Jamie Hansen: Everything sounds better with music.

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.

I flew to Saint Louis to meet an artist who has influenced and informed my work for years. I finally found the opportunity to study with Carol Carter, a master watercolor artist who has forged big innovations in color usage and paint application.

Why are the edges of my work important? Why do I feel compelled to leave the exposed borders and messy trails of paint around a carefully planned composition? It might be my relationship with my substrate, the paper. Maybe if I leave a little bit exposed, the viewer can sense of the expanse of white that started the work. If I transformed it all, how could I keep celebrating the process?

We are all like instruments playing a carefully arranged composition.  I hope to lift my voice up to anyone who will listen and be an instrument of joy and bright color.

I’m doing big things in Anderson!  Did you see my billboards last week?  I was so delighted to have my art displayed on billboards on Clemson Blvd and on North Main Street.  Here's how I managed to get my art on a billboard.

It was so easy and fun to work with Jamie on my special Christmas gift for my husband. Her creativity and enthusiasm for her work is contagious. My husband declared it the best Christmas gift ever!