You know what the problem is with being committed to growth and awareness? That the universe takes you at your word and provides the opportunities to test your commitment to those goals. You know, growth opportunities.

Sometimes those growth opportunities strip you to the very core of yourself. For me, this last week has laid bare all my most vulnerable and tender layers, brought up deep past trauma...


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Light the World-Matthew 19:14

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Tuesday, December 26, 2017, In : A Brush With Life 
Pondering Matthew 19:14 "But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven."

Last night I went to The Forgotten Carols by Michael McLean with my son's beautiful birth mom. It's been a difficult year for both of us for different reasons and the music and message in this performance touched us both. As in, we were a blubbering, snotty mess. 

One song in particular, Mary Let Her Hold Her Baby, is particularly touching to those of us...
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Light the World-Mathew 25:36

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Tuesday, December 26, 2017, In : A Brush With Life 

Today pondering Matthew 25:36 "I was in prison and ye came unto me."

Our Father in Heaven never meant for this life to be a prison to us, but sometimes the things we go through build up chains and walls around our hearts that keep us from moving towards Him. This last year I've been doing a lot of work on freeing myself from those chains, so I can become what He wants me to be.

A big portion of that work has been reclaiming my "inner child" and settings straight believes that had been twisted ...


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What Does It Mean To Light the World?

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Tuesday, December 26, 2017, In : A Brush With Life 
Today, pondering what it means to #lighttheworld . 

I didn't start out doing these post with the intention of doing one every day. I know myself too well. And I know how busy life can get for me. but I've missed lots of beautiful scriptures this last week that mean a lot to me. "I was a stranger and you took me in. Blessed are they that mourn. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Where your treasure is there will your heart be also. Blessed are the merciful. I was naked and you c...
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Light the World-John 5:39

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Tuesday, December 26, 2017, In : A Brush With Life 
Pondering John 5:39 "search the scriptures; for in them you think you have eternal life." This is truth in my life. God speaks to me through the scriptures. The messages are customer tailored for every circumstance of my life. 

The fact that God can use the voice of people long gone to speak to my soul is a miracle to me. He can take things that in context mean something very obvious and make them pertain to my life as if they were written about and for me personally. 

This is the scripture fro...

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Light the World-Matthew 7:1

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Tuesday, December 26, 2017, In : A Brush With Life 
Pondering Matthew 7:1 today. "Judge not, that ye be not judged."

I think the hang up here is the word judge. What does it mean to judge somebody? I mean, we all need to have judgement in our lives, right? We need to know if something is a good idea or bad idea, should I date this guy or not, is this a sound financial decision or not, that kind of stuff. So when we are told not to judge it makes us kind of grimace a little bit. But what Jesus is talking about here is the kind of judgment where...

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Light the World-Honor Thy Father and Thy Mother

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Tuesday, December 26, 2017, In : A Brush With Life 
Pondering the commandment to honor your father and mother. 
I'm thinking about all the times I've felt like I've failed my kids, broke my kids, screwed up my kids. And that's probably a lot. Like, we have a jar where I put money when I swear. Like, I have a therapy fund for my kids. But never did I ever start out with the intention to be a crappy mom. And hopefully the good outweighs the negative in the end. 
Learning this about myself has helped me be more free to honor my own mom and dad. My ...

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Light the World-Matthew 25:35

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Tuesday, December 26, 2017, In : A Brush With Life 
Pondering Matthew 25:35 today. “For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:” Today I ponder it not in the context of physical nourishment, but in the context of spiritual and emotional nourishment. I'm thinking about all the times when people in my life, and even complete strangers have filled an empty part of me with their kindness and compassion. The ability to be able to sit with someone in their sadness or their...
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Light The World-Matthew 10:8

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Tuesday, December 26, 2017, In : A Brush With Life 
Pondering Matthew 10:8 today.
Here's what I'm thinking. I'm thinking about being a small child and how, as a small child, you freely receive all that life has to offer to you. You take in the love and care that is directed towards you without thinking about it. It is there, you need it, you take it. It's not until you are a bit older that you begin to question those things. Do I deserve this gift? Does the person giving it want something in return that I don't want to give back? I'm thinking o...
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Porn Kills Love?

