By Cayley Bowman, Staff Writer
Hannah Schultz, a post-bachelor graduate student here at USM who is pursuing her art education certification has earned her spot as our Artist of the Week. Schultz is originally from Montana, but currently residing in the area as she attends classes. Originally, Schultz did not follow her dreams of being an artist due to the “familial pressure” of going into a professional field that would make more money. Schultz has since realized that she can be successful in any career that she is passionate about with hard work and perseverance. Schultz stated, “To love what I do despite the paycheck is more valuable than being miserable in a high paying job. Life is too short, pursue what you’re passionate about.”
Schultz has always been passionate about art, self-teaching how to paint when she was just a child. In high school she never felt like she needed to take art classes save for a few watercolor classes that she took with a local artist in Montana. Schultz credits the local artist for helping her refine and focus her art. Schultz says, “I didn’t want to be held down by assignments or told what to do,” referring to never taking classes in high school or when she was pursuing her bachelor’s degree. She notes that she prefers to experiment and explore on her own, while learning in the process.
Schultz teaches art at a local community arts center, but is enrolled in school to expand her career options. She wants to be an art educator after graduating with her art education certificate. Schultz aspires to make a living off of selling and sharing her art with others. In the meantime, she enjoys sharing her art for free, especially with children. Schultz also shares that she prefers to do her art during her free time rather than doing art for a school assignment. However, she does appreciate and value the wisdom and talents of teachers that are outside of her own skill set.
Schultz shares that she is always interested in being exposed to new artists and innovative art forms. Schultz expresses, “I am constantly in awe of the talent and creative genius that other artists possess; they inspire me in my own artistic process.” Her favorite thing in the art world is the people that she gets to work with, interact with, and learn from. Schultz communicates that the artists that she spends time with are the most compassionate, kind, caring, creative, and interesting people that she knows. Schultz added, “I truly believe anyone can be creative and make art, it just takes practice.” Schultz is most passionate about sharing her love of art with others through teaching and expressing her love and respect for nature in her art. She notes that she has been experimenting with new ways to express this.
Although Schultz loves art, she does not work on her own art as much as she would like to. She often finds herself too busy or too tired from life to create any art. Schultz works full time as an art educator while taking part time classes, her own artistic goals often falling to the wayside. Schultz does, however, always try to create when she has free time. She is also working on integrating her art into her everyday routine as a way to create consistency within her practice. Schultz shares, “I have always loved to paint. It is definitely my medium of choice.”
Schultz gets intensely focused on the process when she is creating a new piece. “It is like a meditative, zen state that I experience,” she says. Schultz always feels better, almost lighter, after producing something new— even if she is not very fond of the piece that she has created. She expresses that to her the creative process itself is healing. Schultz believes that she has not yet found her artistic “style.” She mostly works in 2D with watercolors, gouache, and oil paint.
The gifted artist gets most of her inspiration from impressionism and is still learning about herself, while growing into her artistic process. Schultz is always branching out and trying new art mediums as a way to expand her artistic palette. She does this because she genuinely is interested in learning as many new art forms as possible, but also with the purpose of teaching them to others within her art educator career. Schultz shares, “Recently, I have really enjoyed experimenting with eco printing and eco dyeing. It is a truly fascinating process and a great way to incorporate nature’s natural gifts into my art.”
Schultz loves to share her art with others. This is why she is not only pursuing a career in art, but she also has a website where people can view and buy her artwork. The website is hschultzart.com.