Kyle Fokken
Biography for Kyle L. Fokken
Born: Clara City, Minnesota 1966.
I grew up in a small farming town on the Great Plains in West Central Minnesota.
There were no theaters, bowling alleys, or arcades, just a creek to catch crayfish and minnows. There was a lot of pressure to conform and was a difficult place to be a imaginative person. So, I escaped by burying myself in books, model airplanes and drawing.
When I graduated from high school I went on to what was expected of me in my social class – to learn a trade. College was for the wealthy and the culture is to discourage you from straying too far. I enrolled at a technical institute under the guise of studying electronics, which I didn’t take to very well. It was then that a friend observed me always drawing and advised me to register for art classes at the adjacent community college. While there, I visited the St. Cloud State Campus with my drawing professor, which led me to study art full time. After 5 years of putting myself through school, I graduated with honors with a BFA in Ceramic Sculpture and an Emphasis in Business. I was the first my paternal family line to graduate from college since stepping off the boat from Europe. After many years in the mortgage industry, loads of volunteer work, and a little international travel for seasoning, I am finally back to doing art as a full time endeavor thanks to my savings and my lovely wife Heather who is my greatest supporter and sounding board. We have two wonderful children, a boy and a girl. Kasjen who is a real delight and inspiration for my work is 5 years of age and our little girl Anika who is just over 2 yrs of age.
All those experiences living in a farming community, being close to machinery in a town where there wasn’t a lot to do, is what led me to be an artist. I think that your creativity soars when you have to make do with what you have and find ways to entertain yourself through your own imagination.
Kyle L. Fokken
www.kylefokken.com
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