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Friday, November 17, 2017, In : A Brush With Life 
Does porn kill love? What's the big deal, right? I mean, if adults want to look at pictures of naked people being sexy, then they should be able to, right? What's the big deal? Why the heck does Kirsten keep talking about this and posting about it on her Facebook page? It makes me feel so uncomfortable/angry/guilty/judged. Maybe I'll block her. Well, I'll tell you.


Today is Fight the New Drug's Rep the Movement Day. In fact, they have designated the whole month of November as "Nopornovember", ...
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Crying Over Wonder Woman

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Monday, November 6, 2017, In : A Brush With Life 

Sometimes I want to write about something, but so does everyone else, so I don’t, but then it comes back to me so many times that I do it anyway.

Lots of people, women in particular, have written about how the movie Wonder Woman affected them. They’ve written about female empowerment from a thousand different angles. It was great. I loved the articles and the discussions surrounding them.

The first time I saw Wonder Woman, I was in the theatre with a group of real life Wonder Women; wom...


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Choose Your Own Adventure!

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Saturday, July 22, 2017, In : A Brush With Life 

Choose Your Own Adventure. Does anyone remember these books?

“You're The Star! 40 Thrilling Endings!

Will You Become Trapped In Time?

You are hiking in Snake Canyon when you find yourself lost in the strange, dimly lit Cave of Time.  Gradually you can make out two passageways. One curve downward to the right; the other leads upward to the left. It occurs to you that the one leading down may go to the past and the one leading up may go to the future. Which way will you choose?

If you tak...


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Divorce, Dung, Disneyland, and Drowning

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Sunday, June 11, 2017, In : A Brush With Life 

Hang with me here. I’m going to try and bring this all together. Also, in the interest of full disclosure…I love Jesus, but sometimes I swear.

The D-word. Divorce. I’ve done twice. The first time I did it because I was left with no choice. I never thought I’d do it again, but I did. It was horrible, horrible both times. The second time it was more of a choice, but a choice I agonized and prayed over for a long time.  Both times it simultaneously killed me and set me free. It killed m...


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Love God, Love Yourself, Love Your Neighbor

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Monday, March 13, 2017, In : A Brush With Life 

I had, errrr, I mean, got to give a talk in my new  LDS church ward today. It was the shortest talk ever, being cut down by about 8 minutes as I sat there watching the time tick, tick, tick away after being scheduled to be the concluding speaker at the homecoming talk of a Sister Missionary (why do they do that?!). But I think it may have made the talk stronger. It certainly was short and to the point. And, like, BAM! Sister Beitler's in the house. Lol. Anyway. I had some requests to have a c...


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To Coddiwomple (Or, Peace That Passeth Understanding)

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Monday, January 16, 2017, In : A Brush With Life 

You know how everyone is choosing a word that will be the theme for their year? I think I’ve found mine. I wanted it to be something like “JOY” or “HOPE” but instead I think it will be “CODDIWOMPLE”. Coddiwomple means to travel in a purposeful manner towards a vague destination.I feel like I'm being very purposeful, but the exact destination seems to elude me.


This is why Coddiwomple is my word for 2017.

I’ve been looking for a rental for about a month now. I started on the ...


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On Having A Mary Christmas

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Monday, January 16, 2017, In : A Brush With Life 

I sit here on Christmas morning alone. Lots of people have asked me if it will be hard to not have my kids on Christmas, did I need anything, did I want to come over. I am so grateful for their kindness but I’m okay. I don’t feel alone. I’m spending the day with my Savior. First times are always hard. Change is always hard. Bringing fourth new traditions and finding joy in sorrow is something I am getting better at. Sometimes people will see that I’ve been crying and they might think ...


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Jump Therapy

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Sunday, January 15, 2017, In : A Brush With Life 

I wake up this Sunday morning on my day off at 5:00 am. Ugh. But I’m rested and I’ve learned that when waking that early it’s best to get up and do something, starting with a talk with God, because if I lay there it inevitably turns into a talk with Satan, and ain’t nobody got time for that.

 

I get a drink of water and hop in the shower. I cry a little, because showers are good for that, as I talk to God about some of my worries, thank Him for His help this last hard week, enjoy the ...


