Today we’d like to introduce you to Hannah Wolf.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Hannah. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
My name is Hannah Wolf (1997) – I was born and raised in McKinney, Texas. I struggled immensely through school when I was younger. I remember spending countless nights upset because I was never good at the school basics such as math, English or the sciences. In 3rd grade, my teacher informed my parents that I was behind and I should be tested for a learning difference. Thats when we found out that I’m severely Dyslexic. My parents transferred me to Shelton, a school specializing in learning differences. The teachers were able to give me tools and techniques on how to read and write. Those would eventually become techniques that I started to apply to my painting practice.
Going into high school, my interest in the fine arts was peaked. I began taking lessons from a local artist in McKinney, Texas spending hours painting in her garage. Fast-Forward to Junior year of high school, it was time for me to start thinking about college. Every high school student begins to stress about where they are going to apply and if they are going to be accepted. Now imagine being Dyslexic! I already had a difficult time taking a test and now I had to take the dreaded ACT/SAT. On top of that, I had a college counselor telling me that I would NEVER be accepted by a college and that I wouldn’t make it in because my reading test scores were too low. I was tremendously upset, however it lit a fire inside me and I was determined to get into the college of my dreams.
I started looking at art colleges and came across SCAD, Savannah College of Art and Design. I knew it was where I wanted to attend. I applied and was then accepted into the painting program. I graduated from SCAD in June of 2019 with a Bachelor of Fine Art (BFA) in Painting and a minor in Business Management and Entrepreneurship. Since graduation, I have relocated back to Dallas, Texas and set up a studio space in my apartment where I have continued to work as an artist. In September of 2019, I was voted to become a board member of a non-profit organization. The Arts and Music Guild, located in North Texas works to introduce the creative process to the community through art and music classes and exhibitions.
Has it been a smooth road?
A challenge for any emerging artist is finding a platform to sell your work and grow your business. Instagram and Facebook have become immensely helpful for artists to sell their work and to collaborate with other artists as well. Becoming an artist isn’t a straightforward path. There are many different avenues one can travel down but the possibilities are literally endless. Throughout college, my biggest obstacle was finding what subject matter interested me and what my process for creating the work would be. I began looking at my life. This is what we, as humans, know best. I began by creating work around drug addiction since it was a topic that had affected my family directly. I then began thinking about the reading techniques that I had learned throughout school. I used the simplification or decoding technique in painting. By using this technique in painting, it made the process both literary and visual. I began by taking photos and drawings that I had created as a child and simplifying them into simple lines and shapes. This process has now turned into exploring the Texas landscape through old postcards collected from antique shops in Texas that I incorporate into my paintings.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Hannah Wolf Studios – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Through my upbringing, my mother and I would spend hours wandering through antique malls around Texas and Oklahoma. I became interested in these objects and the idea of resurrecting the past to the present. By taking images, schoolwork, and journal entries from my childhood, along with those collected through my findings, I draw a connection between them. The majority of objects and images in Texas depict the southern lifestyle of cattle, delicate women clothing, feminine jewelry, and the Texas landscape. My process includes digitally deconstructing images and reducing information to simple lines and shapes by conveying them through mid-size paintings with acrylic, charcoal, and graphite. The work contrasts soft pink tones and graphite along with black lines. My recent body of work explores the contrast of Texas landscape interpreted through a soft color palette and delicate drawings.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
One thing that I enjoy most about living in Dallas is, everyone has the ability to do just about anything they desire on any given day. From the Dallas Museum of Art to the countless other galleries in the Dallas area. There are also tons of places to explore and get inspired by. There is a large population of people here with experience in the arts along with many other gifted and talented people to learn from. Although the DFW area is large, I found myself spending a majority of my time in small towns such as McKinney, Frisco and other surrounding suburbs. There are so many hidden gems in each town. I have found a few of my favorite spots, and I gather inspiration from both the people and the landscape in the metroplex.
Contact Info:
- Website: hannahwolfstudios.com
- Email: hannahwolfstudios@gmail.com
- Instagram: hannahwolfstudios
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