Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Clare Wuellner. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Clare, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

The road to being an artist has been circuitous. During my adult life, I’ve had three, primary passions. First, for about 15 years there was science and teaching science. I have a Ph.D. in Entomology focused on Animal Behavior. I studied sphynx moths and caterpillars, ground-nesting bees, the red imported fire ant, and a tiny fly that attacks the red imported fire ant. I left academia because the toll it exacted on me and my personal life was more than I cared to pay.

Then for about 20 years, I focused on making my corner of the world a little better. I was a leader in several non-profits and fought for civil rights, separation of religion and government, and more. When the Texas school curriculum was up for revisions, I drew from my scientific background and worked to disabuse the Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) of their conviction that evolution was a controversial topic in science.

No matter what I’ve been doing, I have always managed to carve out time for creating. I know creatives are often asked, “How do you find time for your art, music, writing, etc.?” My rejoinder to such a question is, “How do you NOT make time?” For me, the choices are “create” or “stagnate.” What makes me feel alive is interweaving my experiences, education, and sense of artistry.

For instance, when I fought for solid science in the public school curriculum I used creativity to call special attention to my testimony by wearing clothing from the 1850s to make the point that the time in history when the Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection was freshly published, on the lips of everyone, and truly controversial was a loooong time ago. It’s not controversial anymore.

I raised two children, informally adopted a third late in their life, and am now in the process of fledging all three. While raising the first two, I was able to have success selling stained glass mosaics.

But then the quarantine hit in 2020, and selling stained glass online proved too challenging.

As the quarantine wore on and it became apparent that it was going to last a while, I saw on social media that people were trying new things and resurrecting old hobbies. For such folks, I started “Creative Pandemic” on Facebook. It was a place to post photos of all things creative: projects, art, meals, poetry, and more. “Creative Pandemic” was a happy place to help ease the stress of isolation.

In February of 2021, Texas got hammered with a giant snowstorm. I was raised in Iowa and was thrilled with the frigid temperatures and deep snow. Every tree had a coating of ice that squeaked and crackled when the wind forced the branches to bow in their ice straight jackets. I photographed the glistening trees, but no matter how good the photo was, it didn’t convey the way the snow and ice felt to me. So, I put a photograph of ice-covered branches into a computer graphics program and gave it what I thought it needed to feel right.

Thus began my current project; photographing trees and digitally enhancing images to draw attention to something extraordinary.

In some works, I emphasize the architecture of the tree. In others, I use the tree’s branches as outlines for the subject matter found in the negative space among the branches. Some show trees with the vibrancy that I see. There is science, beauty, whimsy, and a whole lot of bold color.

All of them have stories.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers?

I am a scientist by training and an artist at heart. Understanding science has amplified my wonder at the beauty of living things and this, in turn, informs my art. Artistry and imagination intertwine with my passion for living things to create imagery that will change the way you look at the natural world.

I embraced a career as an artist only recently. Being An Artist has lived up to my “dream-come-true” hopes and more. It hasn’t been easy. But then, I doubt any of us has our paths laid neatly before us with no obstacles whatsoever.

I do everything I do under the veil of a traumatic brain injury (TBI), which is a big deal on many levels. Living with TBI is a disability that’s far more common than most realize because it’s an invisible disability. I guarantee that you know someone who has sustained one.

Even if a TBI survivor looks “normal” or “recovered,” their lives have been irreparably changed. My brain injury changed who I am. Brains don’t heal like other tissue does. The best medical science can do is teach your brain new ways to do the things that used to be easy for you and compensatory skills to function more like you used to.

Brain injury changes your brain in unexpected ways. Until the brain injury, my executive functioning was extremely good. Now, I find packing for vacation to be challenging. Emotions are all right below the surface and can well up unexpectedly. Mental fatigue comes easily and recovery takes hours, days, and sometimes weeks.

My TBI is something I deal with every moment of every day. It’s been quite an adjustment.

As a creative, I have done both 2D and 3D work. I sell my art online and in galleries, art shows, pop-ups, and festivals. Last fall, I was on the Austin Studio Tour and it was absolutely wonderful! I have also done commissions and installations.

What problems do you solve for your clients? What sets you apart as an artist?

I feel that I offer two things that my clients appreciate. First, my creativity—whether teaching science, raising children, or making art—I am always in creative mode. I have a curious mind and love to learn new things.

I have something in me that thinks I can do anything I put my mind to. I will start an entirely new career in my mid-50s. I will try a new medium. I will take the challenging commission.

I have had many jobs and a wealth of experiences that feed my creativity and inform my art, which I know that my customers appreciate: if they like my art and then learn about the science behind it, they will love my art. If they love my art and then learn about the science behind it, they will be positively over the moon about my art.

In your view, what can society do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

If you’re reading this, you probably are already doing your part. It’s very likely you are interested in the fine arts, attend events, and support creatives financially. But I would press you to do one more thing that could change the creative ecosystem from “peripheral to the important things” to being what defines society.

