Today we’d like to introduce you to Sonja Holmberg.
Sonja, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
Ever since I can remember, I have been passionate about painting and drawing. My great-grandfather, Ivan Meštrović, was a prolific sculptor in Croatia throughout the first half of the twentieth century, so I suppose you could say that the artistic gene runs in my family. As a high schooler at Deerfield Academy, I was always involved in the visual arts, taking Honors and AP Studio Art classes and participating in summer programs, such as Deerfield Academy’s Summer Arts Camp and Deerfield Academy’s summer painting and drawing workshop in Paris. I also took classes outside of school at summer camps such as Snow Farm and RISD’s Pre-College program, which further enhanced my artistic development. At my graduation, I was awarded the Orra White Hitchcock Award for excellence in the arts. I spent my subsequent five years in the Combined Degree program at Tufts University and The School of the Museum of Fine Arts (SMFA) in Boston, where I triple majored in Studio Art, French, and English, and where I became increasingly interested in graphic novels and plein air painting. In January, 2014, I was awarded the Dara Wolbrom Memorial Endowment, which enabled me to study plein air painting in Provence and to further perfect my techniques with watercolors. Over the summer from 2012 to 2015, I worked as a Visual Arts Intern for the Summer Semester program at Eaglebrook School, thus commencing my teaching career. In 2015, SMFA granted me the President’s Research Award, which helped to fund my Senior Thesis graphic novel, “One of the Guys,” for which I was later awarded the Mary Grant Charles Prize Scholarship Fund one year later. Last year, I worked as a Studio Art and French Teacher at Holderness School and I am currently a Visual Arts Teaching Fellow at Greenwich Academy. In spite of being currently based in Greenwich, CT, I return to Jamaica Plain every summer and most weekends. I still consider Boston my home base as an artist and my current watercolor series focuses on Americana buildings and signs that can be found primarily in the greater Boston area.
We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
My current series of watercolor paintings depicts Americana buildings, vestiges of a bygone era that evoke uniquely American nostalgia. The buildings that I paint often stand alone, with little to no signs of human interaction. In this way, the focus is shifted to the buildings themselves, thereby humanizing them. Whether a gas station, pizza parlor, or corner market, these buildings take on personas of their own, yet are all part of America’s cultural identity. One thing that fascinates me about Americana architecture is that it can be found anywhere in the country and it inspires the same nostalgia in viewers. It is part of our country’s national fabric and collective memory, even as it falls into disrepair. While working on this series, I was particularly inspired by Edward Hopper and Gregory Crewdson, both of whom examine aspects of Americana, memory, and nostalgia in familiar environments made strange.
How can artists connect with other artists?
As an artist, one way that I have found community is through teaching. During my time working at Holderness School, and now at Greenwich Academy, I have surrounded myself with arts educators who are just as passionate about being practicing artists as they are about being teachers. Additionally, I think it is important for artists to use social media as a way to network with other artists in the area. Practicing artists can follow one another on Facebook and Instagram and learn about local art events, such as gallery openings and museum exhibitions, where they are sure to encounter other artists. Finally, artists should frequently submit their work to shows, competitions, and websites. Not only will this help increase their visibility, but it will also help them connect with other like-minded, artistic individuals.
Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
My work can be viewed on my website, www.sonjaholmberg.com. You can also follow me on Instagram at sonjamholmberg_art. Messages for commissions can be sent through my website, my Instagram, or to my personal email, sonja.holmberg93@gmail.com. Apart from purchasing prints and commissions, viewing my website, and following me on social media, you can support me by reaching out to me for shows if you own a gallery, café, or other venue that could showcase my work. I also can be contacted for private watercolor and drawing lessons for children of all ages and adults.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.sonjaholmberg.com/
- Phone: 4132301063
- Email: sonja.holmberg93@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/
Image Credit:
Portrait Photo- Max Nagel
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