Today we’d like to introduce you to Hannah Davis.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I have always been drawn to bright colors. As a child I could often be found wearing different bright patterns- and lots of glitter. I feel that at a young age I began to use color as a means of expressing myself. In elementary school I had many tutors in math, spelling and basically everything, and I hated school because of it. My ADHD made it impossible to sit still long enough to absorb anything. All of my friends excelled (and still do) in academics, but I never could and it truly affected my confidence. I was, however, always able to calm my ADHD while creating art. From day one, art was my language of choice. I have many fond memories of the praise and encouragement that I received from my elementary art teacher Mrs.Quinn. I would spend every second of those classes deep in my work, passionate and self-assured for that one hour class, twice a week. I would spend all of my time in my other classes day-dreaming of returning to my art project. Art has always been good to me when others weren’t. Through bullying in middle school, I found art club, drama and chorus. I found people who were accepting and creative like me and I never looked back.
After graduating high school, I was accepted into MassArt. I was attracted to its vibrancy in color and in the artists I was surrounded by. Everyone had a very different approach to art that made it their own, and in this sea of diversity I found comfort. There was no longer a cookie-cutter shape of person I had to be to fit in, there was only acceptance and collaboration. I found myself at MassArt because I was welcomed to be myself.
Has it been a smooth road?
Along with my new self-discovery I also found old obstacles. My ADHD made it impossible for my professors to keep up with me. One day I would have an elaborate plan to create one piece for an assignment, the next day I’d wake up with an entirely new plan. This happened every day. Even now my brain still has trouble sticking to an original goal. I can’t tell you how much I spent in art school on supplies I never ended up using. My studio was a graveyard of the ghosts of half-finished works past. I would fight with myself often on whether I should push myself in a direction I didn’t want to go in, simply to have something finished. This made school troublesome all over again, even more so because I knew I could do this, just not how.
As a senior I found my calling somewhere between quirky art and functional sculpture. I wanted to create pieces that would be found in someone’s home or work space that was both usable and charismatic. Although I finally was able to create bodies of work I was happy with, I fought constantly with my studio professor about what she liked to refer to as my ‘Kitschy Creations’. She often called them tacky, but I saw this as a test of my own artistic confidence. I made over 200 pieces in her class, almost as if her hatred fueled my passion. Our clash of her classical art background and my anything but was the push I needed, and my persistence was rewarded in my senior thesis show that same year, when the Dean of MassArt came to my critique, shook my hand and congratulated me on such fine work (it didn’t hurt that my professor was
there to see it).
What else should we know about you and your art?
Since graduation I have been focusing on self-discovery through my art. I have taken commissions, and have worked on other projects for small businesses. I am currently working with a fellow graduate on a brand under which we can both create pieces for sale, under our own control and guidelines. We one day hope to open this brand to fellow artists as a platform for new discovery and collaboration. I am proud to say I am still producing work daily as I feel it is important to keep my creative muscles limber, even if it means just sketching on my tablet. Although I ultimately graduated with a BFA in sculpture I find myself drawing and painting more lately, though I still sculpt occasionally.
My inspiration has and will always be with outer space and the deep sea. I read and watch documentaries about both constantly and since humans have only scratched the surface exploring these deep and beautiful mysteries, I feel that my inspiration is limitless. I still have a lot to learn as an artist, and I feel there is so much more to grow into. I am very excited about this chapter in my life, as it has boundless opportunity in store for me.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
Since moving down here from New Hampshire for school, Boston has been an amazing place to thrive. There is beauty everywhere you look, from the melting pot of different people who visit/live here, the mix of architecture, to of course all of the art found around the streets of the city. My only hope for Boston is to have more affordable space for those of us who need it to create. With all of the luxury condos being built everywhere it only makes it harder and harder for working artists to find a space where they can afford to create. Many of those collectives who open their doors to others fill up so quickly they require waiting lists to get in.
I dream of a day artists can create without the confines of what they can afford, imagine how beautiful the world could be.
Contact Info:
- Email: hannah_rose_davis@yahoo.com
- Instagram: @hannahrosedavis
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/hannahrose.d
- Twitter: @hannahrose253
Image Credit:
Portrait and Painting Photography By. Mel Taing
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