WHERE DID THAT COME FROM?
- Shaune Fields
- Apr 10
- 3 min read
Updated: Apr 15
Discover more about artist Victoria Reed - featured in our permanent collection
“I, for one, believe that our flaws are what ultimately define our personalities. As such, I don't hide errors in my work, I embrace them.” Victoria Reed
My name is Shaune Fields. I am the part time Co-Assistant Director at the Charles City Arts Center, but I also work full time with preschool aged children. I’ve been with CCAC since August 2024.
In October 2025, I came across a few pieces here that really stood out to me. I reached out to the artist, Victoria Reed, to learn more about how these pieces were created. Read on to discover what I learned about her creations.
Back in 2009, the Charles City Arts Center added three pieces by Iowa sculptor Victoria Reed to its permanent collection—two crows and a tabby cat. They’re all made from clay and fired over a steel frame.
During her interview, Reed conveyed that as a kid, she loved sketching the animals around her. Later on in college, she didn’t always have a lot to work with, so she got creative—using whatever free or found materials she could get her hands on. A lot of it was trial and error, figuring out what worked and what didn’t.
Along the way, she realized something important: the “mistakes” in her work were actually what made it interesting. Missing pieces or more abstract areas seemed to pull people in.
As she puts it, mixing something familiar with abstraction gives people a way into her work. It kind of invites you to fill in the gaps yourself, like putting together a puzzle—only with endless creative possibilities.
This really speaks to me because I work with young children who are free to create something that’s truly their own. I recently read Your Brain on Art by Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross. The authors show that creativity isn’t just a skill—it actually shapes the way we think and perceive the world. When we’re kids, our brains are wired for exploration, for experimentation, for embracing imperfection. But as we grow, society often teaches us to color inside the lines, follow directions, and produce the “right” outcome.
If children can carry the knowledge that abstract and imperfect art is not only acceptable but powerful, we’re helping them keep their minds open, strengthen their creative thinking, and embrace their own unique way of seeing the world.
Case in point: the tabby cat piece actually originated from the pattern of the chicken wire that Reed used underneath. She wasn’t even sure it would hold up in the kiln, but when it did, it opened the door for her to try making something else. She chose birds. Her goal was to make the pieces feel real and believable, while still leaving parts out to remind you that you’re looking at something that’s both realistic and abstract at the same time.
Reed is also really interested in the idea of a “soul”—how something that isn’t alive can still feel full of life. She believes that when you really look closely at art, you start to understand the artist behind it—their thinking, their process, their point of view. She says our flaws are what really shape who we are, and she doesn’t try to hide imperfections in her work. Instead, she “leans into them, because they make the piece stronger and more meaningful.”
This is so powerful. Reed is essentially saying: embrace the messy, the imperfect, the unexpected—because that is where real creativity lives, where true originality sparks, and where art becomes alive.
These days, she’s branching out into new ideas, like life-sized metal horses. She recently finished one made of mirrored stainless steel and is excited to keep exploring that direction. I look forward to looking at her pieces when working with children, as well as adults, to remind them to embrace the flaws because “our flaws are what ultimately define our personalities.”
Victoria' Website here
Feel free to stop by the Charles City Arts Center—it's open Wednesday through Friday from 1–5 pm and Saturdays from 10 am–2 pm. You’ll find us at 301 N Jackson Street in Charles City, Iowa. Come check out these pieces in person!
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