Kansas City Leader Clarissa Knighten – Innovator & Influencer

[00:00:00.120] – Virginia Huling
Hello again, everybody. This is Virginia here with the KC Leaders Podcast. And today, my fantastic
guest is Clarissa Knighten with Rissa’s Artistic Design. She is one of Kansas City’s latest sparkles that
has started to shine in the fashion and jewelry world. We’re going to be talking about a lot of her
artistic pieces, and I’m just going to trail off because I don’t know where I was going with that
statement. Sorry, Devin. Yeah, so we’re going to jump into that. Clarissa, welcome to the show!

[00:00:54.370] – Clarissa Knighten
Thank you for having me. Glad to be here. Okay.

[00:00:56.950] – Virginia Huling
Would you tell us, for our audience members, where can they find you?

[00:01:01.300] – Clarissa Knighten
Yes, you can find me. I’m Clarissa Knighten. You can google me at any time, rissasartisticdesign.com,
social media, Facebook is the same. If you go to Instagram, it’s Rissa’s, R-I-S-S-A-S, underscore,
artistic, underscore, design. You could even call me 816-853-9954. Anybody can call me. My number
is out there. But yeah, that’s it.

[00:01:30.030] – Virginia Huling
So tell me, who were you in the corporate world? What world did you come from? Because I think it
was marketing.

[00:01:38.770] – Clarissa Knighten
So my job was in the marketing department. But I actually paid broker commissions. I paid the
brokers that sold the insurance for the people.

[00:01:52.110] – Virginia Huling
Okay, all right.

[00:01:53.350] – Clarissa Knighten
Without me saying the name of the company.

[00:01:55.170] – Virginia Huling
No, that’s fine. I was just curious what your background was.

[00:01:57.790] – Clarissa Knighten
So my background is finance. And again, I was responsible for a little over $8 million a month in
payouts.

[00:02:07.140] – Virginia Huling
Wow.

[00:02:07.830] – Clarissa Knighten
Yes, one person. That was me.

[00:02:10.930] – Virginia Huling
That’s a little bit of stress.

[00:02:12.140] – Clarissa Knighten
It’s a little stressful. A little stressful. And when I left that department, it had become a department of
four or five. But that was just like my previous job. When I first started with the company, I was in
billing, Department of One. When I left that department, a year later, it was a department of nine. Wow.
Yeah, exactly. That’s a big change. It’s a big change. But for me, I’ve always been good with numbers.
And so I fell into that because I don’t have a college degree. I don’t have a background in that. But my
boss at that time did it for 14 years, and she said she got burnt out about year 10. So at year 10, she
asked me, Was I okay?

[00:03:03.630] – Clarissa Knighten
She was looking out for you.

[00:03:04.380] – Clarissa Knighten
And she was looking out for me. I actually did that job for 14 years before I moved over to the IT
department. In IT, I was a quality analyst. So everything they dealt with, basically, commissions from
my old job, ran through the warehouse. I was just from one side of the team to the other side of the
team. But I could speak both languages of the IT world and the layman marketing world.

[00:03:30.920] – Virginia Huling
You were one of the unicorns.

[00:03:32.790] – Clarissa Knighten
I was the unicorn. I was a unicorn by all means. That’s what I did. I did that for 19 years.

[00:03:40.240] – Virginia Huling
And then… Art.

[00:03:42.850] – Clarissa Knighten
Art. My jewelry started in 2007, which is the same. It’s ironic because I started jewelry in July of ’07. I
cut my hair off in September of ’07. So all of my clients, jewelry clients, unless they knew me before,
they’ve never seen me with hair at all. Right. So it’s like, Who I am. That’s why I said trying to find that
artist vibe.

[00:04:10.170] – Virginia Huling
They found the artist vibe.

[00:04:14.040] – Clarissa Knighten
They found the artist vibe. Yeah. Just trying to re-make who I am because one of the bios that you
probably didn’t see was a recent one that another artist and I wrote. I left corporate America one
pants suit at a time.

[00:04:32.550] – Virginia Huling
Nice. I like that one.

[00:04:33.750] – Clarissa Knighten
Because I had over 200 suits. I would have suits and dresses every day. That’s what I was
comfortable in. When I transitioned six years ago to being a full-time artist, I kept all the suits. When I
first transitioned over, I kept all the suits. I gave a couple of way here, a couple of way there, just in
case it was like a crutch saying, “Just in case this artist thing doesn’t work for you, you don’t have to
go back and buy a whole new wardrobe”. It was my safety net. Yeah. Then I finally said, No, you’re not
going to go back. Regardless of what happens, you’re not going back. So let go of that part of you.

[00:05:18.110] – Virginia Huling
Sounds like it was just your cocoon. It’s not a crutch.

[00:05:21.900] – Clarissa Knighten
It was my safety. Those suits were my safety.

[00:05:26.600] – Virginia Huling
Yeah. Well, it was a world that you knew.

[00:05:28.790] – Clarissa Knighten
Absolutely. Absolutely.

[00:05:30.160] – Virginia Huling
All of a sudden, you’re in doing your own thing. You’re in a whole other craft in terms of the art world.
You’re creating jewelry, which is incredibly subjective at the same time. And you jumped into your own
business. So you’re calling the shots and-

[00:05:50.510] – Clarissa Knighten
Everything.

[00:05:51.410] – Virginia Huling
That is a whole-

[00:05:52.180] – Clarissa Knighten
Everything.

[00:05:52.680] – Virginia Huling
No wonder you went for the whole visual rebuilding.

[00:05:57.090] – Clarissa Knighten
I just had to. And I loveI love my dresses. I love my boots. Wear them all the time. So much so that
this one just came back from Henry down at Overland Park to repair because… Why are my feet
getting wet all the time?

[00:06:13.710] – Virginia Huling
Did you get them re-soled.

[00:06:14.720] – Clarissa Knighten
I had to get them re-soled! Because who flips their boots over to look at the bottom?

[00:06:20.830] – Virginia Huling
You don’t.

[00:06:21.640] – Clarissa Knighten
You don’t. But when you’re wearing them all the time, I think you should.

[00:06:25.340] – Virginia Huling
Yes, definitely.

