Type Of Business:
As a visual artist, I don't think in terms of being a business, rather in terms of creating images that are true to my personal journey in life.
My visual imagery is based upon remembrance and feeling, a personal truth glimpsed, sensed and yet still inspired by the natural world. Art for me is about diving deeply inward and finding your own voice. While creating primarily abstract imagery, I still draw from the real world daily if only in a sketchbook. That grounding in reality based imagery is where an artist learns to see, the first step to finding their own voice.
Marketing Area:
International
Expertise:
Watercolor, Acrylics, Large graphite drawings; Intaglio prints; Photography
Major Product/SVS:
Visual artist, working in watercolor, graphite, and acrylic paint. Of course there are the occasional forays into mixed media projects and photography.
Hopefully my images are unique so that is my product, and, if lucky they speak to the viewer.
Favorite Business Publication:
Archaeology, Art News, Art Babble, Art Info, Smithsonian, and others.
Hobbies/Sports:
Reading; Playing and listening to music; Gardening; Cinema history; History; Philosophy
Education Degrees:
Postgraduate Coursework, Hollins University and University of Florida; Master's Degree in Fine Art, Radford University (1982); Bachelor of Arts, Radford University
Affiliations Awards:
Open Studios of Roanoke (guest artist); Arts Council of Blue Ridge; ACLU; SPLC
Industry:
Arts, Media & Entertainment
State/Country of Origin:
Virginia
Date of Distinction:
12/5/2011
Work History:
Professor of Stuido Art and Art History, VWCC.
Founder and first curator, Community Art collection, VWCC.
Lecturer in Art History, Mary Baldwin College, Roanoke extension.
Career Achievements:
Award winning artist in many media. Curator and art historian.
Artemis: Arts and poetry magazine of the Blue Ridge. Founding member Virginia Independent Visual Artist, the first artists co-operative gallery in Roanoke, Virginia.
What do you feel separates you from the rest of the professionals in your industry?:
Complete dedication to the arts, not just the visual arts, for all arts are related in process, the process of creation. Whether one is a writer, artist or musician, we all have to face that moment of beginning a work, and patiently hope that the final product will meet our own standards.
What has been the most outstanding thing you have done thus far in your career?:
Each new piece of work! It has been a difficult journey in what I call my second life, life after severe disability and I'm very grateful to an extensive grounding in history and art history for that knowledge allowed points of recall where other artists overcame and continued to be the professional they were always. To return to a public life however limited has been an unusual experience, fortunately I no longer have to deal with the 'are you a ghost' looks? That has been hard and heart-wrenching, to be written off simply because of changes to my physical prowess, so to speak, over which I had no control. I must say read the dairy of the artist Frida Kahlo, her daily life with pain and the was of adapting studio materials have proven incredibly helpful. Of course Pierre-Auguste Renoir opted to tape his brushes to his wrists to continue paint. The author Laura Hillenbrand , 'Seabiscuit', was another point of inspiration to keep going, keep creating. One of the more hurtful comments in my journey came recently from a newcomer in my town who suggested I might want to exhibit in a different venue, as if I was no longer capable of creating! The many regional and national juried exhibitions into which my work has since been accepted, reinforce my personal decisions and sadly indicate a lack of knowledge of what the creative heart is all about.
How would you like to be remembered by your peers?:
I hope to be remembered as one who cared with all her heart about art, artists, education, and the people dear in my life.
The collection of art at VWCC was "nothing more than a gift of love" she recently said to those who were her art family.
If you could solve one problem in the world today, what would it be?:
Fourteen years ago, she would have answered that she would bring an end to ignorance, which she still believes. However, she would add at this point in her life, to finally end discrimination of people with disabilities. The comments and perceptual changes she has personally experienced show that much education and the not-so-simple realization that anyone's life can be torn apart in minutes does not mean a person who lives in constant pain isn't the same person inside. It doesn't mean the person doesn't need the same things all humans need; love, kindness and good friends. She saw this with some of her students and is grateful they dared to the take chances to share their stories with her. What she learned from them has enriched and helped her through many dark times. She is grateful to the adage, "From your pupils, you'll be taught," for she learned as much from them as they did from her, she hopes. So she supposes the answer is still to help end ignorance, though in a broader, humane perspective.
If you could have lunch with anyone, dead or alive, who would it be and why?:
Georgia O'Keeffe, who found her own individual voice as an artist and stayed true to her personal vision at a time in this country's history when that was almost impossible for a women in the visual arts. I have always been curious why Ms. O'Keeffe turned down a job teaching in the Roanoke, my hometown, in favor of Canyon Texas; and I would love to have known her reasons!
Expanded Biography:
One special moment she remembers, a moment that changed her approach to art making was seeing Elaine de Kooning paint. The freedom, sense of play, the fluidity of paint was incredible to see and watch.
She must acknowledge those who belief in her has made her journey bearable; the late Ann and Sidney Weinstein, who never stopped believing; Vera M Dickerson, mentor and friend.
Throughout the duration of your career, what was the one highlight that stood out the most?:
It is so difficult to chose one moment, but the highlight of her career was winning the first award, because it stayed with her. The selection of intaglio prints into the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Prints and Drawing Biennial was certainly memorable, considering her youth at the time. The completion of the Community Art Collection at Virginia Western Community College brought tears to her eyes for those artists who had worked for decades in her area. They were finally and permanently displayed, giving her region of Virginia a record of those artists the area.
Most assuredly her disability stands out, for it was thought that if she lived, she would not be making art again. Yet art is her lifeline, her love, her passion and no matter what it took, if she lived, she would find a way back into art. It became a case of teacher reteach thy self. At this point, the second chance she has been given to continue being an artist, is the greatest gift of her career.
Charity:
Advocate, The Arts; Animal, Civil and Human Rights Groups
Number Of Years In Profession:
36
Number Of Years In Current Position:
14
What Does He/She Attribute Success To:
She attributes her success to her love of creation whether that be visual art, music, literature or poetry, often saying to friends, "I came this way." After her disability, it was her lifelong love of art that kept her going. Although she can no longer produce work with the rapid ease she once did, it is all the more dear to her now. Her work has grown and changed as she has faced many physical challenges, which she still lives with daily. She recently said, "I am finally creating the images I saw in my mind when I was young."
Why did you become involved in your profession or industry?:
She became involved in her profession because she began drawing on anything she could find at young age. If you are an artist and believe in yourself, you'll always find a way to create. Art is her passion, her love.
Extended Bio Profile:
Ms. Lantz is a retired professor of studio art and art history. She founded and curated the largest permanently displayed collection of the art of Southwestern Virginia, located at Virginia Western Community College.
She was also an art history lecturer at the Mary Baldwin College adult degree program in Roanoke, Va., in the 1980s and early 1990s.
Ms. Lantz currently works in an abstract style based upon her feelings from the natural world, rather than a direct representation of that world. She uses watercolor or acrylic as primary paint media. Her artworks have been exhibited extensively throughout the United States in juried exhibitions, and can be found in many private and public collections throughout the world.
Position Responsibilities and Duties:
Exhibiting art skills at shows; Sending submissions to galleries and museums; Working in water color, graphite, pastel and acrylic
Education Certifications:
Phi Kappa Phi
Awards/Honors:
Women of Achievement Award, YWCA (2010)
Numerous awards in juried exhibitions throughout the US
Where Will You Be In 5 Years:
In five years, Ms. Lantz intends to keep making and exhibiting her art. Serious gallery inquiries welcome.