From trails to textiles: Artist’s resilience shines in UK HealthCare exhibit

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 1, 2025) — For more than a decade, Kris Grenier has pursued her passion for backpacking, a hobby she fell in love with while earning her undergraduate degree in environmental studies at Transylvania University.

Grenier was hooked on the hiker’s high after her first trip with a group of young scientists in a summer research program.

“There were 12 aspiring young scientists and me in a farmhouse in the middle of the woods in New Hampshire,” Grenier said. “We did research all week long, and on weekends, we had nothing else to do except hike the high peaks nearby. I’d never been in the mountains like that before, and I fell in love with them on our first hike.”

After learning about backpacking — hiking and camping while carrying all necessary gear in a backpack — Grenier knew she had found a lifelong passion.

“Since that time, I have spent most summers out in the woods and logged 9,200 miles backpacking,” Grenier said.

But some of those summer adventures were interrupted, forcing Grenier to spend more time at UK HealthCare than on the trails.

After graduating from Transylvania University in 2011, Grenier set off on the Appalachian Trail, completing 400 miles on her first backpacking trip.

In 2013, her plans took an unexpected turn when she began struggling with her health.

“When I was 23, soon out of college, I moved to New England for an AmeriCorps service year. While serving in the environmental field, I got sick,” Grenier said. “It derailed any plans I had, and I spent months in bed.”

After months of recurring illness and medical testing, Grenier returned to Kentucky, where she was diagnosed with Lyme disease.

Lyme disease is an infection caused by the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi and is transmitted to humans through the bite of infected ticks.

Even after receiving the diagnosis, Grenier’s health continued to spiral. She experienced extreme fatigue and kidney trouble and struggled to recover. The remitting illness led to multiple medical appointments and consultations with specialists at UK HealthCare.

“Going through all that so young made me really question what we are here for and how we can make life meaningful,” Grenier said. “I started thinking about how to make the most of the time I have here.”

Grenier found herself at home on her family’s rural Kentucky farm, battling chronic illness and facing an uncertain future. Unable to work a traditional job due to her health, she sought new ways to spend her time indoors instead of on the trails.

“My family had a small flock of pet sheep, so we had some wool around the house, and I had all my photos from my hikes,” Grenier said. “It was an experiment. Suddenly, I was sitting there with this wool, these memories and a lot of time. I started thinking, what if I could take these memories, the photos and sketches I have, and turn them into artwork?”

That’s when she discovered a new passion: felting. This art form involves manipulating wool fibers into shapes and designs.

“I started the way a beginning painter might copy the work of masters to learn — I felted a ‘Starry Night,’” Grenier said. “It all evolved from there. My first feltings were featured in a show, and I was welcomed into the art world. It began as an artistic experiment, but it has grown into a fine art practice.”

While at University of Kentucky Albert B. Chandler Hospital, Grenier was drawn to the artwork on the walls. The hospital’s art was more than decoration — it became a source of inspiration and a reminder of beauty and creativity beyond doctor’s appointments and medical tests.

Each day, Grenier focused on taking life one step at a time, finding joy in simple moments and not giving up on the life she wanted to live.

She often found inspiration through the words of poet Mary Oliver: “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”

That quote took on new meaning for Grenier. Over time, she learned to balance maintaining her health while doing what she loves.

In 2024, the UK Arts in HealthCare program heard about Grenier’s felting artwork through Lexington nonprofit arts organization Arts Connect. After seeing her pieces, UK Arts in HealthCare manager Jason Akhtarekhavari knew her work needed to be exhibited at UK Chandler Hospital.

“After speaking with Kris a few times and meeting her in person, I quickly realized that she has a very kind and beautiful soul,” Akhtarekhavari said.

He asked Grenier if she would like to have her own exhibit at the hospital, and she agreed without hesitation.

In January 2025, Grenier’s exhibit, “Wild and Precious,” opened in the halls of UK Chandler Hospital, bringing patients a sense of peace and hope.

“I knew I wanted to have a show at UK. Patients are often in a stark and sterile environment,” Grenier said. “I want my art to feel like a tether to a world of beauty, normalcy and life outside the hospital, just as other artists in the Arts in HealthCare program once did for me.”

The exhibit was inspired by Grenier’s personal experiences and hikes, including the Pacific Crest Trail and the Camino de Santiago. It also features feltings from Kentucky’s long trail, the Sheltowee Trace. Her work explores identity and personal experiences, connecting them to the natural world through memory and emotion.

“Despite health challenges, Kris has achieved so much and created these beautiful and inspiring works of art,” Akhtarekhavari said. “The fact that she uses wool from her family’s sheep to create landscapes inspired by her long journeys is so unique. It’s this combination of aesthetically beautiful art and Kris’ journey that makes for a truly impactful exhibit, perfect for a health care setting.”

Grenier’s goal is for her artwork to be something hospital visitors can connect with, just as she did as a patient.

Although chronic illness remains a part of her life, thanks to UK HealthCare and her creative outlet, she is living a balanced life she loves.

“I’ve made a life that I don’t need to recover from, but I’m careful not to add too much stress,” Grenier said. “I balance and schedule very mindfully to make sure I have the energy to prepare and time to recover.”

Grenier’s exhibit will be on display at the UK Chandler Hospital Chapel Gallery through April 30. Patients, families, providers, staff, students and community members are invited to visit anytime to explore the exhibit. More information about the exhibit and where to find it in the hospital can be found here.