[00:06:27.100] – Clarissa Knighten
I went through, I bought, I don’t know, 10 or 12 pairs of Chucks because I love Chucks too. Now,
before I didn’t, so I was wearing Chucks a lot with my jeans and Chucks with my dresses and Chucks
with whatever. I’m like, Okay, who… I’m still defining who I am, redefining who I am. But this vibe right
now with the glasses and the boots and the jeans, I’m feeling it. These jeans are about to get pimped
out. Awesome. I’m putting embroidered patches all over them.

[00:07:05.080] – Virginia Huling
Are they part of your designs? Like your jewelry designs?

[00:07:07.480] – Clarissa Knighten
Not yet. Going there. Going there!

[00:07:12.410] – Virginia Huling
You carry it very well.

[00:07:14.400] – Clarissa Knighten
Thank you.

[00:07:14.700] – Virginia Huling
You look very comfortable in your artist’s skin.

[00:07:18.330] – Clarissa Knighten
Thank you.

[00:07:19.550] – Virginia Huling
I think that’s very enviable for a lot of artists. I want to move that into just from that realm. In one of
the articles I read about you, it was talking about you being a role model. And nobody likes to think of
themselves as a role model. We’ve been taught not to be proud of that. But for so many, and I’m
coming at this really from the art angle, you all who are listening, there are so few, I think, role models
for artists who are trying to be… They’re trying to be something. They’re not quite sure who. They’re
trying to find their voice, they’re trying to figure all that out. And then we’re trying to tell them to turn
that passion into a business. And there’s a whole other skill set around that. So when we talk about
the Kansas City leaders, you really fall into that category as somebody to look towards. And that’s not
the pressure or the stress. But how amazing it is for this community up here. There’s so many artists
up here to have somebody in their backyard to look to you and say, She did it. How did you do that?

[00:08:40.270] – Clarissa Knighten
That’s a lot.

[00:08:41.260] – Virginia Huling
It is a lot.

[00:08:42.020] – Clarissa Knighten
It is a lot. The first time that I was called a mentor, I wasn’t ready to hear that. I was not. But when I
stepped back and thought about what he was saying to me, I am because I was in corporate America,
and I enjoyed, loved my job, enjoyed what I did immensely. Then you transition to doing this art, and I
don’t know where it’s going to go. I think it’s here, but then I meet someone and expands here, and
then I meet someone, they’re like, Oh, I just quit my job. I’m ready to do my art full-time. I’m ready to do
this. I have to say, Wait a minute. I was prepared financially to do it because I didn’t have any debt
other than our basic card home. No credit card debt. I tell people all the time, look at your finances
before you make that leap. Start planning toward it now. If you think you want to do it in five years or
next year, what in your life can you cut out? Can you trim back your eating out? Can you trim back
here? Because once you make that leap, you’re in it. And do you want to go back? You want to go
forward? I’m an open book, and I think that’s why people call me a mentor. I’m an open book. You ask
me a question, I’m going to be transparent with you and tell you exactly what my struggles were, what
I went through. Health insurance. No health insurance. It’s on topic. No health insurance. You get
insurance. It’s too much. You have to let it go, come back. All of these things. You’re your own
marketing. You’re your answering service, you’re everything, researcher. I think it’s just because I’m
very authentic and I’m very open, you can ask me anything, and I’ll give you my honest opinion. Might
not be the one you want to hear, might not be what you’re ready for now, but it’s in your wheelhouse
for when the time comes. I do have artists stop by and ask me, again, that door-knock, that shoulder
tap, Can we talk? Not right now. You can schedule the time to take to talk to me because that’s an
interruption- breaking of my flow. I had a designer call me yesterday or sent me a message, can we
talk? I said, We can talk at 08:00 AM tomorrow. I’m not sure about 8:00 AM. We can talk at 8:00 AM
tomorrow. Other than that, I’m available in October. Respect my time.

[00:11:38.160] – Virginia Huling
You put a lot of work into it. I don’t know what’s happened but good for you for protecting that. It
works for you.

[00:11:46.890] – Clarissa Knighten
I didn’t always protect it. I got into a rat race of just running with everything anytime someone called
or I felt like I had to stop and talk every single time because I didn’t know where it was going to go.
Well, now I know that what’s meant for me is going to happen, and this might not be the time.

[00:12:06.260] – Virginia Huling
What was the moment for you where you saw that vision just go and clarify? You’re like, It’s time for
the jump. Was there a moment, or was it a planned process?

[00:12:23.590] – Clarissa Knighten
I left corporate in 2017, so about 2012, so that would have been five years prior. My supervisor at that
time had left. She had been there 20-somewhat years, moved to California with her husband. And
she’s like, Of course, you got to get out of there. You’ve got to get out of there. I said, I’m not going to
do it. You can’t do this. This is “cush”! I’m not going to do that. I’m not ready. She says, There’s
something bigger for you. This is not where you need to be. It took me all these years to find that out.
For me, I knew I was supposed to leave. God had already showed me that I was supposed to leave. I
just wouldn’t listen. Things start happening. He’s like, I’m going to show you, Clarissa. He pushed me
out. Department of 8, who gets let go on a Monday? Who gets let go on a Monday? Our entire
department was outsourced on a Monday morning. I was the first one. We all met as a group and
we’re told. I was the first one that they talked to because I had 19 years of service. But there are
people that had 28 years of service, too. But why did they talk to me first? It’s because of the influence
that I had within different departments within the company. That moment that we were let go, I never
shed a tear that we were let go. I helped other people, and it’s going to be okay, whatever the case is.
It wasn’t until I got home and called a friend and told her what had happened because she had just
asked me to come work for her. I told her, No, I wasn’t ready to leave. It was that moment that I said,
when they pushed us off the door and I said, I’m not going back. I’m going to make this work. Then as
things lined up, it was the first time that I was able to do Kansas City Fashion Week.

[00:14:40.000] – Virginia Huling
Yes.

[00:14:41.070] – Clarissa Knighten
By doing that show, it opened up so many doors for me.

[00:14:44.990] – Virginia Huling
Which was amazing, by the way. I saw some pictures.

[00:14:47.690] – Clarissa Knighten
Yeah. It opened up some doors for me, and it led to another fashion show that landed me getting a
ceiling piece, a permanent installation in the museum. Each thing has been stair-stepped onto on the
other. I can’t say what it was exact moment, but I can say that I recognize when I’m in a transition and
I’m in a transition right now. I don’t know where it’s going, but I know that I’m in the moment.

