After many years of creative exploration, the creation of Studio Hanson was the logical conclusion to a lifelong pursuit of art at varying degrees formality. But I see the studio more as a starting point than a result. I finally have a legitimate platform from which to launch my frequent voyages of creative whimsy.
What makes you an artist?
“I have always enjoyed creating things—it feels akin to exploration to me. I also have a deep appreciation for anything made by hand. But the difference between an artist and someone who appreciates art is creative action. An artist thrives on the explorative process of bringing something into existence out of mere parts and pieces, or by creating order out of chaos and by revealing beauty in the commonplace. In each of my many interests, I seem to explore this process of creation. Activities I have often thought of as hobbies were actually forms of artistic expression.”
What are some early examples of your artistic expression?
“Early on, I enjoyed drawing, which is probably my first memory of what I considered art. Looking back now, I can perceive a kind of evolution of artistic exploration. Drawing images on paper gave way to building origami shapes out of it! Paper shapes led to paper airplanes which led to planes made of balsa, and in turn, rockets and other models. As a kid, I would also spend hours building elaborate vehicles out of Lego bricks. Many kids played with Legos, but I see them now less as toys and more as a sculptural medium that can teach valuable lessons.”
So, you are a better artist because you played with Lego bricks?
“To some degree, I think you have to understand the limits of any artistic medium in order to fulfill your creative vision. For example, building a spacecraft out of tiny plastic bricks may sound easy enough, but having an idea of how it should look before building it, and maintaining a design that is strong enough to play with when you are finished is a powerful creative exercise.”
Can you summarize more recent examples?
“Two important concepts come to mind: Light, and Technology. Regarding Technology, I have a degree in Computer Science, so computers have always been important to me. I became caught up in the desktop publishing revolution that was taking place in the mid-to-late eighties, with Apple Macintosh and laser printers changing the way we create print media. That legacy continues, only now we can include music, video and of course, the world wide web. Today, the computer is the hub of my creative life, bringing many different mediums to one place. I write music, edit video, retouch photographs, make illustrations, design, plan, research—all with the same tool. Despite its flexibility, however, some things just don’t benefit from the computer and have to be done the old-fashioned way.”
What about Light? Is that what you mean by old-fashioned?
“Light is an integral component of many mediums, whether it’s a shading technique, or the interplay of shadows. For every visual art, light is at its heart—if not its definition of expression. There are sometimes ways in which technology can contribute, but there are limits. The example that has taken me fascinatingly far from technology and has the most to do with light is stained glass.”
What do you like about working with stained glass?
“Whether its a window or a lampshade, creating something in stained glass is like painting with light. Sure, I can use a computer to create a pattern, or to help visualize a design—but not to create it. To put it another way, working with stained glass has not really gotten any easier with computers around. Glass still has to be selected by hand, cut by hand soldered by hand, and so on. All the steps involved with creating a stained glass window or lampshade are so different from anything else. Selecting glass, color combinations, cutting technique, assembly, soldering, patination—each step is unique and stimulating for different reasons.”
Outside of stained glass, what else do you consider a part of your artistic repertoire besides technology-driven art such as video, music, graphic arts and photography,?
“Several years ago I really fell in love with pottery. Here again was something that had nothing at all to do with technology. I would spend hours upon hours working with computers only to relax at the end of the day and put my hands in mud! In grade school we would occasionally have an art class and hand build clay pots, but this was different. Throwing on a potter’s wheel was new to me and I guess I had a knack for it. Clay is an amazing material with a history as old as humanity. Most appealing for me was the fact that finished work gets used, sometimes every day! A coffee mug becomes part of a morning ritual. A pitcher, or a mixing bowl becomes a tool used to create something in the kitchen. Pottery allows you to make art that is both beautiful and useful.”
Speaking of the kitchen, do you like to cook?
“I have a deep appreciation for food and consider cooking like another artistic universe complete with professional techniques and authentic styles. I love French cooking, for example, with all of the elaborate detail. I enjoy making homemade pasta. I dry-age my own steaks. I like to make bread and buttercrust pies. I make my own chocolates for special occasions and family events. This list goes on and on. I will sometimes throw myself into a particular genre like the time I spent the whole day creating an authentic Indian meal. Let’s not forget beverages! There’s home brewed beer, limoncello, flavored syrups and liqueurs to make!
Are you still throwing pottery? What else?
“I haven’t in a while, but I intend to bring it back. I miss it a lot, but I would need to dedicate a certain amount of space to it since it’s hard for pottery to share space with other activities. Pottery aside, I almost always have some kind of furniture restoration project underway. I like to restore old light fixtures and I enjoy working with brass and copper. My wife and I love estate sales and antique shops. We collect old picture frames and I am a sucker for old Edison light bulbs.”
What’s next? Is there a kind of art you haven’t tried that you would like to?
“I am willing to experiment to get results. For example, I need to do some mold-making to create new rubber feet for an old typewriter I am restoring. Who knows where that will lead? I have made jewelry and would enjoy doing more. I also want to make a guitar—I’d get a big kick out of learning to play on an instrument I made myself. I also plan to learn how to tune and repair pianos. I have done some experiments with wood blocks and ink, but I want to try silkscreen printing. I have a project planned to chemically etch brass to make filigrees for stained glass but the technique can also be used to etch images. This deserves some investigation. Something obvious that I never got into is painting. I should really give that a try. There’s plenty more to work on. I am fortunate that I have often been able to apply skills from one discipline to another.”