Today we’d like to introduce you to Tara Deetscreek.
Hi Tara, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
I was born in London, England, and currently reside in Akron, Ohio, with my husband and four children. I obtained my BFA in Art Studio from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
For the past 2 decades, I have done everything from local exhibitions, to murals, to ceramic shows, to surface design and even commissions for some notable personalities. I am always looking for ways to share stories without words and connect with others through my art.
A few years ago, I discovered a box of old vintage photographs at a local antique shop, and there is where my next obsession began. These forgotten faces beckoned me to bring them out of the old dusty box and breathe new life into them. I started placing these forgotten figures in new environments and creating curious narratives. I fell in love with the concept of bringing the past to the present in this imaginative way and I am still exploring this subject matter today.
I have been obsessed with art as long as I can remember and have always been a daydreamer. This daydreaming has become my art. I hope that as you look at my work, you land somewhere between reality and a dream.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Being a freelance artist comes with its highs and lows. One of the biggest struggles for me was trying to continue my art practice while raising young children. I had to really fight to keep my art alive during those extremely busy years. I would use nap time or time after they went to sleep at night to work on my art even if I was tired or could only work for 20 minutes. Now that my kids are older and in school it is easier to carve out time to do my work, but can still be a bit of a juggle. Sometimes it’s hard to immerse myself into my art when I have life pulling me in different directions. I did a 3-week art residency about 6 years ago in Wales, and it was amazing to spend uninterrupted time on my paintings, but I also realized through that trip that my art is nothing without the people in my life. I try to keep art a priority without the sacrifice of time with my family.
Another struggle for me has been knowing when to take on commissions at the sake of losing time to work on my personal art. Commissions can be enjoyable, but sometimes you fall into the trap of doing something for someone that is not your passion. An example of this would be doing a painting of someone’s dog, and then all of a sudden, everyone is asking you to do pet portraits when you don’t want to spend all your time doing pet portraits. I have learned that just because you can do the commission, it doesn’t always mean you should do it. Although there have also been some commissions that I did that were not appealing to me when I was approached to do it, but as I did the commission, I ended up enjoying it, learning from it, and other ideas were spurred on from it.
I learned the hard way that you can’t do work for people for free in exchange for “exposure.” It never seems to work out in your favor since most people don’t follow through with their offer. Most people are looking out for number one and don’t always value your time that you invest. It can be very disheartening and can be another trap that you can easily fall into as an artist who is trying to get their name out there.
For me, another struggle I have had is the idea of “success.” Just because you are not selling much work during a season in your life does not mean you are not successful. I have learned that your art can be valuable without the exchange of money or recognition and that you can be successful according to a different measure of success. As an artist, you are bringing beauty to the world, and who’s to say that is not successful?! It is a mind game that many artists struggle with and was something I had to overcome along the way.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
My paintings almost always tell stories. I am obsessed with people’s stories and also creating new narratives in my work. I have always been drawn to people, and most all of my work have people in them in some form or another. I am interested in symbolism as a way of telling stories and love the puzzle of putting the symbolic elements together to create something unexpected and surreal. I have done some portraits of women called “Curiosity Portraits,” where I interviewed them and created headpieces and environments that incorporate symbolic elements about them and their lives. Each one told a story about them in their own unique way. I am most proud of the “Curiosity Portrait” I did for designer Georgina Chapman and got to hand deliver it to her in NY city at her Marchesa atelier and headquarters. It was a moment I will never forget!
Right now, I am focused on using vintage photographs and creating new stories out of my imagination with collage-like compositions, and I am having so much fun with it! I am currently in the process of creating a new body of work that will be hung in the Summit County Courthouse in 2023 which I am pretty excited about!
I would say that the thing that sets me apart from others is the way that I use people’s stories and old photographs in my work. Both the stories and photographs are things of untold beauty that usually never make center stage. I am bringing light to people in a new and curious way, and the new narratives beg the viewer to ask more questions.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
The thing I like best about Akron is the sense of community and pride in our city. Everyone I know loves our city and are always trying to make it better. I am thankful for things like the Summit Artspace which gave me an artist community when I had a studio there and has provided lasting connections. The thing I like least about our city is the crime and not knowing sometimes if it is a firework or gunshot that I hear. I wish this world, in general, was not such a fallen place. The world needs Jesus!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.TaraDeetscreek.com
- Instagram: TaraDeetscreek_artist
- Facebook: Tara Deetscreek Artist
Image Credits
Sarah Loven
