About Kristy Worthen

Kristy marked out the larger areas she wanted cut away and her dad would cut them off with the chain saw. Then she would begin carving the rest away to reveil what was hidden beneath.

The eagle

The Bear

Kristy is working on the Indian.

Kristy's family gathers to admire her work.

The fish, frog and owl are close to complete.

The Bear and Indian are almost finished.

Now it is ready for the finishing touches.

Totem Pole Story
WHO WE ARE AS A FAMILY

Early Native Americans carved Totem Poles to tell their family history and their family stories. It was their way of passing their history to future generations. Animals and human figures were used to symbolize their family's history and traits that made up their family's personality.

By carving this Totem Pole, gives me a chance to tell my family history and my family's stories to keep alive who we are and what we believe in. My hope is that when people see my Totem Pole today and in future generations they will see we were a strong family, who stood up for what we believed in, we fought hard for dignity in ourselves and in others, we were individuals with strong, but different personalities, yet tied together with family threads to become one, we loved people, we liked to have fun, we were dreamers, we were intelligent, we were creative, we were brave and not afraid to soar with the eagles to make our dreams come true.

Stating at the bottom of the pole, the first totem on the totem pole is the bear. The bear is a symbol of strength. Being the first addition to the totem pole it has to be strong enough to hold everything else up. This symbolism fits all of my family. At different times, each of us has, had to be strong for each other. We have had to overcome some tough obstacles in our lives. There has been heart disease, cancer, diabetes, bipolar disorder and other illness in our family. We have stood strong against those illness and other obstacles that we had to face. Bears like to live in their own villages and as a family, we like to visit each other and do things together. Bears are also very intelligent and so is my family.

The next totem is of an Indian Chief in full headdress. My Native American Indian heritage goes back to the early 1800's. My Great, Great, Grandmother was a full-blooded Cherokee Indian, married to an Indian Chief. The feathers in the Indian Chief's headdress told of their bravery. My ancestors on both my mother's side of the family and my dad's side of the family has Indian heritage. Actually we should say Native American heritage, when Columbus found the new world, he thought he had discovered the West Indies and he called the people Indians, however he had discovered America and Native Americans but the name Indian stuck and my ancestors have been called Indians ever since.

Next is the owl, which is a symbol of wisdom. My family has had to make many decisions and hopefully most of those were wise decisions. Some we know were not wise and now we hope with more maturity and more knowledge that in the future all of the decisions in our life will be wise ones.

Frogs symbolize the bringing of great wealth and are strong survivors. I wish for my family and friends, great wealth and that they too would be strong survivors. I have been a strong survivor. I have survived two car accidents where I was thrown completely out of the car and slid down the pavement. I have survived other obstacles and situations personally and physically in my life.

Fish are a symbol of wealth, fertility and immortality. We put two fish on the totem pole to represent a wish of wealth, fertility and immortality for my family, my friends and my supporters. On the same ledge as the fish is a cross to symbolize my belief in Christianity. I know with God all things are possible.

The Eagle symbolizes intelligence, keen senses, inspiration, and freedom, to be able to soar and to protect one's own. Thus it is the last piece that we carved on the totem pole to preside over and protect our family members and to give us the insight that we can soar as high as we want, dream our dreams and be intelligent enough to find creative ways to make them all come true.

My family includes many people. My family at home consists of my mom and me. My Mom is an author and I am an artist. We frequently travel together with my art projects and our speaking engagements. We enjoy a lot of the same things, so it is always fun to go places together.

I have two brothers and one sister and a brother-in-law. My sister is not only my sister, but also my best friend. I know I can always count on her to be there when I need her. My brother-in-law calls me Sunshine and we pull jokes on each other and say all kind of silly things to each other.

I have two nephews, James and Robert, Robert is quieter and more reserved, he graduated high school in May of 2003. He is going to college to become a teacher and a coach. James is interested in sports and politics. He wants to be a politician when he graduates school and college.

Below are photos of the Totem Pole on exhibit at the Arkansas Museum of Discovery in Little Rock, Arkansas.

My mom and dad are divorced but we all still get along as a family. My dad and other mom also support my art projects and me. They came to visit me and helped with the totem pole. They were a big help with ideas and encouragement that I could achieve my goal in carving the Totem Pole. My Dad has always worked as a carpenter. He likes to make things with wood and he is very creative. His ability to work with wood was a real help in carving the totem pole.

One of my brothers lives in the same town as I do and he has been very supportive of me. He cut down the cedar log and debarked it. I always know I can call him and he will be here to help me. My other brother lives in New Orleans, when I was sick and not feeling well physically or mentally and not feeling good about myself, he was helpful in my ability to make me feel good about myself.

I also consider my friends and strong supporters as part of my family. I have many friends but some that readily stand out are Marietta Dantonio-Fryer and her husband Rik Fryer. They are the ones who invited me to work on the totem pole for "The Totem Rhythms Exhibit" that will be at the United Nations Building in New York in May of 2004. They have helped me tremendously in my journey through life. When I was struggling, trying to find myself and my place in the field of art, it was Marietta who gave me the self-confidence that I could become an artist and it has been her assistance along the way that has made those dreams come true. God puts people in our lives for special purposes and when He put Marietta and Rik in my life they have served a purpose that they don't even know they have served.

Another one of my strong supporters is Leo Hauser of Pfizer Pharmaceutical Company. Mr. Hauser has encouraged me in my public speaking and artwork. He has been very supportive by sponsoring me to different speaking engagements for my Mental Health Flag Tour and is now helping sponsor my Totem Pole to the United Nations for the exhibit in 2004. It is people such as Mr. Hauser who help me along the way, that not only make my dreams come true, but helps me to let others know there is hope and help for people who have bipolar disorder and other mental illness and that with access to the new lines of medication such as Zoloft, that I take to control depression, people can live happy successful lives, contribute to society and be an asset to their community.

Angelique Zeigler is a great friend and fun to be with as well as helping me with my professional life. Angelique has taught me that with patience, perseverance and creativity you can reach your goals, to reach for the stars and soar with the eagles and that if you have a big project, make it even bigger and share it with everyone.

Also counted as my friends and strong supporters are Dr. Paula Lynch who saw the good in me long before I could comprehend what life had in store for me. Lt. Governor Win Rockefeller and his wife who have befriended me and tirelessly worked to make a difference in my life.

I have countless other friends and supporters and they know I appreciate them. Because I have to keep the printed version short, please know, that those I didn't mention by name are in my mind and in my heart just as much as those I mentioned by name.