Meet Patti Reen

We recently connected with Patti Reen and have shared our conversation below.

Patti, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?

Funny you should ask because I didn’t realize I was practicing resilience when I was challenged to find my path each time, it was just a stubborn resistance to having my life upended by circumstance.
I became pregnant at age 15 and subsequently found myself facing motherhood at age 16. I dropped out of high school after the 10th grade and unknowingly married an alcoholic. I realized my mistake soon after and while getting a divorce I enrolled in a stenography course designed to assist low income single mothers. I graduated from this course the same year I would have graduated high school. I went on to obtain a secretarial position at my local city hall. Along the way in that period I was singing and playing the guitar as a hobby, and fate brought me a chance introduction to a guy 10 years my senior who thought it would be great for his image to become my partner and troop me around to parties to perform for his friends, eventually deciding he might ride my coattails to fame by becoming my promoter and sending me out into the professional entertainment world.
After that inevetibaly crashed and burned as I lacked the talent, time and drive, I snagged a clerk job working for General Motors in Flint (my hometown). Eventually I moved into the factory environment, and was swept up by upper management in an Equal Opportunity program to get women into manufacturing management. I became an inspection supervisior at the ripe age of 20 with 27 people in my department. My employees threw me a pizza party when I turned 21.

I met and eventually married a skilled tradesman in my plant and went on to have 2 more children. I became a stay at home mom at this point, and wouldn’t you know 8 years later, the husband died of cancer. This left me in a position of raising 3 daughters alone with no spouse, no income and no health insurance. Yeah….

I waited til the youngest was in school full time and taught myself to sew custom draperies through a friend I met at a part time job. I saw this as a vehicle to earn an income while working from home so I could continue to be present for my daughters. Two more long term relationships, many turbulent years, a few house moves, a couple of juvenile delinquent stepsons and a major freedom break later, I became an interior house painter through my decorating and remodeling contacts. When I realized my physical stamina would not hold out for as many years as I needed it to, I make a very difficult decision to sell my home, pay off all debts and enroll in college to become a nurse.

To my astonishment, I took to my education like a hungry animal and graduated with honors from the University of Michigan. I have been a nurse since 2009. My biggest and most recent full time job was as Nurse Manager of a brain and spine surgery clinic. So there, Universe!

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I have always used making art as a fall back connection to my own sanity and inner peace. While my kids were growing up they watched me go through many creative phases with sewing, quilting, primitive rug hooking, spinning wool on a spinning wheel and knitting. Always challenged for time around working and parenting, creativity became my mental escape to stay in touch with myself.

After becoming a nurse and stabilizing my life, I finally had some time and financial resources to purchase supplies. For my 60th birthday, I gave myself a gift by enrolling in a weekend beginners seminar at the Chicago Mosaic School. I really took to it and began making decorative mosaic art for my own home and as gifts.

Around this same time I found a book in the craft department at Barnes and Nobles about miniature Punch Needle Embroidery. Intriqued, I taught myself the technique through trial and error. My style began to evolve because most patterns in this type of craft/art are geared toward muted colors and to enhance interiors with antiques and primitive decor, and my art practice with both mosaic and punchneedle involve bright saturated colors.

Through a part time nursing position working in a Senior Independent Living facility, I met a resident who is an artist. We hit it off right away and I soon discovered she was also a rug hooker. Eventully I bought her equipment and supplies, and as a thank you I gifted her one of my punch needle pieces. Well she flipped over that and one thing led to another. She invited me to join a local art club, then she invited me to join a fiber art guild. Before I knew it I was invited to participate in a members only show at an art gallery in Saugatuck, which is a hotbed of art activity in West Michigan. We were allowed to enter 3 pieces and all 3 of my pieces sold!

I started spending a lot more time making my punchneedle and slow stitching art, eventually deciding to enlist my daughter Kelly’s help to make a website for me as a vehicle to sell my work. The next thing I know, I had an invitation from the local art gallery to participate in a Textile Invitational Exhibition. The work of 12 artists went up on January 10 and will be on display till March 1, 2025. I’ve already had an inquiry from an art collector who saw my work at the gallery and wishes to add one of my pieces to his collection!

I am winding down my hours as a working nurse now so I can focus completely on my art. Soon I will be adding small home decor mosaics to the website. I’ve been thrilled about the reception and praise I’ve gotten from other artists that I’m now involved with, leading me to understand and have it confirmed that I am not wasting my time, and that others who admire art appreciate my work. I look forward to having my work displayed in more shows in 2025.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

First of all, the drive to create is the baseline. I really feel that if you love what you do and you do it with passion, it comes through in your work.
Second, it helps if you have a natural affinity toward using and working with tools if what you make involves tools.
Third, gaining knowledge about your chosen medium through purchasing books, taking classes, and somehow being involved with other creatives through guilds or clubs is very helpful. Developing an ability to let ideas bubble to the surface is something aquired over time, and exposure to what others are doing is really helpful–both from a standpoint of collecting ideas, but also by affirming that you are not alone in your passion to spend time making art.

There is no substitute for practice. Practicing your creative medium is how you become solidly skillful in what you produce. Having the time for that is key. Having uninterrupted blocks of time to focus on what you love helps a lot. Also, keeping track of how much time you have invested in a piece as well as how much you spend on materials to create a given piece is important. I hear it over and over again that artists really struggle with pricing, and I can attest to this myself.

What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?

Reaching a wider audience and potential buyers of my art creations is probably my biggest struggle. Joining the Saugatuck/Douglas Art Club and the Lakeshore Fiber arts guild opened exposure to my work considerably, as I never would have been invited to participate in local gallery shows or art fairs without this connection.

I have learned along the way that having work in a gallery also involves giving the gallery a commission for displaying/selling your work. This makes it more difficult to sell art at a profit. Otherwise, you are basically working for free and perhaps making back your supply investment.

Also, having a well put together website with the ability to sell work utilizing a payment method such as Square is essential. Hardly anyone carries cash with them anymore. And if you don’t have a walk-in brick and mortor location, which is expensive and time consuming, having an online presence is your connection to an audience looking for the type of art you create. I am fortunate to have someone in my life who understands and uses an online platform, who knows how to use search engine optimization, and who has taught me how to go into the back end of the website to edit text and put new items up for display and sale. Having a professional looking website is key if an online presence is your goal.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://pattireenart.com
• Other: Holland Arts Council
  https://www.hollandarts.org/Holland, MI
  Textile Invitational Exhibition Jan 10 till March 1, 2025
  (events page on the website)