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Trading My Dreams for a Dental Plan?

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Friday, January 8, 2016, In : A Brush With Life 

This post goes out to everyone whose life has turned out differently then they’d hoped. Those people who were on a track that seemed to stretch into eternity with no change in sight, and then all of the sudden, PLOT TWIST!

Well, not really all the sudden. What’s going on in my life right now has taken years to happen and years to come to fruition. Years for things to be cried over, agonized over, worked over, prayed over, and decided on. Years for things that needed to break to break. Ye...


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Solo Show-Beauty in the Eye

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Monday, August 31, 2015, In : All About The Eyes 

From The Independent:


"During September in the Olive Esplin Art Gallery at the DiFiore Center for the Arts, local artist Kirsten Holt Beitler presents a solo art exhibit, “Beauty in the Eye.” The opening reception will be held Monday, August 31 from 7-9 p.m.

The show highlights the impact of eye disease on a person’s life, family, and community. Several conditions are explored, including diabetic retinopathy, uveitis, macular degeneration, and keratoconus, a degenerative eye disease affec...


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Thank you, Mr. Holt

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Sunday, April 27, 2014, In : A Brush With Life 

Love him or hate him, not many teachers have worked as hard for the students of Southern Utah as Mr. Holt. Ferron Holt has been a music educator and teacher for 37 years; first at Delta High School, then in the Washington County School District, and has been a member of the Utah Music Educators Association since 1976. In that time it is estimated that he has taught upwards of 10,000 students the joys of music and hard work. How do I know how hard Mr. Holt has worked during the years of his te...


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"Focus" On A New Body Of Work

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Saturday, March 22, 2014, In : All About The Eyes 

One of the ways I process the things that go on in my life, besides excessive chocolate consumption and binge series watching on Netflix, is to do a painting about it. Ever since my eye sight started getting blurry in early 2012, vision has been on my mind. I did one painting exploring my angst over the initial diagnosis of Keratoconus, a degenerative eye disease that causes the deterioration of the cornea and brings with it ghosting, double or triple images, severe sensitivity to sunlight, d...


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The Thing That Is Left Is Love

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Sunday, January 5, 2014, In : The Art of Painting 
  As an artist I have a tendency to feel like a failure for so many reasons; I don't use my talent enough, I don't make enough money selling art, I have too many other things I need to do, like to do, I don't draw every day, I don't work enough from live models, I'm not in a bunch of fancy galleries....When I allow those things to fill my mind making art becomes depressing instead of a joy. Then there will come opportunities that remind me what is really important about me making art. Today w...
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Arts To Zion Studio Tour

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Wednesday, January 1, 2014, In : The Art of Painting 
Well, it's 2014 and time for the annual Arts To Zion Studio Tour. Each year I am privileged to be included in a group of amazing artists who open their private home studio's to the public. Each year I am wishing I was not on the tour so I could be the one who could go snoop around in these artists' creative spaces. I am endlessly fascinated by what items people surround themselves with, what books are on their shelves, what materials they use, how they set up their space, and how their art fi...
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KirstenBot, Facebook, and Depression

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Sunday, November 17, 2013, In : A Brush With Life 

So facebook is a big time suck for me. I love reading about how everyone’s life is going and seeing pictures of their lives.  I have smart, thoughtful, diverse friends, and I enjoy hearing their opinions and experiences.  I have funny friends and I like to laugh.

This last week, a friend tuned me into a facebook app that has helped me waste about 5 hours of my life. It takes your old status updates and uses them to generate new status updates for you. I generally consider myself a pretty ...


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Hug A Chicken Day Painting

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Sunday, November 3, 2013, In : A Brush With Life 
Well, apparently November 5th is Hug-A-Chicken Day. Do we really need a day for that? I hug my chickens every day. My ladies bring to so much to my life. They provide me with humor, relaxation, inspiration and food every day, so I hug them every day. 
I told myself I'd do a painting for Hug-A-Chicken Day and take shots of it's progress to share with the rest of my chicken loving friends. When I saw this photo of an internet friend's daughter, I wanted to paint it. With her permission, of cours...
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Roll-A-Witch! Easy Halloween Drawing Activity

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Friday, October 25, 2013, In : The Art of Painting 
Here at The Drawing Room Studio when the kids get done with their assignment for the day they are allowed to do a free draw project. This is usually quite popular, but there are times (and those times usually revolve around high candy usage by the kids) that the students become distracted, loud, and lose focus. When I know times like these are approaching I try to have a variety of guided drawing activities available for the kids to chose from. This seems to refocus them and some of the kids ...
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The Pin Project!

