We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Chance Dunlap. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Chance below.

Chance, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

My Dad always made stuff. He made knives, birdhouses, and other things. He would also figure out how to fix just about anything. I grew up around that. I liked getting tools for Christmas. The roots of my work are from my childhood. I learned welding in metal shop and ag classes in high school. When I decided to make art, I knew how to weld, so that process was available to me. I made welded art almost exclusively for ten years, then in graduate school I made a major shift in materials. We moved to Tyler, TX in 2015 and lived in a pine tree forest. I was worried about burning things up with welding and grinding metal, so wood carving and constructing makes sense. For the past few years I have mostly carved eastern red cedar harvested locally. When I worked with metal I used a lot of found objects, now I cut shapes from the wood making a pile of forms that I treat like wood found objects. Some reveal themselves quickly, while others remain in the pile for a long time. I dig through the pile looking for things that appeal to me. Its very similar to the process I developed while digging through piles of scrap metal.
I like making stuff. I find great enjoyment in tinkering with things.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I grew up in west TX near Lubbock. We moved north of Dallas when I was in high school. I always enjoyed making things, but did not grow up as an art kid. I was working for a landscaping company and the owner bought some welded steel sculptures from a local artist. I figured I could do something similar, so I tried. My effort was very different, but I enjoyed the process. I started my art career right there. I swapped my college major to Art and went on. Ultimately I earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in Studio Art from the University of North Texas. I have been fortunate to teach full time at Tyler junior College in Tyler, Texas, I enjoy working with community college students. Many are like me when I began college, first generation college students who are not sure what their plans are.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding thing about a creative practice is that you have skills and tools that are useful to life. The same tools I use for art can be used to fix my house. I do not really separate my daily life from my art practice. I think a lot of people consider art as a hobby or a side hustle. I always think of my art as my main life thing and everything else supports it.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

I was fortunate to have some very good art teachers early in my career. I value the conversations that we had about art and life. A lot of students go through school without really engaging personally with their teachers. I think its important. I wish I had been bolder and sought out other voices earlier in my career. In graduate school I valued the diversity of voices in conservation about art. It is very difficult to find a place to have such a broad objective conversation about your art.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @artachance