[00:15:20.660] – Virginia Huling
Okay but knowing that you’re in it lets you navigate those waters differently.

[00:15:26.340] – Virginia Huling
Yeah, absolutely.

[00:15:27.220] – Virginia Huling
You’re not struggling against it so hard, but you could see where it takes you. Clarissa, tell us how you
ended up in Kansas City.

[00:15:36.960] – Clarissa Knighten
Short story?

[00:15:38.730] – Virginia Huling
Short Story.

[00:15:39.270] – Clarissa Knighten
My parents divorced and we came to Kansas City.

[00:15:42.920] – Virginia Huling
That’s a short story.

[00:15:43.720] – Clarissa Knighten
That’s a short story.

[00:15:44.690] – Virginia Huling
Okay, but you stayed here.

[00:15:46.100] – Clarissa Knighten
I did.

[00:15:46.740] – Virginia Huling
What were your reasonings behind choosing to stay here?

[00:15:50.820] – Clarissa Knighten
Well, after high school, I had an apartment here and working at my son, and I left to Kansas City at
that time because I figured I was running. I was running and got a job, and the job in retail sent me,
transferred me to Kansas City, literally.

[00:16:14.110] – Virginia Huling
They called you back.

[00:16:15.660] – Clarissa Knighten
I came back here. Okay. Yeah. It’s just nothing exciting, but that’s just what it is.

[00:16:22.050] – Virginia Huling
No, everybody’s got to come from somewhere. This is your origin story. What brought you here? What
made you stay, more importantly?

[00:16:29.650] – Clarissa Knighten
What made me stay is, again, my family. I have family here, and the Midwest is just comfortable at
that time. Didn’t know it. I was in my 20s and had my son, and then I got married and his family was
here.

[00:16:46.580] – Virginia Huling
It’s a good place to raise family.

[00:16:47.940] – Clarissa Knighten
Yeah, it does.

[00:16:51.610] – Virginia Huling
So you’ve made some waves here as a jewelry designer and an artist, I would say, because I’ve seen
your pieces, and this is not like commercial typical jewelry. These are statement, artistic pieces. They
bring in a bunch of different mixed media. I saw some that have wire coils mixed with shells, mixed
with different coins, different wood pieces, really beautiful pieces. How did you get into that? Because
you came from the corporate world.

[00:17:27.800] – Clarissa Knighten
Right.

[00:17:28.320] – Virginia Huling
Now you’re here and you are… You are establishing yourself as THE artist.

[00:17:33.550] – Clarissa Knighten
I started off doing just a simple strong necklace. I used to go to the city market, in downtown Kansas
City, every Saturday morning, and I would sit with this jewelry artist because I was buying her work.
Then one day she said, You really need to do this, and I’m not going to sell to you anymore. You need
to make jewelry. I’m like, Whatever. I sat with her for another year every Saturday morning, and she
wouldn’t sell to me. But at the same time, I was in therapy, and my doctors wanted me to do
something different with my hands because I battle with depression. I went to the market with her, a
gym show. I bought one strand of beads. I was intimidated because there was so many people and so
much going on. I strung the necklace. Then the next week I went back and she said, Now, here are the
tools that you need to buy. And I bought them and I started. And then she became my client. And then
I don’t know what happened to her after that. So I think that she was in my life for a specific reason to
get me started. But it wasn’t until six years ago when I started designing full-time that I let go. And I
say I was able to exhale and start creating from my heart of what I wanted to create. At that time, I
started riding bikes. I’m a full-time artist. How do I get some more money coming in from different
areas? So you’ll see, when you look at my work, you’ll see bike chain pieces.

[00:19:16.630] – Virginia Huling
I have seen some of those.

[00:19:18.040] – Clarissa Knighten
Right? Yeah. Open up the bike chain and put a stone in and put it back together or use some of the
bike pieces in with buttons and found objects. Again, it just happens. My sister child, my girlfriend,
Cherie, challenged me with the tree branch and was like, Do something with this. And next thing you
know, I have the ceiling piece at the Kansas City Museum.

[00:19:40.600] – Virginia Huling
And that’s what got you in with the Kansas City Museum.

[00:19:42.830] – Clarissa Knighten
A tree branch piece that came down the runway for West 18th Street Fashion Show.

[00:19:47.560] – Virginia Huling
That’s right! I saw the one with the antler the lady was holding, and I know there was a lot of different-.

[00:19:54.750] – Clarissa Knighten
So that particular series, I did a runway series, and it was all earth related tree branches and deer
antler that was sliced. And matter of fact, I delivered a deer antler piece today to a client, a very large
piece. And again, you said, Statement, and they are their works of art. I tell people, if you think that you
can’t wear my work, it can be displayed in your home as art.

[00:20:23.300] – Virginia Huling
Yeah, you definitely get that piece. I mean, looking at them, these look like museum quality pieces that
would be mounted and hung or displayed in certain ways. Yes. Did you always see yourself as a
jewelry maker, creative person?

[00:20:40.060] – Clarissa Knighten
I wanted to be an architect.

[00:20:41.630] – Virginia Huling
Okay.

[00:20:42.870] – Clarissa Knighten
Then after architecture, my high school was all mapped out. I wanted to be an architect. I was going
to go to the Colorado Springs, the Air Force Academy because my dad’s Air Force. Then from there, I
was going to do this. If I couldn’t be an architect, then I wanted to be a draftsman. None of that. But
now I’m coming back to it. Yeah. Even as a little girl, I think… Not I think, but in high school, I made all
my clothes. Oh, wow, really? On Saturday night, on Saturday night, I made an outfit for Church on
Sunday almost every week.

[00:21:20.110] – Virginia Huling
That’s incredible.

[00:21:22.050] – Clarissa Knighten
I thought maybe I’d go into fashion. I thought no more about it until someone was talking to me about
this this summer, and it dawned on me… “Clarissa, you have been a designer- all your life. Architects
are designers, and draftsmen- designers, sewing is a designer, creating my own outfits, taking
patterns apart and putting them together-”

[00:21:52.710] – Virginia Huling
Yeah, that’s hard to do.

[00:21:53.760] – Clarissa Knighten
-as a designer. And so jewelry. Jewelry is what came about.

[00:21:58.150] – Virginia Huling
Why jewelry for you? I know you said you wanted to do something with your hands, but there’s lots of
things. You could have painted, you could have sewn, crochet.