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Monday, September 30, 2013, In : The Art of Painting 
The latest community project I'm involved in is called The Pin Project.The Pin Project is a wonderful creative project that will raise awareness and funds for the Big Brother Big Sister organization in Southern Utah. Seven local artists are working with adult mentors and their youth (a “big” and a “little”) from the program, to create collaborative
bowling pin art piece. Local artists working on the collaborative pins include: Kirsten Beitler, Jeff Ham, Joyce Whalen, Carol Bold, Eva Pe...

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In Memoriam, Brutus, Celestial Chicken

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Saturday, August 24, 2013, In : The Art of Painting 

Here’s the newest member of the Celestial Chickens Series and the first rooster to be so honored, Brutus. This painting is in memoriam, as Brutus, a six month old Mille Fleur Serama cockerel that belonged to KATHY SHEA MORMINO, THE CHICKEN CHICK® passed away suddenly this week. You can read more about Brutus here.

I love painting chickens. I love their feathers, their colors, their personalities. Where does the “Celestial” come from? I’m not sure exactly, but it started out as a jo...


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doTerra's Peppermint Challenge

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Thursday, August 22, 2013, In : DoTerra Essential Oils For Health 

This is great and makes me smile since peppermint oil is the oil that convinced me that dōTERRA oils were worth the cost. I'd dabbled in oils a bit when my friend Kyndel got me to come to a dōTERRA  class. She generously gave me samples of her oils and I was loving them and almost ready to sign up when my hubby lost his job. Suddenly the cost of the oils was beyond my reach, but I was already hooked. Thinking I was so smart I went to the local health food store and purchased lemon, lavender...
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Recycling Our Happy Accidents

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Thursday, August 22, 2013, In : The Art of Painting 
Here is one of the most important items in my art classroom.
Yes, that's a trash can. Let me tell you something parents. You have to be able to let your kid make mistakes. You have to be able to allow your children the freedom of non-performance sometimes. When parents sign their kids up for art classes at The Drawing Room Studio, I try to explain to them that their child may not bring something home after every class. If a student does something they don't like, they can throw it away. If a s...

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Top Ten Songs For Keratoconus

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Wednesday, March 20, 2013, In : All About The Eyes 
I've got a play list for everything, but the other day I realized I didn't have one for Keratoconus, or KC, as all the cool kids call it. Now that's a shame, as there are so many great songs about eyes and seeing. Of course, KC is it's own unique beast and doesn't fit neatly in to one category. Let's see, we've got double, triple, quadruple images, blurring, light sensitivity, dry eye, excessive tearing, pain, discomfort, contacts, eye doctors and relatives who don't understand, cornea transp...
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Healing Through Art

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Wednesday, March 20, 2013, In : The Art of Painting 
We all handle grief in different ways. Most of us get to the point, after wading through our shock, anger, disbelief, sadness, where we feel the need to DO something to put away our feelings. They never really go away, but we end up doing something that has meaning to us to help us kind of wrap the experience up and put it on a shelf so we can stand to live with it. Some people plant a tree or maybe go on a trip, listen to a special song, make a photo album, write. I've found that art has bee...
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Celestial Chicken Prints Available

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Saturday, March 2, 2013, In : The Art of Painting 
Most of my artwork is kind of personal, including lots of portraits and self-portraits so I've never thought much about doing prints. I can't imagine someone wanting a living room full of me's, or if there is such a person it's probably better that I NOT enable them. 
 
I have, however, received many requests for prints from the Celestial Chickens series. So if anyone is wanting a print, I've set it up with Fine Art America. You can go to their site, choose your image, choose your size and canv...

