Articles

Kimberly Cannon’s handmade journals are ideal gifts for the writer, poet, doodler, diary keeper or traveler. A variety of high-end gift shops, bookstores, and museums now carry her work. “I have so many different lines; ‘Hopscotch and Penny Candy’ is my line of children’s images, ‘Potluck Dinner Folks’ is my food line, ‘Note-te Girls’ are my fashionable journals. I’m transitioning into art licensing now. I’d like to design lines of children’s clothing, dinnerware sets, or wallpaper. My dream is to show my work on Oprah.”

Ms. Cannon, a sassy, charismatic woman with dancing dark eyes, a jazzy voice, and vibrant fashion sense, left her full time job at the Hartford Seminary two years ago, in order to pursue more imaginative endeavors. Her handmade jewelry, greeting cards, notebooks, cookbooks, and photo albums exploded into a vast inventory, and a small business Images by Kimberly was born.

Setting up a show at Joe Beans Coffee, a hip New Britain coffee house, Ms. Cannon wears bright African beads around her neck, and rings made of seashells. She describes her love of whimsical, surrealistic art. “I’m a city person. Growing up in downtown Hartford, I loved people-watching and drawing caricatures. When I was twelve or thirteen I took a workshop at the Wadsworth Atheneum, and was so inspired by Magritte and Dali.”

During her teen years Ms. Cannon was hired as a fashion model, and later worked as a makeup artist for Channel 30 and CPTV. “My work in the fashion world certainly influenced my designs. I began creating illustrations for beauty salons and hair stylists.” Friends hired her to design wedding invitations, bridal albums, and personalized notebooks. Corporations invited her to create murals. “I had to leave my job at the Seminary when I realized the opportunities with my art were limitless. I’m a millionaire!” She laughs, “the check just isn’t in the mail yet.”

Customers can purchase Ms. Cannon’s work directly from stores, namely; New Britain’s Joe Beans Coffee, One of A Kind Workshop in Manchester, Tapestry Rose in Rocky Hill, The Spirited Hand in Avon, Reflections Bookstore in Bloomfield, The Gathering Place in Hartford, Crandall and Daughter in Manchester, The Hartford Seminary Bookstore, The New Britain Museum of Art and the William Benton Museum at UCONN Storrs.

Article by Sara Shea
Artistic Fx Magazine
June & July 2003