Today we’d like to introduce you to Todd Camp.
Hi Todd, 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 backstory with our readers.
As a graduate of the Columbus College of Art & Design in 1989, I began my journey as a fine artist. My degree is in photography, and back in those days, everything was done in the darkroom. After graduation, I realized I couldn’t keep a darkroom operational, so I fell back on painting as my way of expression. Fortunately, the education at CCAD was such that students were expected to be proficient in all mediums, so transitioning to painting was natural. Next, I discovered my love for teaching young artists when I began a 10-year run with Columbus Recreation & Parks Department. My director wanted me to teach a clay class, and of course, clay was the only medium I hadn’t explored in college. However, my experience with glass blowing, specifically centering the glass on the pipe, led to the ease of centering clay on the pottery wheel. This new love of clay lasted over 20 years. I became the Cultural Arts Director for the YMCA of Central Ohio in 2000 and launched the only Fine Arts program in the Central Ohio system. After 5 years, I ventured out on my own, opening Todd Camp Studios, where I still produce award-winning paintings and commissions that can be found around the world. I became a lecturer, juror, curator, and Artist-in-Schools educator to share my knowledge and champion artists and community arts opportunies. In 2008, my only son was born, which required me to go back to work. Next, I became the Education Director for the Martin Luther King Jr. Performing Arts Complex. There, I employed visual artists, musicians, and performers locally and from around the country for presentations to the greater Columbus community and school groups in the historic Pythian Theatre. I developed summer art camps for youth and an extensive afterschool program employing local teaching artists providing creative experiences for underserved youth. 13 years later, I returned to the Columbus Recreation & Parks Department, where my journey began. I am the Assistant Arts Administrator at the Priscilla R. Tyson Cultural Arts Center in Columbus, Ohio. The facility is home to adult arts classes in painting, drawing, jewelry & metals, ceramics, sculpture, sewing, photography, and printmaking, to name a few. Nearly 1000 students attend classes weekly. 35+ teaching artists offer classes and their expertise. I manage visiting artist workshops where artists from around the country spend an intensive week with students honing their art form. A new Artist in Residence program also falls under my purview. 2 artists are chosen for a 16-week residency which includes studio space, supplies, and a stipend. Each residency ends with an exhibition of their work created during the residency. My current abstract paintings are focused on color relationships, composition, and collage. while the ocean and sky are where I look for inspiration. Using unlikely materials in my work, like tar, mastic, shellac. house paint, acrylic, and spray paint is exciting and unpredictable. Most recently, I began exploring Gelli printing, which has an immediacy I desire. Stay tuned! www.toddcampart.com
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Digging deep to see what you’re made of is important to me. Artists persevere, no matter what. As a collective, creating is what we do, and we have to do it. The process feeds the soul and fills every ounce of my being when I am in the creative moment. You have heard of the runner’s high; well, the same happens for artists. When I’m truly engaged in applying paint or materials to a surface, time passes in an instant, sight focuses, and hearing is tuned in. The challenge in selling abstract work is that most audiences have to work at finding the answer. By that I mean, abstract art usually isn’t “drive by art”. When one sees a realistically painted apple, you can appreciate the artist’s ability to render reality. Abstract art defines its own reality. There is no instruction manual or defined path to get to the end painting. Observers have to work a little to uncover the meaning, so I must capture their attention with color, scale, and gesture. My paintings take time to develop, and the biggest challenge is not having enough time in the studio. A question I often get from viewers is, “How long did it take you to make that painting”? My reply is always “over 30 years” because my entire career has led me to the painting I am working on currently.
Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m known for taking risks in my art. Not being afraid to “wreck it”. Most times, you have to wreck it to be able to take the next step. I am focused on layers and depth in my work. I want the viewer to find something new each time they look at the work, an element they hadn’t noticed before. What sets me apart from some is that I continue to reinvent myself and not get stuck too long in one idea or way to create. I have far too many interests to stay comfortably in one way of art making. Recently, I had one of my works selected by the executive director of Columbus Sister Cities International to be presented by Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther to the Mayor of Dresden, Germany. My heart is in teaching my unique vision and art practice. I have a student who I have been working with every Wednesday for over 10 years. Now, at 83, I have seen this artist blossom and accomplish major solo gallery exhibitions and shows, and that is very satisfying to me. I am available for custom abstract art workshops for schools, teacher professional development, arts organizations, or residencies. You can inquire and book at tocamp7@aol.com
Who else deserves credit in your story?
I think back to an early memory; I was 7 years old and decided I wanted to make a backdrop for a play. I climbed into the hall closet and retrieved one of my mom’s bed sheets. I carefully spread it out on the playroom floor, fetched an enormous set of colorful markers, and set to work on drawing the castle central to the play. After some time, I had the feeling of someone watching me. I turned to the door where my mother was standing and that’s when the panic hit. I realized my mother’s sheet probably wasn’t the best choice of stage props, but a smile came to her face, and she said, ” That is beautiful.” Right then, I believe my creative path was set, and making became part of the fabric of my life. Both my mother and father were supportive of my choice to go to art school, as I was the first member of my family to enter higher education.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.toddcampart.com
- Instagram: toddcampart
- Facebook: Todd Camp Art