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Arts To Zion Studio Tour 2013

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Monday, January 14, 2013, In : The Art of Painting 
I'm excited to be a home studio artist in the Arts To Zion Studio Tour for 2013! In preparation I've scrubbed my front porch, which was looking pretty white trash, cleaned the chicken coop, and completed four new Celestial Chickens and four new paintings for the Mask series.

 
  
The "Arts to Zion" Artists Studio Tour/ Washington County, Utah is a self-guided art adventure  though our beautiful, mountainous, breathtaking countryside. This annual event, will be held over the Martin Luther King we...
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Oh Christmas Tree!

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Monday, December 24, 2012, In : A Brush With Life 
I hope you are all having a very merry Christmas! I just wanted to share my Christmas tree with you. There are no chickens on my Christmas tree, but it is really pretty and I've been collecting the ornaments on it since I was in high school. It is themed around the Nutcracker Ballet. This year my tree is 20 feet high, taking advantage of my ridiculous vaulted ceilings. Putting the lights on it was scary.

          


           


One of my favorite things about this tree came from a fantastic find....

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The Sky Is Falling?

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Thursday, December 13, 2012, In : A Brush With Life 
You know the story of Chicken Little, and how, when an acorn hits him on the head, he decides the sky is falling and gets everyone all freaked out? Chickens really are like that. If one of my ladies decides that something is bothering her, she clucks and postures until the whole flock is freaking out, even if nothing is really happening. It's pretty funny to watch. Aren't you glad you're not a chicken?
 
Then again, it seems that the sky is always falling for someone, somewhere. There is always...
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Mother and Child

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Monday, December 10, 2012, In : The Art of Painting 
With my love for Pre-Renaissance religious art feed by my recent trip to the LACMA and The Getty which both featured 100's of delicious icons, altar pieces, and illuminated manuscripts, you know that the inevitable result would be similar pieces. Of course, most of my pieces feature chickens. I'm not trying to be sacrilegious or anything. I just really like painting chickens. 

 
Here's my nod to the venerable subject matter of the Madonna and Child with a chicken lovers twist, "Mother and Child...

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Christmas Chickens

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Monday, December 3, 2012, In : The Art of Painting 
Here's a little painting from the Celestial Chickens series to help get you in the Christmas mood!

"Three Candy Canes"  by Kirsten Beitler   watercolor and gold leaf   12"X12"     



 

 
The Chicken Chick

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What Is Dixie Salad?

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Thursday, November 22, 2012, In : A Brush With Life 
I love Thanksgiving. It's all about the best things in life--family, food, and gratitude.
What's the best thing about Thanksgiving in Southern Utah? Dixie Salad.
This is just a small post to clarify a few things.

 What is Dixie Salad? Apples, pomegranates, raisins, walnuts,and whipped cream. AND THAT IS ALL.

 If you add anything else it is just a fruit salad with pomegranates. I just needed to say that.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!



 


 

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Grateful For the Gift of Eyesight

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Tuesday, November 20, 2012, In : All About The Eyes 

As the date of my eye procedures drew closer, I was filled with anxiety. The feelings were so intense, I was a little afraid I might have a heart attack. I could not relax, I could not calm down, and I could not get my body to respond to what my mind knew, that everything was going to be okay. I doused myself with calming oils, took long, hot showers, read fantasy novels, wasted time on Pinterest, but nothing helped me calm down. Finally the Sunday before we left, I was able to enjoy a church...


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Do You Love Them The Same?

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Saturday, November 10, 2012, In : The Art Of Adoption 

There are certain things you hear a lot when you have adopted children. How did you know you could love someone else’s kids? Do you love them like you love your kids? Isn’t it weird that they don’t look like you? Are you worried about problems they might have that you might not know about? Does is feel the same as your own kids? You’re friends with their birth moms? Isn’t that weird?

Now, every one’s experiences are unique and I can only speak to my own, but I thought I’d share...


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Halloween Is For The Birds

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Wednesday, October 31, 2012, In : A Brush With Life 
I love dressing up. Maybe it's because I'm an introvert who wishes she was an extrovert, maybe it's because I'm an artist and love creating the costumes, maybe it's because my BFF was a drama freak who grew up to be a costume designer, who knows. Who knows?
  Making the costumes is probably my favorite part. It's gotten even more fun for me since I married a someone who is a straight-laced, by the numbers kind of guy all year round, but on Halloween if I say, "Your costume involves tights", he...
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Newest Chicken Painting

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Tuesday, October 16, 2012, In : The Art of Painting 
Here's my latest Celestial Chicken. She's number six in the series. Isn't she a beauty?