[00:22:08.140] – Clarissa Knighten
I’m a charcoal artist, too. I don’t show charcoal because I used it for a number of years with therapy
because I have nightmares a lot, so we used my charcoal sketches to help me through that and got
away from it. I’ll sketch every once in a while now if I’m really struggling with something or just to
doodle. But jewelry, I think just because I needed to keep my hands busy and that was something I
could do to keep me busy. I would go places like, right now I have my backpack with me, and in my
backpack, back in case I was uncomfortable, I have wire and a crochet needle and tools here that I
can work while we talk.

[00:22:54.230] – Virginia Huling
For those of you who aren’t watching this but instead are just listening, I want you’re going to go to
Clarissa’s website. It’s Rissa’s Artistic Design and it’s rissasartisticdesign.com. And check out some
of the pieces because they’re made… just go check it out, okay? They look like sculptures. It’s
awesome, and you can wear them. You’ve got a different series. Like you said, your Bike Chain one,
you’ve got a Found series, you’ve got some, I think they were the Gallery collection. When you’re
looking at creating these, are you coming at this from a I want to make this and bring it into the world?
Or are you inspired by pieces that you see and it creates itself with you? Does that make sense?

[00:23:44.650] – Clarissa Knighten
That does make sense. I am-

[00:23:51.000] – Virginia Huling
What’s your process?

[00:23:51.270] – Clarissa Knighten
I had all this wire, copper wire given to me for a project that I was doing, and I was stripping the
plastic off of this wire and untwirling it. If you don’t know, this electrical wire has like 12 or 13 pieces
of copper laying in it. I stripped it all off and put it together. Well, from that, I had all this extra copper.
What are you going to do with it? Create something.

[00:24:19.230] – Virginia Huling
Make something pretty with it.

[00:24:19.840] – Clarissa Knighten
Make something pretty with it. Make something pretty with it. Make something pretty with it. That’s
what I would do. I fell in love with tree branches, and then I found several people that have a
corkscrew tree branch and Henry ladder tree branch, which is a tree branch that grows very curly. It
has lights and knobs and it’s left, and it’s right, and it’s intertwined. Make something small and
wearable. You have your runway, your big stuff. But make something that I could wear every day if I
wanted to. I look at things that I have, how can I put it together in a beautiful statement?

[00:24:59.180] – Virginia Huling
You seem to be doing a lot of that with paying it forward in some of these arenas and in helping to
shape the community around you. In terms of your personal experience here in Kansas City, is there a
specific lesson or something that has shaped your perspective in your career?

[00:25:26.240] – Clarissa Knighten
I’m going to go back to shaving my head.

[00:25:30.250] – Virginia Huling
Okay, that is a big one.

[00:25:32.470] – Clarissa Knighten
I’ve been a big advocate for an organization everybody’s heard of. It’s called Locks of Love. Yes. Been
around a long, long time. I would stop people at work in corporate America and on the street walking
and ask them, Your hair is absolutely gorgeous. Have you ever thought about donating some of it to
Locks of Love? I start researching it as an African-American-American woman, we don’t donate our
hair. And in order for them to make a wig from my hair, it had to be at least 10 inches. That was going
to take it down to the scalp. In March of 2007, I said, I’m going to cut my hair. I told my husband at
that time, I said, I’m going to cut my hair, I’m going to donate it. He’s like, Okay, whatever you’re going
to do? I found a barber that I wanted, and he was on board with it. I said September first. I just picked
a date, random pick to date, September first. I cut it September first. I say, When you talk about
organizations and giving back, I found an organization that I could give back to. I encouraged people
for years to donate, but I wasn’t donating. I wasn’t doing it. I needed to do it to show my giving spirit.
Since then, I found out that there is organizations with cancer patients that I couldn’t have given it to
locally. Okay, that’s education, that’s awareness. I just feel like in a community, we find what we’re
passionate about and give back and help people find what they’re passionate about. If you’re
passionate about cleaning shoes, there’s a senior, there’s an elder that can’t bend over to clean their
shoes or to tie their shoes. Go do it for them. Find a way. And Kansas City has so many opportunities
for us to just engage and help one another or just talk. Sometimes people just need somebody to
listen to them. They don’t need any answers or guidance. They just need to talk it out and hear
themselves and be confident in it.

[00:27:55.070] – Virginia Huling
That’s one of your core values, isn’t it? It’s listening more, talk less.

[00:28:00.760] – Clarissa Knighten
Listen more, talk less.

[00:28:02.000] – Virginia Huling
How did that show up for you? Why is that an important lesson? I mean, everyone says it, but how
does that manifest for you as something that’s valuable and important?

[00:28:15.400] – Clarissa Knighten
I’ve always been quiet until something hits me and I’m really excited about it, and then I’ll talk nonstop. But when you listen to other people, you find out, one, where you’re not, areas that you can
improve upon. And then you find areas within yourself that you have something within your core that
can strengthen them. Or for me, because I battle with depression, you might be talking to me about
your sister, your brother that’s bipolar, schizophrenic. And I give you two little words that will help
change the whole trajectory of your relationship with that sibling or that child. If you just listen and let
people talk, take in what they’re saying, if it’s something that you need to keep, then you deposit in
your toolbox. If it’s something for someone else’s toolbox, you give it to them a little bit later on.
That’s the way I look at it. I hope that answered your question.

[00:29:18.320] – Virginia Huling
You absolutely did. That’s a great way of looking at it. There’s no right or wrong answer to any of
these. There’s so many different people on the planet that we’re just… I think you have to take in a lot
of different things and for people to understand how the options that they have and how they want to
lay their life out, you have to be able to look at what all is out there. If you can’t see it or if you’ve never
been exposed to it, or if you don’t go looking for it, then there’s no wrong answers out here.

[00:29:48.400] – Clarissa Knighten
Yeah, be intentional. I say that’s one of the things I like to say is be intentional. Be intentional with
everything.

[00:29:56.240] – Virginia Huling
That has come up a lot just in this conversation. Since you sat down and we started talking, I’m
hearing the intentional a lot.

[00:30:02.980] – Clarissa Knighten
Intentional. I am all about intentionality and where it’s going, what it can do for me, and it causes me
to pause. What’s your cause to pause? Okay. Yeah, what happens? What’s your cause to pause?

