Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Nicole Huggins. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Nicole, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.
I immigrated with my mother to the U.S. as a child from a very oppressive communist regime in Romania. When we got out, we were sent to Italy, where we waited for our entrance visas for six months. Suddenly, there was freedom and I was surrounded by incredible art everywhere. We toured countless museums and historic sites and I fell in love with art. I began studying art in high school. My art teacher thought I had enough talent to pursue it professionally and when I applied I got into art school in Manhattan. My mother had reservations though. In her own experience she had to retrain completely to become a doctor to support us as a single parent. She talked to me about the benefit of having a professional degree that could sustain me. I studied political science, economics and philosophy and became a lawyer and manager for my career. We also moved to Colorado. I continued to take art classes, however, and painted whenever a busy career and family would allow. Art was my passion and my creative outlet. My mother had always said that someday I’d be able to have more time for art. Well in 2019 after my mom and step-dad passed and I retired, I decided to give it a go. I joined the local Center for the Arts in Evergreen, Colorado and entered my first exhibit. Shortly thereafter I had a write-up in their newsletter, which helped me get into a gallery. Before I knew it, I was painting continually and showing regularly. Suddenly, someday is now.
Nicole, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I think one of the reasons I’m so passionate about visual art is that it transcends barriers set by language and time. I could understand art when I didn’t speak any English as a first generation immigrant and can communicate with others through art anywhere. I could learn about history, religion, and different perspectives, by visiting art made throughout the ages by amazing artists around the world. I love to travel and explore, often using my experiences as inspiration for my art. I’m also inspired by the beautiful landscapes around me in Colorado and by people engaged in moments that capture their unique lifestyles. Really, beauty is everywhere if you look. As someone who drew and painted throughout their lives but had another career, I’m passionate about encouraging others to pursue their creativity. I joined an arts center, started exhibiting, joined the Pastel Society of Colorado (PSC) and the Pastel Society of America, all after retiring from law. As the Volunteer Coordinator for the PSC, I help recruit new members and to find people for leadership positions in the art community. After my mother passed, I exhibited my works at her assisted living center in her memory, got other artists friends involved and now it’s become a rotating exhibit center. I have worked in many mediums, including graphite, acrylic, oil, watercolor and pastel. Soft pastels have become my favorite medium due to the vibrancy of their pigment. In the end, it’s not the medium that matters, it’s the relationship established between the artist and the viewer through the artwork. I encourage people in presentations and shows to pursue their creativity through any form of artistic expression.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?
If there were something I would share with those who think they are non-creatives or who wander what sets creatives apart, I’d say this – we are all creative beings. Children find it easy to pick up a crayon and draw, to make images with a stick in the dirt or to build sand castles at the beach. Why? Because they are not as inhibited by others’ opinions or rules learned over time. Picasso said, “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.” We all interpret the world around us. I think artists just stay more open to their perceptions or analyze their own and society’s filters. They literally learn to look closely and see carefully. Creativity is directly tied to cognition and a need to express oneself. Self-expression can take any form – artwork, writing, music, woodwork, needlepoint, gardening, etc. We use our cognition and imagination to create something. As people we can all be creative, but to be an artist you must have a creative output. In other words, we must do or make something with our creative thoughts and ideas. So I encourage people to do something, anything no matter how small, to start exercising their creativity.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
I think for me the most rewarding part of being an artist is to find a way to communicate directly with other people – whether we know each other or never met, whether we speak the same language or wouldn’t be able to speak together, and whether share the same culture or live in different places and times. Art is universal. Since the earliest cave paintings to the latest modern art on exhibit, people have expressed themselves through art. Communicating beyond our ability to speak and across time is very powerful. We can learn about others’ experiences, lives, beliefs, struggles and joys through art. This is so important as we seem to become ever more linked through media yet disconnected in understanding. Art creates a link between the creative or artist and the person perceiving and experiencing the artwork. As we look at a painting or listen to music we wander what the artist was thinking and meant to portray. Moreover, we start to think about it or feel something. No one would bother spending time walking through an exhibit or listening to music without this link. When I do art shows and someone notes that a painting reminds them of something or that they wish they could find themselves in that beautiful spot, I am grateful for that ability to connect with them through the works. My artwork also reveals to me thoughts and feelings I didn’t necessarily know I had. I find art is an internal and external window to the soul.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ArtfulNicoleHugg.com
- Instagram: nicole.huggins or Nicole Anagnoste Huggins
- Facebook: Artfulnicolehugg
Image Credits
Nicole Huggins