The Story of YOU: Meet Our Members: Gabrielle
Member Spotlight: “I just want people, all people to believe in their guts that they can do anything, the easy stuff — the impossible stuff and the stuff no one else wants to do, if it means you are a little closer to internal peace.”
Name: Gabrielle Krake
Age: 50
Lives: Boise, Idaho
Who are you? Answer that in any way that feels appropriate to you.
I come from meadows and mountains where dogs howl late at night to a smiling moon. My life was carved from the forests of the last frontier and doused in the light of the aurora borealis. I’d lived in 55 separate homes growing up. The first time I went to a dentist I was a teenager. The man with a shiny office and handfuls of sharp tools marveled at how it was possible to raise a child in such contrast to modern society and not have any rotten spots, nor a social security number or more than one pair of shoes. My mother was (is) an activist and a hippie; didn’t believe in government interference. So I grew up mostly off the grid. And that pristine space burned a notion in me about the wild things colliding with the machine molded things and how that relationship can inspire or terrify at any given moment. Looking closely at my work, from the very beginning, it has always asked, “how does the natural and person-made coincide, conflict, build-up and tear down? What does my own resistance or acceptance lend to this life of art?”
The threads woven into the tapestry of my life and work; the last 28 years have found me filling walls with magical lands, constructing mythical spaces to inspire children, exploring the depths of purpose through textiles, unearthing fears of commercialism and selling out. I’ve layered trash with glue until it resembles Art, raked soil into prize winning gardens and finally I stood in a few rooms that was once an elementary school I attended for 1/2 a term… 48 houses ago to get a BFA in visual art and design. I questioned why I was there, what I was going to make now, how I am perpetually compelled to lure myself in the game of creation. Nature and Person…
I make because I must.
I’m also a mama of four entirely home-schooled kids who all went to traditional colleges and daily, they utilize the freedom & creativity of who they truly are. They’re 25, 23, 22 and 21 years old. We tried our best to not impede who they were and are becoming continually. We had to step aside and not own anything that was authentically each of theirs and had nothing to do with either of us as parents. It’s an easy trap to feel like your children are complete reflections of you and that you want them to only reflect what you want or are comfortable with, when in fact, upon their first breath, we are simply caretakers. That responsibility weighed heavy on me to never over-steer or direct them to be a version of me or my husband, while keeping them safe and cared for. I couldn’t be more honored to be one of their parents. I learned more from them than I ever taught!!
When do you first remember feeling like/owning/identify as a grown ass woman?
Honestly, probably the moment I realized that it never mattered if anyone EVER took me seriously as long as I took myself seriously…with mirth and love and whimsey too.
What has been the impact of owning the fact you are a grown ass woman?
Utter freedom from the BS.
What is the first thing you do when you wake up? Do you have a morning routine or ritual?
I’m not a morning person, AT ALL. I like to spend it quiet with a glass of water and considerations about how the day will unfold. I usually wake up moments before I have to leave for anywhere. As a child I would put on my school clothes before I went to bed, so I could just stand up 5 minutes before school, brush my teeth and leave. LOL It made and still makes my mother insane!
What’s been the most valuable skill that you’ve developed in your life this far?
Flexibility, embracing change.
What is your greatest challenge at the moment?
Wresting with how I feel about the illness of my mother. We have had a difficult relationship. In recent years, we have found a tentative peace. We could not be more unalike and the years have piled on so many misunderstandings. Since having children and her becoming a grandmother, she has softened. She’s become an entirely different person but the residue of what I experienced is hard to lay aside. She is a force of nature, the strongest person I have ever known, her joie de vivre and glass shattering life was very hard on a sensitive only child. The relief I fear at her passing harbors far more guilt than I can imagine. I’m drowning in these feelings.
What’s been your greatest reward in the choices you’ve made to do this?
I just want people, all people to believe in their guts that they can do anything, the easy stuff — the impossible stuff and the stuff no one else wants to do, if it means you are a little closer to internal peace.
What is your greatest extravagance?
Watching as many movies in a row as I want!
What do you want to learn from a community of your peers?
Grace, kindness, true love and epic relationships
If you could share only one life lesson, what would it be?
This life is a blink of an eye, do not waste one moment.
Anything else you’d like to share or like us to know?
I’m extremely thankful for each woman here, for their bravery, tenacity and transparency.
Thank you, Gabrielle, for sharing your story with Dear Grown Ass Women™ and letting us get to know you.
To learn more and join our incredible global community of women over the age of 35 in our Dear Grown Ass Women™, head over to our site. We look forward to meeting you on the inside!