[00:30:22.450] – Virginia Huling
How is it that risk is artistic design and that intentional purpose that you bring to the table? How is
that helping to make Kansas City a better place to live and work and be?

[00:30:34.820] – Clarissa Knighten
Because it’s bringing people together that would normally not be put together.

[00:30:38.350] – Virginia Huling
Okay, talk to me about that.

[00:30:41.160] – Clarissa Knighten
Where my studio is at InterUrban ArtHouse, downtown Overland Park, 19 studios, great atmosphere. I
intentionally have clients come to my studio and meet me there because I have a couple of other
studios as well, or places that they could meet me at. But I have them come there because it’s an
experience. They get to see not only me and my element, but depends on the timing, they get to see
another artist in their element, artists that are retired and now full-time artists, artists that have always
been artists, artists that are working in the corporate America and have a studio in the evening and
they’re putting in their hours, they’re doing their work, they’re getting their stuff done. I’m bringing
people together that normally would pass may not ever cross. Or here’s a good one for you. I met a
gentleman via phone. He says, I’ve been looking for you for a year, Clarissa, to do this ceiling sculpture
in Pittsburgh, Kansas. We meet, we talk, we become great friends. Last week, he and his partner went
into Swanky’s interior design, where my work is also at. One of the owners knew his partner. What are
the odds of them coming in, knowing me, and they all meet together, and these guys go back 15, 20
years. I never thought of myself as a connector of people, but I am a connector of people. I have
people that are connectors from a spiritual aspect, but I think I’m an entrepreneurial, culture, artist,
connector- because I have all kinds of relationships with different people.

[00:32:48.610] – Virginia Huling
I think it’s interesting that through art, you’re able to attract… The variety of people could be 100
different types of people, and they all love your art. It’s something about your art that’s the same in all
of them. That thread-

[00:33:08.420] – Clarissa Knighten
It’s the thread. Yeah. It’s the thread. I met a lady in studio yesterday, came to buy a gift for someone
that’s a client that I met in person for the first time this summer. It was the extra step because right
now in society, there’s no more customer service.

[00:33:28.770] – Virginia Huling
Oh, we have talked about this a lot.

[00:33:30.610] – Clarissa Knighten
There’s no more customer service. She came to my studio. She sent me a mess, a beautiful email. We
arranged time for her to come in. She came in. I had a feel for what the person wanted anyway from
things that she had been buying from my website. I showed her a few items. But prior to that, I had
already told her in the message that she said, I need to get in the mail next week as her birthday. I
said, Bring your card with you. We’ll package it, and we’ll drop it in the mail. My studio is right next
door to the post office. She came in, she picked something out. She watched me wrap it up. I said, Let
me just plug in her address. I already had her address because I’ve shipped stuff to her. I said,
Where’s your card? She put her card in there, and we taped it up. She said, Well, I’ll run it to the post. I
said, Oh, I got it. You can go ahead and go. I got it. I’ll just walk it over here. Again, that was my first
time meeting her. She’s coming back the first part of October to purchase another birthday gift and
start looking at Christmas presents.

[00:34:38.230] – Virginia Huling
You got a true believer.

[00:34:40.070] – Clarissa Knighten
I have a new thread, a new follower that’s going to share her experience in my studio with someone
else. So internet, all that is great, but word of mouth is still the most powerful tool that there is.

[00:34:57.590] – Virginia Huling
What are some pieces of advice you have for some of our listeners, some of those entrepreneurs who
are looking to maybe make the jump?

[00:35:08.010] – Clarissa Knighten
For the entrepreneurs that want to make the jump, want to make the leap, look at your lifestyle, look
where you can trim back, put yourself in uncomfortable situations.

[00:35:23.430] – Virginia Huling
That’s a good one.

[00:35:25.520] – Clarissa Knighten
Put yourself. I would go to art shows a lot. Very uncomfortable. But I go to them to learn and go with
the focus to learn. I would say, even if you’re not an artist like me, but if you have a passion, you want
to start this new business, I’m going to say, surround yourself with the people that you want to be like.
Meet those people. If you don’t know them personally, follow them on social media, listen to podcast
like this to get to know other artists, other people, other entrepreneurs doing what you want to do. And
even if it’s not what you exactly want to do, you can still pick up from them. So basically, I’m just
saying, definitely meet people.

[00:36:17.080] – Virginia Huling
That’s hard to do, though, sometimes. It is. I was at a networking meeting this morning, and one of the
things the guy talked about was every day it is hard to go into that door and go, Hey, I’m so and so.

[00:36:32.140] – Clarissa Knighten
Because you’re vulnerable.

[00:36:33.820] – Virginia Huling
Yeah, absolutely. It’s terrifying.

[00:36:35.350] – Clarissa Knighten
You’re vulnerable. And they could either look at you and receive you well or not.

[00:36:39.970] – Virginia Huling
Yeah.

[00:36:40.550] – Clarissa Knighten
I mean, as a woman of color, I’ve walked in many rooms and not been seen. Not been seen. So now
it’s like, you’re going to see me because you see my glasses, you see my bald head, you see my
cowboy boots. You see there’s something different. Yeah. There’s something different going on. Who
is she? I want to know. I walk into rooms all the time and say, I want to know who that person is. But I
also play a game. Can I tell you a game?

[00:37:12.000] – Virginia Huling
Tell me the game!

[00:37:12.670] – Clarissa Knighten
The game I play to for those that are uncomfortable in networking, uncomfortable in networking,
everybody that has on a blue shirt, you have to speak to them before the night’s over. Every person in
that room that’s blonde, you need to speak to them.

[00:37:34.730] – Virginia Huling
That’s a good game.

[00:37:35.480] – Clarissa Knighten
Introduce yourself to them. Before I walk into a room, if I’m really having anxiety about going, before I
walk in there, I pick out a shirt or shirt color or hair color or hair color, pants, whatever, before I walk in.
Because once you get in there, you can make it out.

[00:37:54.720] – Virginia Huling
Yeah, you can’t fudge it.

[00:37:55.600] – Clarissa Knighten
I can’t fudge it. So before I go in, I say, This is what I’m going to do. And that has helped me, as an
introvert, extrovert to do it. And then you get to know people.

[00:38:08.760] – Virginia Huling
That’s a much better game than I want to try and collect X amount of business cards. There’s
different ways to do it and different applications apply to different people.

