Published by Canvas Rebel on January 1, 2024.
Transcript
We were lucky to catch up with Christy Olsen recently and have shared our conversation below.
Christy, appreciate you joining us today. What’s been one of the most interesting investments you’ve made – and did you win or lose? (Note, these responses are only intended as entertainment and shouldn’t be construed as investment advice)
On a hot summer’s day in 2015, a local artist’s guild in Tucson, Arizona, received an unexpected donation that changed everything. A non-profit organization called “Singles & Friends” decided to disband their organization after 43 years and donate their building and assets.
The Tucson Pastel Society (TPS), an existing 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, accepted the 1,832 sq. ft. open space building conveniently located at 1st and Grant. It was perfect for studio art classes and workshops. Soon after, TPS would call upon the community to help fund building maintenance and renovations to bring it up to city code.
A small group of artists with the determination and vision to cultivate the visual arts community of Southern Arizona stepped up to assist. They rented the building to teach adult art classes. Their program was well received, and more classes were requested.
In the spring of 2016, a mobile school was born called the Art Verve Academy with the mission to enable adults at any skill level to learn, create, or practice the 2D visual arts within a studio environment, community, or in-person setting.
It was the best investment I ever made regarding time, funding, and personal commitment! Starting into our 8th year, it’s been an enormous return on inspiration, creativity, and personal gratification.
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| Desert Mesquite, pastel over ink on paper, by Christy Olsen |
Christy, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I am a fine artist. My work has been shown in multiple juried exhibitions, galleries, and selected solo shows across the United States. I teach adult studio art classes at the Art Verve Academy. I am an active member of the local Tucson Arts Community and have also instructed multiple international art workshops abroad in Italy.
My most recent juried exhibition was at the Herberger Theater in Phoenix, AZ. My most notable juried exhibition was the Power of Pastels, exhibited in the Ironwood Gallery at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum, where I received an honorable mention for my work. I have also shown in juried exhibitions at the Porter Hall Gallery in the Tucson Botanical Gardens and the Best and the Brightest juried exhibition at the Scottsdale Artist’s School Gallery.
I was born in Memphis, Tennessee, as a third-generation artist and grew up within a family of oil painters who encouraged me to be creative. My family took me to multiple museums and notable art exhibitions that I remember affectionately.
My visual art skills developed from formal education, drafting, self-directed practice, experimentation, and tutelage under several contemporary masters. When most university curriculums did not offer representational or figurative arts in the ’90s, she chose to study the Old Masters via the classroom instead. She earned a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville in Art History & Anthropology.
I am also a member of the last generation of drafters formally trained to draw with pencil on vellum paper before computer-aided design software. My earliest professional drafting experience was architectural blueprints and technical drawings I meticulously drew by hand. I also successfully worked as a systems engineer and earned a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Computer Science from Arizona State University.
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| Saguaro on a Sunday, pastel over ink on paper, by Christy Olsen |
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
There are numerous aspects, but if I had to pick one, it would be the connections I create with others through art. Working alone in the studio can be solitary, but it doesn’t have to be. You can create with others or build an entire community around art with other artists or creatives, which enriches my life.
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| Saguaro on a Sunday, pastel over ink on paper, by Christy Olsen |
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
Yes, I always want to keep learning and growing. I’ve been a perfectionist for most of my life, but those days are over! I have since learned “how to fail” early and as often as possible. I have gotten used to working outside my comfort zone so I can take my work to the next level.
Reference
Wright, James (2024, January 18). Meet Christy Olsen. Canvas Rebel Magazine. Retrieved from canvasrebel.com/meet-christy-olsen-2 on January 18, 2018.
