Video: Artwalk artist ready to show off new work

Artwalk Feature: Shea Hartmann Hodges

Shea Hartmann-Hodges is in love with her sink.

“The sink is the big thing!” She exclaims when talking about her art studio. “And it’s bigger! I just moved from another space and gained about 200 square feet and I have lots of room to spread out.”

Hartmann-Hodges has definitely spread out, and her space is colorfully chaotic. All of the surfaces and shelves are filled with various brushes, a rainbow of plastic bottles, bundles of towels, cans of spray paint, and melted Crayolas. A large portion of her floor is covered in a grey tarp that is patched with duct tape in a few places. On top of the tarp is an easel holding a white canvas splashed with bright red.

Her walls are covered in her own artwork, a delightful mix of abstract pieces that play with dramatic swirls of green and strokes of orange, and three-dimensional works that pop out in the form of slashed and curling edges of canvas and glossy acrylic paint drippings. The light coming in from the windows, combined with the bright lights hanging overhead, make the details in her work shine through.

Featured very prominently along the wall adjacent to her windows is a series of black and white paintings that she calls, “Suppression,” which depict the human form in varying degrees of undress and embrace.

“‘Suppression’ kind of pokes fun at the censorship that takes place in society,” she explains. “The idea behind it is to show that if you take sex out of the equation, that the body, the form is beautiful, and that it doesn’t necessarily have to be sexualized all the time.”

Hartmann-Hodges, who was once described by one of her professors as “very painterly,” is one of the many local artists displaying her work at ArtWalk this Friday, May 24th. She will be debuting “Suppression” in her exhibition at the Vangarde Arts building, and is excited to get a public response to this project.

“For me, when I’m in the moment and I’m painting it, it’s all about my feelings and how I feel, but once it’s up to the viewer, it’s all about their perceptions.” She goes on to give an example, “I have a piece that’s of a musician, but a lot of people see it and think it’s a Muslim woman and that I’m saying something about women’s rights. That’s not at all what I portrayed when I painted it, but I love that they were able to come to that conclusion on their own without any information from me.”

With her black and white series, Hartmann-Hodges tries to touch on serious issues, such as obesity or homosexuality to “let people know that it’s not necessarily what’s on the outside, but the outside is just as beautiful as the inside.”

Helping people see the best in themselves is something that Hartman-Hodges is very passionate about. On Sunday afternoons she teaches an art class with students whose ages range from 10 to 17 years old. “These students struggle academically in school, and it’s great for them to have two hours to just be themselves, do their own projects, create what’s in their heads, and make amazing artwork.”

For those that aren’t fortunate enough to take classes with Hartmann-Hodges, she has the following advice for young, passionate artists that are trying to pursue their dreams: “Fake it ’till you make it!”

She laughs at her own advice, but insists that it’s the best she has ever received herself. “You have to be your own self-promoter and believe in what you’re doing and that your prices are right. You have to have a passion for what you’re doing. If you don’t have a passion for what you’re doing, then you won’t sell anything.”

In addition to participating in ArtWalk, Hartmann-Hodges recently participated in a show at Joseph Sisters Gallery in Leesville, Louisiana. The paintings she sent there will also be featured in her exhibition tomorrow.

“Events like ArtWalk are important because they let people in the community know that there are a ton of artists in town. Whether they’re progressional artists or hobbyists, or they just do painting because it releases emotions for themselves. We’re all here, and we’re all scattered all over and hidden, and it’s just a day for us to come out and be like, ‘Hey! We’re here, and we’re always here!”

After tomorrow, you can find Hartmann-Hodges in her new studio space, located in Suite 354 of the Benson Building, on Douglas Street in Downtown Sioux CIty.