[00:38:20.770] – Clarissa Knighten
Right, absolutely. But having an opportunity for something different is always nice, too.

[00:38:26.410] – Virginia Huling
Absolutely.

[00:38:27.350] – Clarissa Knighten
Or going into a fashion show, you think everybody’s friendly in the fashion show. That’s not true. And
you’re standing off. You see someone standing off by themselves. Go over and talk to them. It’s like
that Wallflower of the school dance. You don’t want to be a Wallflower, but you don’t want to jump out
there either. Let me help you. Let me go find you. That might be my game for the day that I’m going to
go find that person, and then we’re going to together go find somebody else that’s by themselves.

[00:39:06.960] – Virginia Huling
There was a quote that I read about you that said your hope is that excuse me, your dream is that
when somebody owns one of your pieces and they pass down your creation to their children, that they
pass along a story of hope. Could you talk on that just a little bit or just touch on that? Where does the
hope come from? What is the story you want people to have with that art piece?

[00:39:43.730] – Clarissa Knighten
What I create…

[00:39:52.620] – Virginia Huling
I’m sorry.

[00:39:53.010] – Clarissa Knighten
That’s okay. Sometimes I create from a very… I don’t want to call it dark, I create from a place of pain.
I survived. I want them to know that she stepped on faith, stepped on her faith, and worked her
passion, and so can you. So can you. No matter what it is, no matter what it is. If your passion is that
you want to be the best wife that there ever has been, then do that. In my work, when others hold my
work or carry my work, I want them to know that they’re carrying a part of me, a special part of me.
Because I no longer, as of this year, prior to this year, I will admit I created work to sell because I’m
single. I need income. I have a studio. I have this. I have that.

[00:40:57.740] – Virginia Huling
It’s okay. It’s part of a business!

[00:40:59.780] – Clarissa Knighten
It’s part of a business. I created a cell. But now in 2023, I decided to create with intentionality, I only
create things that I love. If I don’t love it, I set it aside. I don’t show it. I might break it apart. Before, I
would never break apart work. I have put too much time and money into this piece. I am not breaking
it apart.

[00:41:22.870] – Virginia Huling
You’re creeping into artist’s territory.

[00:41:25.310] – Virginia Huling
This is that space where you really get to explore and take some actions that really fly in the face of
what a lot of people would tell you to do.

[00:41:36.200] – Clarissa Knighten
Right.

[00:41:36.940] – Virginia Huling
Good for you!

[00:41:38.220] – Clarissa Knighten
That’s what I want. I just want people to know that this artist didn’t go to college. She was not
professionally trained. She was in corporate America, and she’s working her passion, and she’s doing
well. I want my story to be shared. And she battles with depression, and she battles with the eating
disorder. I think not a whole lot anymore, but I’ve had struggles. Part of the package. And it’s the
package, and we all have struggles. We all have them.

[00:42:16.080] – Virginia Huling
I think that’s a really important message. I don’t want to say valuable, but there’s so much of a culture
of you can’t do it or you have to hustle to do it. You got to work. But I think for me personally, I think
some of the most poignant art pieces are the ones that you look at and they make you feel
something. Maybe they make you cry and you’re not quite sure why.

[00:42:43.410] – Clarissa Knighten
Right. Not sure why.

[00:42:44.520] – Virginia Huling
Maybe it’s the beginning of The Lion King every single time. I don’t know why it happens, but it does.
But it does! And it’s curious. What is that in me that’s coming out? And to share that message of hope
and build that little piece of you into that is is something that I think is so human and often so lost
that I don’t know that a lot of people even ever get to connect to it in that way. So for me, I think that’s
a really beautiful piece about this is that what you’re creating while it’s jewelry and it’s art and it falls
into that, it also can help shape how the person presents themselves.

[00:43:25.260] – Clarissa Knighten
Absolutely.

[00:43:25.850] – Virginia Huling
It moves through the air and that’s power.

[00:43:29.690] – Clarissa Knighten
One of my things that I say often is, if you don’t want to talk, don’t wear my work. If you need to talk,
want to talk, wear my work. Because as an introvert, people have a lot of introverted customers,
clients, and they’re like, Clarice, every time I wear you work, I give you a business card out. I need to
talk to… I’ve got to tell them where your website is because they’re stopping me. I said, That’s a good
thing. That’s a good thing that you’re drawing people to you. Because sometimes I don’t want to go
and talk. I don’t want to go, but make them come to me. That’s what my work does.

[00:44:16.610] – Virginia Huling
That’s amazing.

[00:44:17.180] – Clarissa Knighten
My work is conversations.

[00:44:18.890] – Virginia Huling
Yeah, that’s some amazing stuff.

[00:44:21.130] – Clarissa Knighten
You said, miniature sculptures, and that’s what I always called them. Just recently, another artist told
me, Those are studies. Those are called studies, Clarissa. I said, I’m not a painter, so I don’t know
what it’s called, studies. I call them sculptures.

[00:44:29.940] – Virginia Huling
I think they’re beautiful.

[00:44:31.370] – Clarissa Knighten
Thank you.

[00:44:32.020] – Virginia Huling
Years and years ago, I had a friend who liked to make chain mail jewelry.

[00:44:38.460] – Clarissa Knighten
It’s an art.

[00:44:39.350] – Virginia Huling
It’s an art! It’s a cool thing.

[00:44:41.330] – Clarissa Knighten
It’s an art, tedious art.

[00:44:43.240] – Virginia Huling
And I saw tiny remnants of that in one of your pieces with the shells and the blue coils. I was like, Oh,
there it is. There’s that little potential that blossom into what you’ve picked up and you’ve done with it.
So I have fond over your art long enough. I’m sorry. Let’s come back to, is there an initiative or a
project either within your career or outside that you’re particularly proud of or that you want to share
with our audience?

[00:45:14.910] – Clarissa Knighten
Initiatives.

[00:45:16.470] – Virginia Huling
What is it in your life that people need to know about? What’s going to make them better people?

[00:45:21.800] – Clarissa Knighten
Make them better people is to come to InterUrban ArtHouse and support all of these artists that are
there. Okay. All these artists. There’s a lot… A lot to see there. Come check that out. With me, it is just
following me on social media on my website, get on my email list. I send the email out once a month,
just letting people know what I have going on, what I have coming up. Sometimes I have videos like
this podcast, whenever I get it, it will be embedded into one of my newsletters, so it would go out to
the clients that way.