 
 This is watercolor and silver leaf. 12 X 12"


 
The Chicken Chick

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"Eye" Have Good New and Bad News

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Tuesday, October 16, 2012, In : All About The Eyes 
Well, this has been a crazy month! I have been so touched by the generosity of my friends. I wish people would stop doing things anonymously. The joke in our house is that now we have to be nice to everybody, since we don't know who some of the people are who have given so generously to the fund set up to help with my diagnosis of the eye disease, Keratoconus.
 
The good news is that so far we have raised about $3,500. The bad news is that we have lost our substantial donor. This probably means...
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Don't Be A Chicken! (When it comes to breast cancer)

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Thursday, October 11, 2012, In : A Brush With Life 
Have you noticed America is practically painting itself pink? That's right, it's October, Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I don't need an presidential decree to help me pay attention this year. In fact, I'm considering all the hoopla one giant party for my mom, who just finished up a long ten months of treatment for breast cancer.
I've talked about my feelings for her and how brave she's been in an earlier post "What Makes A Woman" so I won't go in to that again. I'd really like to do a more se...
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What's Up With Your Thing About Chickens?

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Monday, October 1, 2012, In : A Brush With Life 
Something I hear a lot, “Sooooo, what’s up with your thing about chickens?”

Hey, don’t get me started! A family pet that produces healthy food, provides relaxation, good work ethic, amusement, artistic inspiration and even affection. That’s my ladies, my chickens.                                                                                                                                                                                                                              ...


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Eye Love My Friends

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Friday, September 21, 2012, In : All About The Eyes 

What an amazing week. It’s times like these that almost (almost) make me glad for the struggles of life. It’s times like these that reaffirm my belief in love, friendship, the basic goodness of humanity. I struggle a bit with being on the receiving end of such generosity and I have to take a deep breath and kind of distance myself from the experience. I think if I really let myself be completely in the moment of what is going on in my life right now, I would be so overwhelmed that I would...


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EYE Am So Excited!

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Monday, September 17, 2012, In : All About The Eyes 

I just got this email in regards to my eye condition, Keratoconus.

“Dr. Boxer Wachler reviewed your records, and thinks that you would be a good candidate for the following: Holcomb C3R Crosslinking System in both eyes to help halt the progression of Keratoconus; this is anticipated to be a one-time treatment. However, approximately 1% of the patients will have a second treatment for full benefit. This procedure will help save your eyesight, and help prevent the need for a corneal transpla...


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School Season = Germ Season

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Friday, September 7, 2012, In : DoTerra Essential Oils For Health 
School is back in session. With all those new supplies, new classes, and new clothes comes exposure to new germs. As a mom, I don't want to leave my kids health totally in the hands of busy teachers. I can be proactive when it comes to protecting my family from unwanted germs. How do I do this? By using dōTERRA®'s protective blend, On Guard



 
     On Guard is dōTERRA®'s unique, proprietary blend formulated to support healthy immune function. Wild orange essential oil, combined with clove,...

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DoTerra Diaper Bag Make-over!

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Wednesday, August 29, 2012, In : DoTerra Essential Oils For Health 
Passing on some great information from the recent DoTerra Living Magazine. I wish I would have had these oils when my kids were babies. Oh well. I'm going to have some super natural, healthy, organic grand babies in about, uhhh, no less than 10 years. Click here to see the larger graphic and the rest of the fall issue.




 

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Shhh, My Boys Are Bronies

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Sunday, August 26, 2012, In : A Brush With Life 




 I have a confession to make. My boys, all four of them from the age of 14 to 4, are bronies. What’s that you might say if you’re not up on the super hip new stuff? Well, a brony is a guy who likes My Little Pony. That’s right, I said My Little Pony. Now if you’re old school like me, you’re thinking, what has this woman done to her children?! You’re thinking sickly sweet little horsies with flowing manes and tails that you can brush and curl, right?