Here’s how we evolve society to be defined by its creative ecosystem:

At every opportunity you get, cultivate creativity and the creation of art in everyone. Everyone. If Every. Single. Person. were in touch with their own inner fine artist, were literate in the process of creating art; then it would be impossible for anyone to ignore the importance of having fine arts experiences and financially backing people and institutions that create those experiences. When schools want to make budget cuts, no one will suggest that music and art get the axe because EVERYONE will have a fundamental understanding of the importance of the fine arts.

Art is one of the best parts of the human experience.

Look for it.

Revel in it.

Learn about it.

Talk about it.

Appreciate it.

Purchase it.

Bring it into your home.

And if you’re not in a position to purchase it,

Share it.

Being an artist is hard. There is no such thing as consistency in the business of selling art. While there are many highs, what gets you through the low, slow times? What motivates you to keep going?

When Blue Victory Gallery’s art show schedule thins out, I have a backlog of creative projects that I turn to. I happily fill my free time with refurbishing furniture, making art from found objects, photographing trees to use for making more art, and countless other creative projects. Motivation is not a limiting factor in my life—only time feels limited to me. Both learning and creating are, for me, essential elements to living life well. If I lose motivation to do either of these things, check for a pulse.

When I am fatigued, I listen to what my body is asking for. Occasionally I’ll have a morning when I just don’t want to get out of bed. So, I stay there and pet the dog or play on my phone until I am ready to get up. I know I’m ready when I suddenly find myself standing next to the bed without having made a conscious decision to get up; I was simply ready. It’s a powerful feeling.

You notice details that others miss and are acutely aware of how our surroundings affect mood. You’ve carefully decorated and “curated” your spaces with a singular eye to aesthetics before curation was a word we used outside museums. Where do you draw the line between curation (selecting & arranging) and creating art?

Curating and creating art have things in common. Beauty and order have been shown over and over to make our brains release a cocktail of happy biochemicals. That biochemical “Zing!” is rewarding, so we want to keep that good thing going. So, when I organize my stuff in aesthetic ways, maintaining that order is inherently rewarding (Zing!”).

The walls in my living room are filled with other people’s art. Looking at them fills me with the same sense of satisfaction as I would feel looking at a Thanksgiving table laden with food. Each dish stands on its own, but they also complement each other and altogether leave the diner with a memorable experience. Similarly, every object on my wall is capable of delighting my senses, just as it is. The way they are arranged enhances the experience of taking them in.

The objects on my walls all make me happy. (“Zing!”) The way they are arranged on the walls makes me even happier.

On the other hand, the components of each object—paint, pixels, pieces of broken glass, etc.—are not likely to give me much, if any “Zing!” It’s what we do with the paint, pixels, and pieces of glass that makes something “art.” The transformation of “materials” into “art” is a creative process that often seems like alchemy.

So, the difference between Creating Art and Curation:

Creating art uses materials that do not have enough impact to stand on their own. Those same materials, in the hands of an artist, can compose something with meaning that is much greater than the “sum of the parts.”

Curation combines several works of art which enhances the overall effect of each work of art.

Unlike the components used to make art (paint, pixels, and pieces of glass) which cannot stand alone, each of work of art in a curated group can stand on its own without losing meaning.

How do you know when a work of art is done?

“Finished” is a difficult line to draw. Maybe more so with digital art because a work that is 10,000 x 15,000 pixels large will always have something that can be “cleaned up” or improved.

I have a way of knowing that works for me: I run my eye over the work, and if my eye “catches” on anything, I need to look at that spot more carefully. When I can run my eyes over a work many times without having any places that “catch” that’s the start.

Once I get to the “catch-free” stage, I let the work sit for days or weeks and come back to it. What impact does seeing the work with fresh eyes have on me? If it doesn’t make my brain go 100% “Zing!” then it’s not done.

Wash, rinse, repeat until there are no “catches” and 100% “Zing!”

So, you are “Blue Victory Gallery,” but you’re not actually a Gallery?

That’s right!

Do you know the story of why Lands’ End (clothing company) name has the apostrophe in the wrong place? When they registered their business, they submitted the name with the apostrophe in the wrong place. By the time they realize their mistake, the business name was set in stone, so they just went with it.

My business name has a similar story. When I was putting together my website, the person who was helping me asked what the name of my business was going to be. Being completely new to this naming business, I went with “Blue Victory Gallery”—“Blue“ because I love the color blue. That’s pretty obvious to most folks. “Victory” because starting this business was a triumph over my head injury, and my mother’s name is Victoria. And “Gallery” because that seemed professional. I didn’t know until after I officially registered the name that it should have been “Blue Victory Studio.”

So, I’m not really a gallery, I just didn’t know what I was doing when I named my business. Whoops!