[00:45:57.820] – Virginia Huling
Awesome.

[00:45:58.260] – Clarissa Knighten
I don’t have anything. I applied for a couple of residences. I did not get them. But guess what? It’s
okay that I didn’t get it because it wasn’t meant for me and those that I applied to, I sent a thank you.
And I sent my package to a couple of artists that get them all the time, asked them to review it. I can
just keep trying. Yeah. I don’t know. People always also ask me, What’s my next step? I don’t know.
Okay. I don’t know because whatever doors, God, opens up for me, it’s where I’m going to go.

[00:46:36.960] – Virginia Huling
You said earlier, you recognize you’re in a position where you’re transitioning and you’re looking at
windows, it sounds like.

[00:46:44.460] – Clarissa Knighten
It will be art. It will definitely still be art. It’ll definitely still be wearable art and jewelry. But I love
sealing, sculptural work now. Think of a light fixture hanging from your ceiling. Because when you go
in the Kenesley Museum, that piece is actually a couple of feet down, like a foot down from the
ceiling, but it’s ceiling work. I have a client now that wants me to do a small version of that on her
ceiling. That’s awesome. Awesome. That’s awesome. I don’t know where it’s going to lead, but I’m
open for it.

[00:47:26.260] – Virginia Huling
Have you ever seen Dale Chihuly? Oh, my gosh. Come on.

[00:47:29.250] – Clarissa Knighten
The glassblower. Oh, my gosh. Come on, the glassblower. Yes, Chihuly.

[00:47:31.430] – Virginia Huling
Who makes giant fantasy ponds on the ceiling? Who knew where you was going to go with that? So
you’ve got a whole world open.

[00:47:40.060] – Clarissa Knighten
To you. I’m only 55 in a couple of weeks. So I got plenty of time.

[00:47:44.050] – Virginia Huling
Yeah, but now you’ve got experience. Now you know what to do with it.

[00:47:46.560] – Clarissa Knighten
Yes, I do.

[00:47:48.070] – Virginia Huling
That’s cool.

[00:47:49.600] – Clarissa Knighten
And I’m forever learning too.

[00:47:51.440] – Virginia Huling
Well, and you’ve got one of the things that I really loved about Kansas City coming up here. There’s a
huge artist community. Yes. You’ve got a lot of people and opportunities that you can dig into and
connect with here. What are some of the things that you see on the horizon for the city itself? There’s
a lot of stuff going on right now with the stadium controversy, who’s going to go where? But in terms
of a city and its potential, what does that look like for you?

[00:48:23.990] – Clarissa Knighten
Well, I just like the fact that Kansas City is so open to entrepreneurs. Regardless of what your job is,
they’re open to entrepreneurs. We have a very supportive community. You’re seeing, for me, there’s
always going to be box stores out there, but you’re going to see more mom, pops come back, I think.

[00:48:51.720] – Virginia Huling
Yeah.

[00:48:52.260] – Clarissa Knighten
And at least trying it.

[00:48:54.680] – Virginia Huling
I hope so.

[00:48:55.170] – Clarissa Knighten
At least trying it. It could be a collaborative effort of several businesses coming together. But I don’t
really know the pulse of that because I spend so much time in studio. I can’t really say. But I just know
that we’re a very supportive community to local.

[00:49:15.850] – Virginia Huling
Yeah, and sometimes that’s enough. Just having that there and some of those support pieces. How
do you approach collaboration? And fostering unity within this community?

[00:49:33.260] – Clarissa Knighten
I’m collaborating with an artist right now. He’s a found objects artist. He does all types of work. On
October 20th at the ArtHouse, we’re going to have three pieces of work on models, on pedestals. One
is a skirt made out of paper and a paper necklace. That’s just going to be incredible. You’re going to
be blown away in a jacket. So I approach collaboration with what I meet for me, because of what I’m
doing, when I meet artists and get a feel for them, just talk to them and see what are you thinking. I
have about four collaborations going on right now, but the one in October 20th will be the first one
that actually comes out.

[00:50:32.800] – Virginia Huling
Is that going to be at your studio?

[00:50:34.080] – Clarissa Knighten
It’s going to be at the studio. Okay, so I’m going to make sure we get that. Yeah, at InterUrban
ArtHouse. But one of the things for me when I approach collaboration, it doesn’t even have to be
within the arts. It could be with a different foundation to see how I can support them. I consider those
collaborations as well.

[00:50:56.840] – Virginia Huling
Absolutely. That’s really cool. What’s your favorite one to work with? Wait, let me take that back. I
can’t ask that question.

[00:51:03.180] – Clarissa Knighten
Don’t do that.

[00:51:03.990] – Virginia Huling
I can’t ask that question.

[00:51:05.010] – Clarissa Knighten
Please, I wouldn’t answer you.

[00:51:06.080] – Virginia Huling
No, that’s not a fair question. Okay.

[00:51:08.530] – Clarissa Knighten
I am going to do some of the different is here, come 2024, because I have donated works of art to so
many organizations, and I’ve compiled my list, and then I have a client that does a lot of community
service work. She’s getting a list. We’re going to put those two together, and I’m going to have a client
come in and draw from it. Beautiful. So it’s not necessarily, Okay, this is what Clarissa always does.
Guarantee that she’s been donated to this organization. There’s so many organizations that are
deserving. I’m going to do things, change it up a little bit.

[00:51:48.730] – Virginia Huling
Okay, so we’re going to see you in a lot more spaces, maybe where we haven’t seen you before. That’s
exciting. That would be exciting. Because that’s going to open up a whole new wash of eyes.

[00:51:58.620] – Clarissa Knighten
A whole new door and a few new eyes. Yeah, these are new eyes.

[00:52:05.000] – Virginia Huling
For you, Carissa, what’s one of the things that you love most about Kansas City? What’s your go to
happy thing about this city?

[00:52:16.010] – Clarissa Knighten
My go-to happy, happy world of Kansas City is all the parks and trails that we have. Really? That is my
thing because I love to walk. We have some great trails. There’s one, Line Creek, that is an amazing
trail that will take you up on the other side of 152 Highway here in Kansas City on the northland. All
the way down past the Argoie down into Parkville. Oh, wow. And Parkville, Missouri. It just takes you
all these different places that you would never know. Wow. It’s the trails here. Okay. I’m always finding
a new trail, a new path to walk either… I haven’t rode my bike much this summer, but- It’s a bit hot.
-finding the trail system here and then picking up… Oh, that sounded really bad. But picking up
somebody on the trail to talk to.

