Meet Good Hope Studios: Ceramics and Drawings by Kimberly Rumfelt and Blake Kennedy

We had the good fortune of connecting with Good Hope Studios and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Good Hope, what role has risk played in your life or career?
This question is appropriately timed. Recently, due to the ongoing pandemic and public health crisis, we have become a one-income household. Although, we hope this is temporary, it has forced us to re-evaluate priorities and provided an opportunity to consider the value of time. Plans were already in place to build a new studio space at our home before the onset of the current pandemic. After receiving notice that one of us would be furloughed we had to seriously consider the financial risk of moving forward with the building project. Ultimately, we made the decision to continue with the studio build. We now had the time to dedicate to doing the construction ourselves which allowed us to cut costs. Additionally, the building project gave us a positive goal to focus on and helped tremendously with maintaining mental health during a very stressful time. As the project nears completion and we prepare to start working in the new space, the risk of our decision is still very much at the forefront of our minds. There is much uncertainty about the future as a new normal starts to take form. However, we are confident in the investment we chose to make in our studio practice and will continue to take calculated risks as we work towards our goals.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Good Hope Studios is the result of our two studio practices coming together. We do each work on our own individual projects as well as together on collaborative series. The name, Good Hope Studios, has its roots in North Carolina, Blake’s home state and where Kimberly attended graduate school. Good Hope Drive is the name of the road where Blake’s grandparents built their home, and where his parents now live. The land there gives us feelings of joy, calm, and optimism. These are qualities that we attempt to weave into the work we make and the life we are actively building. As is true with any building project there will always be unexpected problems to solve and take longer than you anticipated. Here are a few of our most recent lessons we have learned while building our home studio. -Its easier to dig holes with two people. -It is okay if things are a little crooked. -If it was easy, everyone would do it. -Sometimes you need a day off. -Find as much satisfaction in doing the work as you do in admiring it when its done.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
We love living in San Antonio and always enjoy sharing it with our friends when they visit. Day 1: bike ride around downtown with food and drink stops at La Tuna, Freetail Brewery, and the oldest VFW post in the Texas, dinner is home made spaghetti and meatballs. Day2: starts with breakfast tacos from Abuela’s and then a kayak trip on the Guadalupe River, dinner is take out from Thai Dee. Day 3: starts with breakfast tacos from Abuela’s, then a walk in Hardberger Park with our pups, afternoon drinks at The Texan, and grilled pizzas in our backyard. Day 4: starts with breakfast at Pancake Joe’s, then we head north out of the city to Guadalupe River State park and spend the day hiking and swimming, dinner is take out from China Inn. Day 5: the last full day is spent tending to the bbq smoker, relaxing at our house, laughing, cold beers, good food, and trying not to think about how much we will miss them when they leave.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Our family and friends have been and continue to be a huge support system for us. We are beyond thankful for their unwavering encouragement, guidance, and love.