We recently connected with Cie Hoover and have shared our conversation below.

Cie, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

There have been a lot of meaningful projects during my time as a professional artist, however, a current project I am working on is probably the most significant. Recently, I was selected to do a large installation at the Nashville International Airport in conjunction with the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival. From a pool of artists around the country, myself along with three others were selected to do large suspended installations in various concourses that covent a sense of Bonnaroovian values.

Personally, the chance to do an installation of this nature that has ties to both Nashville and music is a thrilling opportunity…with my background in both music and art coalescing into a beautiful installation. While I now live in Colorado, I lived in Nashville for over ten years while attending Belmont University and working in the music industry. While working in the music industry, I had the honor of working as a publicist on Music Row as well as a Global Event Manager for Gibson Guitar. After nearly a decade working in Nashville, my wife and I quit our jobs and hit the road to tour full time with our band You Knew Me When. We toured quite literally nonstop for six and half years, and that is what ultimately led us to Colorado, and my ability to delve into the visual arts. This installation seems very serendipitous, given my ties to Nashville and my progression into the visual arts.

My installation, titled “Infinite Crescendos”, is a playful suspended pairing of the Bonnaroo infinity logo and my “Crescendo” sculpture series. Three spirals cascading from the skylight will be positioned to create a triangle of three circles when looking at it from the base. This will create a dimensional, seemingly kinetic, seemingly radiating, version of the Bonnaroo infinity logo that will contain vibrant colors on the outer rings, and natural wooden tones leading towards each center. Each “Crescendo”, which also has the underlying connection to music by definition, will aim to convey an uplift both physically and mentally for viewers. Collectively, the installation will be abstract, contemplative, and give a sense of Bonaroovian vibrancy…beckoning viewers to absorb and reflect on the installation from all angles. “Infinite Crescendos” will not only gives a sense of the Bonnaroo mantras of radiating positivity and compassion out into the world, but will also convey a sense that the best is yet to come…that Bonnaroo and its mission is a constant, ever progressing force.

The sculpture will be installed in late May of 2023, and be on display through April of 2024 in Concourse C of the Nashville International Airport.

Cie, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

“Unique” is a common comment when folks see my art for the first time. In this day and age where there are so many talented artists in the world I think doing something that is truly unique is always a challenge. After buying and remodeling an old 1898 mining house in Ouray I discovered the versatility of wood as an art medium and began transforming my garage into my woodworking studio. Since that time I have continued to explore woodworking as a creative and artistic medium, delving into both wall-mounted and sculptural works…and even incorporating sculptural aspects into wall-mounted pieces. In many instances I let the natural wood grain help to dictate the overall aesthetic of a piece. I feel that woodworking has helped me find a new way to connect with the natural world and environment.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

I think the answer to this questions is simple…support living / local creatives as much as you can. If you’re looking to furnish your home find local craftsmen vs. going to big box stores; if you need a new logo for your company find a local graphic designer vs. just creating something basic online; if you’re involved in city / town government support public art in your community. Of course money and budgets play roles in most aspects of this nature, but if the opportunity to utilize exists to utilize the services of a living, breathing creative…do it.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

My story of resilience is one comprised of a lifetime determined to be involved in creative enterprises. I think my creative resilience really began when I decided to forgo the option of going into the family business, and decided to focus on music as a career path instead. Music had worked its way more and more into my life in my formative years, starting off with piano, then guitar, and then playing in bands with friends in high school. It was my greatest passion, so when it came time to decide on where to go to college I opted for a “road less traveled” approach and went to school for Music Business at Belmont Universtiy in Nashville. I say “road less traveled” because I grew up in a family where a family business was a prominent feature, and I was the “obvious” choice to be next in line to be groomed to take the reins. Opting to instead throw myself into a ring that I basically knew nothing about was a major risk. Rather than a steady, comfortable job in a family business I cast myself into the unknown…but managed to come out the other side all the better for it.

After graduating from college, I found myself in a job on Music Row days out of graduating from college. I started off as a publicist, working under Pam Lewis, one of Garth Brooks’ former managers. From there I worked for Meinl Cymbals, the International Songwriting Competition, and then found a foothold at Gibson Guitar as their Global Event Manager. It was a highly engaging and highly demanding job in which I got to travel the world for events, conventions, and festivals…including events such as the GRAMMYs in Los Angeles. I worked for Gibson in this capacity for roughly four years while my wife was a music teacher for Nashville Public Schools.

During this time my wife and I had also started playing and writing music together and things were slowly getting more and more serious with it. We began discussing the “what if” possibility of quitting our jobs and seeing if we could make a living on the road as a fully independent band. With a little liquid courage and encouragement from our favorite bartender we said “let’s go for it.” A few months later we had said goodbye to our jobs, packed up our instruments, and we were off the test the waters of life as full-time touring musicians for the foreseeable future with our band You Knew Me When.

Low and behold a year of touring came and went and we had to make a decision…do we go back to “normal” life, or do we continue our troubadouristic way of life? Honestly, it wasn’t that hard of a decision for us, but the risk of traveling and making a full-time living as touring musicians remained. We would continue this lifestyle for another five and a half years. In total we performed 1,068 different gigs during our six and half years on the road, released three more albums, traveled to 49 of the fifty states and up into Canada, made numerous trips to our US National Parks, and drove coast to coast and just about everywhere in between

That all leads us to the present day. After six and half years of touring nonstop we realized the need to find some life-balance. This decision led us to the choice of where to put down roots. Do we go back to Nashville? Do we go live near family? Nope. Instead, we took a chance on a community in Southwest Colorado that we had fallen in love with over the years. The small mountain town of Ouray, nicknamed “The Switzerland of America”, was to be our home. In Ouray Karisa was offered the opportunity to be the music teacher for the local school, and I had time to delve into my other creative passion…visual art. We still tour and play music regionally during the school year and nationally during the summers, but this chance to have a home life again allowed me to take a little risk and put myself out there in the visual art world.

Once again my resilience when stepping outside of my comfort zone has seemingly paid off, and I now create art as my secondary career path. After buying and remodeling our old 1898 mining house in Ouray, I had discovered the versatility of wood as an art medium and began transforming my garage into my woodworking studio. Since that time I have continued to explore woodworking as a creative and artistic medium. My art aims to pay homage to to nature and to the natural world around us. The work I create is based in utilizing various types of wood to create both wall-mounted works with depth and texture, as well as large sculptural work that beg to be reflected on from all angles. I have several public art installations can be seen throughout Colorado and my work is represented by the prestigious Slate Gray Gallery in Telluride.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.CieCreativeCo.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/CieCreativeCo
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/CieCreativeCo
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/CieCreativeCo
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/@CieCreativeCo