Oh no. This is not your mother...


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“Bear One Another’s Burdens, That They May Be Light”

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Sunday, August 5, 2012, In : A Brush With Life 

Someone on Facebook made a snarky comment the other week about all the drama that has occurred in my life lately and how I kept posting about it, and how they were a little sick of hearing about it all. My first thought was hey sunshine, no one is sicker of the drama then the person it is happening to. Then I thought of those people, you know you have some too, those who are forever complaining, forever a victim, seem to not really want to get better. Was I being one of those? Gosh, I hope no...


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Soothing The Body With Deep Blue Blend

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Friday, July 20, 2012, In : DoTerra Essential Oils For Health 
Having a body that I would call sensitive, I've been so happy with the results I've gotten from using the Deep Blue blend of essential oils from doTERRA. For years I've used a lot of over-the-counter things to try and control my various aches. My stomach has really payed the price. I've tried many different rubs and creams, but found only temporary relief until I started using Deep Blue. I now use Deep Blue for any discomfort I have as a first line defense. I have cut my use of other OTC dram...

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Painting My Chicken

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Wednesday, July 18, 2012, In : The Art of Painting 
I thought ya'll might like to see a bit of the "process" that goes in to my painting. Those are snarky air quotes because it's honestly nothing spectacular. I don't have a lot of great theory to back up my work, nor do I take it too seriously,maybe I'd be a better artist if I did. Who knows.
One of my hens died so I thought I'd add her to my Celestial Chickens series. The Celestial Chickens are just fun to paint. It's not a portrait of a person, so the stress of a true likeness is gone and chi...

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Ohana, However You Make It

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Tuesday, July 10, 2012, In : The Art Of Adoption 

Even though adoption has changed a lot in the last few years, even though I belong to a church that celebrates families, eternal connections through generations and even has a past of *gasp* women sharing a husband, people still get freaked out when they find out we have two open adoptions. This means that both our younger boys’ birth families are involved in their lives, included in our family events, and are treated as extended family. 

It’s not always easy, but then again, what family r...
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A "Special" Award

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Wednesday, July 4, 2012, In : A Brush With Life 

My blog is not much of a real blog. I’m not signed up with one of the cool blogging sights, I don’t have any advertisements, and I don’t even have a comment thingy besides facebook link. I do it as a place to share thoughts with friends and anyone who cares to know more about me, why I act the way I do, why I think the way I do, why I paint what I do.

I’ve been told that to have a successful blog you need lots of followers, you need to post at least once a week, you need to create a...


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A New Way of Seeing

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Sunday, June 24, 2012, In : All About The Eyes 

Sight. Sometimes we don’t notice when our spiritual sight is dimming, but we always notice when our physical eye sight grows worse. Our spiritual vision can dim very slowly. It can happen so slowly, we might not realize how we don’t take time to do the things we need to fill our soul anymore; how we let the things of the world come between us and things of eternal value, until we are figuratively blind. Then we sit there and wonder how things got so bad in our lives.

I started having pro...

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Hope and Healing....In Ward Choir?

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Monday, March 12, 2012, In : A Brush With Life 

I’ve been surrounded by music my whole life. My dad is a band teacher and a piano tuner, my grandpa wrote music, played the guitar and harmonica Dylan style before there was a Dylan. The highlight of every Christmas Eve was the family talent show and sing-along. All of this naturally led me to become….an artist. Right, I know. But you have to understand, as much as I love music, I also have a pretty serious problem with performance anxiety. Piano lessons were fine, but since I never figur...


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What Makes A Woman?

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Tuesday, February 28, 2012, In : A Brush With Life 
 

I’ve been here before. When I woke up in the ICU after having my son, Nathan, and found out that I no longer had a uterus I went through a long process of dealing with the fact that my reproductive powers were no longer under my control. And, hey, if you don’t have a uterus any more, well, you think about what it means to be a woman.

This brings up the question; who decides what it means to be a woman? Society and my religious views have very divergent thoughts on what it means to be a...


