Jamie Hansen: Everything sounds better with music.

The music-themed art was something that I started in college 20 years ago and picked back up this past year with passion.  Like a conductor wildly swinging my arms, caught in a fury and a flow state with the music, I maniacally created dozens of brilliantly colored compositions. They are about my search for place and my struggle to define my role in my home and my community.

I was excited this Sunday to reveal the artwork that I created to support our church's worship theme, God at the Center.  The theme will tie in with most of our biblical studies for the year.  I'm excited to focus on this year's theme: I can already feel it guiding my choices as I carve my past as an artist and small business owner. I hope that my art will provide a visual anchor point as the congregation considers this year's theme.

I'm so excited to bring my work to Seneca to show at Loblolly Arts.  Visit the gallery on Ram Cat Alley to find unframed prints, mounted prints, and a few original artworks by me. See original musical pieces, a variety of mounted prints, and cards and small prints of my work at Loblolly Arts.

Two Octaves is one of the most recent pieces completed by Hansen, a member of the Anderson Artists Guild. It features a 1925 Cunningham grand piano gifted to her family by her husband’s aunt and transported to their North Carolina apartment in 2001 with financial assistance from Hansen’s grandmother. The couple brought it with them when they moved to Anderson.

If you've been by the Anderson Arts Center, you might have heard beautiful music drifting up from the bottom level of the old brick building.  Sounds of Carolina Music Academy has been at the Anderson Arts Center for 4 years now and they are located across from the Bay3 Gallery where I show my work. I was excited to attend one of the studio's first concerts with my family.

I will showcase a selection of my latest work at the Anderson Area YMCA from June through August. For every piece that is purchased,  I am donating thirty percent of the sales back to the YMCA's annual campaign. The YMCA uses those funds toward scholarships for individuals and families to enroll in programs such as swim lessons, youth sports, summer camps and general memberships.

I generate new things out of nothing. I stare down chaos and create order. I curate, I destroy, I search for meaning and newness. I look for ways to fund my maniacal desire to paint larger - but I don't know why I want to paint bigger. I have magic and I look for new ways to get paid for my magic. I ask bigger questions than I can figure out on my own.

Since I have moved to Anderson, I am continually grateful for the opportunities and support that I’ve received from the Anderson community and the Arts Center. Last month Anderson Arts Center hosted Artists U, a two-day workshop lead by Andrew Simonet.  The workshop was funded by a grant from the South Carolina Arts Commission, and was free to all the artists who registered.

I’ve been drawing since before I could write.  My mom gave me paints in my Easter basket and art supplies under our Christmas tree. I’ve been taking community art classes since middle school, and I have been lucky enough to have support and encouragement from instructors, teachers, professors, and now my wonderful friends and family.

The Calvary Arts Festival will be on March 23, 2019 from noon to 4pm. This weekend I'll have the exciting opportunity to give back to kids in the Anderson community in a big way!  Anderson University has invited me to participate in the Calvary Arts Festival to benefit the Calvary Home for Children.