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

Alright, Denese thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?

My mother was a homemaker and my father was a prominent figure through his career as a political cartoonist. Both were highly instrumental to who I have become and the work in which I excel. My mother modeled living life with kindness, warmth, and acceptance which has inspired my way of teaching and being in the world. I have come to realize that this is the bedrock of my path as a community builder. I get my artistic, socially conscious nature, and spacial relationship genes from my father, and my visionary sense from his bloodline. Each of them, and their relationship with each other, set me on course to aim for my highest potential and to pursue my dreams.

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 was raised in Wisconsin in a socially conscious home with three sisters and loving parents. My dad was a political cartoonist whose work was loved by many, and detested by others. Of course this was appealing to young me, so I always assumed I’d grow up to be an artist. I studied printmaking at UW-Madison and went on to learn color etching in Paris at Atelier 17. At age 27 I founded a collective printmaking studio, Below the Surface, in Minneapolis, MN which laid the groundwork for my career as an educator and community builder in the arts. And a builder of studios.

I moved to Monterey, CA in 2003 where I eventually founded Open Ground Studios (OGS): an artist collective and community studio for emerging and professional artists, and creative adults. My leadership through OGS has landed us several awards including being named Champion of the Arts through the Arts Council for Monterey County.

I am now primarily a painter. I am drawn to making work with intentionality around strong concept and technique, which sometimes leads me to express ideas through a range of media. Women are my preferred subjects as I am continually awed by the breadth of their capacity and the potential of their voices. Having voice is core to my artistic vision as a woman, artist, activist, and now, ovarian cancer survivor. I hold a Master of Fine Arts degree from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and I am so glad to be alive.

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

On my 59th birthday I made a promise to myself that by the time I turned 60, I would be painting full-time. Five days after that proclamation, I was diagnosed with advanced-stage ovarian cancer. This devastating moment propelled me into a deeply traumatic yet enlightening experience- all while the pandemic was raging.

I chose to hold the belief that this crisis would be a “phase” in my life. That it was my trauma to endure and learn from. I went into it by seeking help from every source available to me. When I sent out an SOS to my family, friends, colleagues, and students the love, support, and guidance that came back to me was nothing short of miraculous.
I underwent 9 hours of surgery where my abdomen was “debulked” of cancerous cells and tumors. My body weight plummeted to 86 lbs due to complications and a few short weeks after that I began intensive chemotherapy treatment which further reduced my body to its most vulnerable, weak, and bare self.

While I surrendered fully to the healing process, I never stopped imagining my life moving ever-forward. I had responsibilities and dreams – all of them centered on art. I stayed in collaboration with my artist collective for our upcoming major museum exhibition. I designed paintings expressing my emotional and physical self during this crisis. I applied for a solo exhibition for the following year, without realizing at the moment just how long my recovery process would be.

As soon as the second surgery and nine-month treatment were completed, I took my baldheaded, 100 lb body into the studio and commenced painting. Every day my priority was studio time. After all. If not now, then when? I had a deadline with the museum and I was determined to meet it. I turned 60 the same month that show opened. After I recovered from that whirlwind I turned toward my solo show that same year. “Resilience” included 13 pieces; all of which exposed my body as the holder of fear and uncertainty, identity and transformation. The portraits and installations express a fierce vulnerability and steadfast resilience. Art was the engine that drove my resilience during recovery and beyond. And I leaned into it and found myself being a full-time artist during my 60th year.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

“There are thousands of people in the world who can draw circles around you.” This was something my father said to me in response to my hopes of becoming an illustrator in my late twenties. At the time, I had received my BA from UW-Madison, had studied for a year in Paris, had founded my first community printmaking studio; and I was waiting tables for a living. Coming from my father, who drew for a living, this was quite a blow to my “plan.”

I think I spent the next 10 years, subconsciously trying to prove him wrong. But he wasn’t wrong. I had drawing skills back then, but I wasn’t cut out to be an illustrator.. Or a cartoonist. I was kind of lost and his reaction to my modest portfolio was a direct hit on my confidence. How was I suppose to get better making art if I couldn’t draw to my fathers standards? How could I let go of meeting his assumptions about art?

A few years later I was accepted to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago for my masters degree. The conceptual nature of this program helped release me from the assumption that realism was end-all, be-all for real art. I was there to learn how to make meaning in art and by the end of it, I had whittled down my subject matter to its biomorphic essence through abstract sculpture. My parents were both proud of me even though my dad had no I idea what any of it meant. And that was absolutely okay with me. It’s ironic now that I love painting with realism in my corner.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.dsandersart.com/
• Instagram: denese.sanders.art
• Facebook: Denese Sanders Art
• Youtube: Denese Sanders: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChhOCy9YCl5nGNUKQCGJPpw
• Other: Director/ Founder of Open Ground Studios https://www.opengroundstudios.com/

Image Credits
Stevie DiMarco