We were lucky to catch up with Telise Rodelv recently and have shared our conversation below.

Telise, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you tell us the backstory behind how you came up with the idea?

Growing up in northern Norway Mid Century Modern was a way of living, not just a design concept. Being surrounded by towering mountains, endless seas, simple shapes and colors have influenced my art from an early age even after living in the US for most of my adult life. Abstract art captured my heart after studying at the Torpedo Factory in Alexandria, VA. I have never felt more alive than those times discovering and painting abstract, an excitement that has stayed with me ever since. About 6 years ago I discovered cold wax and oil, produced over 500 paintings in a span of 3+ years, talk about being “hooked”!! Today I am adding my first love in art; photography to the mix, adding prints of photographs on see through silk on top of my original cold wax paintings, creating some really interesting combinations.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Looking for the beauty around me was not always easy in the harsh nature of northern Norway, so I learned early to focus on the simple things, shapes, colors, lines – a habit that has come in handy painting in abstracts. I started my “career” with showing my photographs at art fairs in the Seattle area, then graduated to hand painted tiles; decorating kitchens, bathrooms and outdoor court yards until the granite took over those spaces, and finally started painting on canvas.

Creating is what gets me up in the morning, spending time in my big studio is what I live for, and selling my creations, knowing they have found a new home and are giving the new owners joy and love is the most satisfying at this time in my life.

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

After building up my tile painting company, my husband decided he wanted to leave and marry someone else, leaving me with 4 kilns, a few boxes of blank tiles and no where to go with just a few $$ in my pocket. It was hard enough to go through a divorce, but also loosing my studio and workspace as well as the only Home I had had since coming to the US was devastating. It took me 5 years to recover to a point where I could create again and eke out a living.

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

Facebook – did not know about it in my early years –

Contact Info:

• Website: www.TeliseRodelv.com
• Facebook: Telise Rodelv

Image Credits
my own