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Valentine's Day Then And Now

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Friday, February 10, 2012, In : The Art of Painting 
It's that time of year again. Valentine's Day. First of all, I have a problem with all the candy now associated with every holiday. When I was a kid, candy was a big deal. If you got candy in your valentine, the kid that gave it to you was probably rich. If my family was feeling splurgy we'd get a bag of candy hearts to add to our valentine cards. I would painstakingly go through each heart, making sure that the right message went to the right person. Couldn't have that kid with the sweaty ha...

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"CHAIR"ity Event

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Sunday, January 29, 2012, In : The Art of Painting 
          If you're a "creative" of any sort, you know. People are always asking you to do things for them. Create something, sing something, sew something, paint something--for free.

Maybe people think that creating is such a bliss that I'd better be glad to do it any time for any one for any amount? How many surgeons get asked on a regular basis to perform a boob job, "just to be nice and help a girl out"? Probably not very many. Now I'm a pretty nice person, and I'm always glad to help frie...
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The Studio Tour

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Wednesday, January 18, 2012, In : The Art of Painting 

 
                                                    
 
So it took me about 2 weeks to spiff up the studio for this tour. I tend to be a bit of a hoarder and messy when in the midst of a project. I went through stacks of papers, stowed things in closets and placed my junk on shelves in artistic arrangements. I vacuumed eraser dust, charcoal, gold leaf flakes and spider webs out from behind the desk, scrubbed the floor and the baseboards.The bathroom in the studio is the only place in our house ...
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Arts To Zion Artist Studio Tour in St. George, Utah

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Sunday, January 8, 2012, In : The Art of Painting 
  
   My studio has been chosen to be part of the Arts To Zion Studio Tour! This is something new and exciting for artists and art appreciators in the southern Utah area. It's like a parade of homes kind of tour, but with the opportunity to peek in the private home studio of ten artists and ten public galleries. 
     With their ticket ($10.00) attendees will receive a numbered map of the private and public locations. After enjoying their tour, tickets with at least five home studios and five g...
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Christmas Chicken

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Saturday, December 10, 2011, In : The Art of Painting 
Here's the latest from my celestial chickens series, Three Candy Canes.  Watercolor, acrylic, gold pigment and gold leaf on 150 lb cold press watercolor paper.         Merry Christmas!



 





 

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Think Before You Speak

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Friday, December 2, 2011, In : The Art Of Adoption 
Our family was built like this, two older boys, the old fashioned, biological way and two younger boys the new fangled, open, transracial adoption way. As one laughing observer put it, "you've got one of every color", so pretty much every where we go, everyone knows that we're a little different. 
It's been almost 5 years since our first adoption, so you think by now I'd be used to all the unwanted attention, the stares and the questions. For the most part I have found that people are just cur...
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About Frankincense

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Friday, December 2, 2011, In : DoTerra Essential Oils For Health 
Ancient ritual usage and modern research confirm that frankincense has relaxing effects on the human body including uplifting mood and heightening awareness.  These antidepressant properties can be achieved through various diffusion techniques and topical application including various forms of massage.  This oil is also well suited to help with skin conditions.  It is a mild oil that in most instances can be applied directly, if necessary.  Help with acne to wrinkles, cuts and wounds to reduc...
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The Art of Writing

Posted by Kirsten Beitler on Monday, November 21, 2011, In : A Brush With Life 
I used to be a writer. I kept a journal, I wrote poems, I filled notebooks with thoughts, dreams, and rants. And then I stopped. 

I think life just got to be a little bit too much. Things became too hard to write about, it took too much energy to translate the feeling into words, and I just stopped. 

Every so often I'll be sharing some bit of my life with a friend and they'll say, "Kirsten, you should write a book about that." I'm still not keeping a journal any more, and I often regret that. A...

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A Little Introduction...


Kirsten Beitler I am an, artist, teacher, florist, and single mom of four boys, not necessarily in that order depending on the day! This blog is about things that interest me and. things I can't keep my mouth shut about; art, relationships, friends, kids, teaching, adoption, chickens, divorce, therapy, life...
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All text and images on this blog are my property unless otherwise noted. Please, be respectful.   © Kirsten Beitler

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All images unless otherwise noted are the property of Kirsten Beitler. For information on purchasing an original piece, please email thedrawingroomstudio@gmail.com