[00:53:15.760] – Virginia Huling
Yeah, I loved you with that. Yeah, you meet people out.

[00:53:21.990] – Clarissa Knighten
Pick them up.

[00:53:23.580] – Virginia Huling
Similar interests here.

[00:53:26.490] – Clarissa Knighten
Yeah, oops! But I really think that for me and Kansas City, just finding the new restaurants is always
fun. And oh, I never heard of this restaurant. Let’s go support them and check them out again just to
see the growth of Kansas City and what we’re doing and the potential. And it’s like… Yeah. I can’t
explain it.

[00:54:00.770] – Virginia Huling
It’s nice to be in a place that does things, that’s moving and the changes that-

[00:54:06.060] – Clarissa Knighten
You can see it.

[00:54:06.900] – Virginia Huling
-evolves and grows and adds to. It’s a yes and.

[00:54:09.990] – Clarissa Knighten
Right, yes and accessible.

[00:54:14.490] – Virginia Huling
Exactly. We found an Ethiopian place. Is it called Blue Nile? We haven’t got to try yet, but I’m like, it’s
an Ethiopian place.

[00:54:24.230] – Clarissa Knighten
It’s good!

[00:54:25.940] – Virginia Huling
It’s just something that, unless you’re in the city, you don’t always get access to that. And then you
never get to meet those people or make those connections.

[00:54:35.240] – Clarissa Knighten
Right.

[00:54:35.370] – Virginia Huling
All right. So I’m going to use this as a great segue into our favorite barbecue place. Best barbecue in
Kansas City?

[00:54:48.440] – Clarissa Knighten
There’s this controversy out there of all kinds of places, but I’m going to have to go with what my guy
likes, and that’s LCs.

[00:54:59.730] – Virginia Huling
Okay, LC’s.

[00:55:00.400] – Clarissa Knighten
LC’s Barbecue.

[00:55:01.450] – Virginia Huling
LC’s Barbecue. All right, we’re going to add that to the bingo card. So really, this is just… We’re just
using this as a mask to make a barbecue documentary. We’re just gathering everybody’s opinions on
the favorite barbecue places, and then we’re going to make a documentary and just eat our way
through the city. No, I’m kidding. One of the guys that helps edit the podcast was up here for a couple
of video projects. Go ahead. I know. And he’s like, I’ll volunteer, I’ll eat whatever.

[00:55:36.010] – Clarissa Knighten
So yeah, LC’s Barbecue, they’re burnt ends. Okay. That’s what I’ve heard. And that’s what I would say.

[00:55:45.380] – Virginia Huling
Okay, that’s a good answer. How do you… I’m sorry, let me do this one instead. Are there any local
leaders or influencers in Kansas City that inspire you? Who fires you up?

[00:55:59.820] – Clarissa Knighten
Dr. Nicole Price. Dr. Nicole Price is the author of Spark the Heart. It’s the Empathy Revolution.

[00:56:10.420] – Virginia Huling
Okay. Great.

[00:56:12.660] – Clarissa Knighten
Kansas City local, Kansas City homegrown.

[00:56:14.910] – Virginia Huling
All right.

[00:56:15.640] – Clarissa Knighten
Yes! I had another person just briefly. She is a powerhouse in the Stems community, and that’s
Keysika Brothers. Okay. She’s an engineer, and she’s always innovative in doing things with kids and
staring them toward that- Yeah, we need that. -and Stems. Yes.

[00:56:43.220] – Virginia Huling
We need that a lot.

[00:56:44.300] – Clarissa Knighten
We need that. We need that. We need that a lot. Those are two women that I am looking up to right
now.

[00:56:54.760] – Virginia Huling
What role do you hope to play in the future of Kansas City?

[00:56:59.680] – Clarissa Knighten
You know when the In Kansas City Magazine came out and Katie Van Linten gave me a call and said
that they want you for fashion, I’m like, Right. I am an innovator and influencer. Really? Wow. I don’t
know how to answer that. I don’t know.

[00:57:25.500] – Virginia Huling
Okay. Next time we interview, we’ll do a reflect back on.

[00:57:31.080] – Clarissa Knighten
A reflect back.

[00:57:31.860] – Virginia Huling
And you’ll get to go, I didn’t know the answer then, but I know the answer now. I’m just going to plant
that little seed there. Let you work on that for a year or two.

[00:57:42.870] – Clarissa Knighten
Let me chew on that for a couple of years.

[00:57:45.690] – Virginia Huling
Would you recommend any local events or organizations or places that people should know about in
Kansas City?

[00:57:51.880] – Virginia Huling
Of course! I want to tag InterUrban ArtHouse. My studio.

[00:57:55.090] – Virginia Huling
Okay, come by. And that’s open to the public?

[00:57:57.550] – Clarissa Knighten
It’s open to the public. 8-0-0-1 Newton, downtown Oakland Park. I mean, it’s not… It’s Kansas City, but
it’s all Kansas City. It’s all Kansas City. That and definitely anything in the Crossroads anything down
there. Another local business, Birdy’s Lingerie. Okay. Heribon Honik is an incredible artist and owner
of that space. And it’s down the Crossroads, too. Okay.

[00:58:33.640] – Virginia Huling
Thank you.

[00:58:35.700] – Clarissa Knighten
You’re welcome.

[00:58:36.350] – Clarissa Knighten
Thank you for that. And thank you for your time for coming out.

[00:58:38.370] – Clarissa Knighten
You’re so welcome. You’re so welcome.

[00:58:39.870] – Virginia Huling
And with two crazy people who are just trying to share something awesome that they found.

[00:58:45.650] – Clarissa Knighten
This was awesome. This was so laid back.

[00:58:47.550] – Virginia Huling
I’m so glad you enjoyed it.

[00:58:49.020] – Clarissa Knighten
So laid back. Yeah.

[00:58:52.290] – Producer
Thank you for listening to the KC Leaders Podcast. Please remember to like, share, subscribe, and
leave a review wherever you listen. For more information about this podcast, you can visit
kcleaderspodcast.com. And don’t forget to check out our other great podcasts at The Buck Stops
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