Britynn Davis is the current Artist-in-Residence at Northwestern Oklahoma State University. With her Bachelors of Fine Arts from the University of Central Arkansas and a Masters of Fine Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, she has held workshops her at Northwestern while mentoring other students.
How are you enjoying your time here in Alva?
BD: It’s been a really great community to be in, I really enjoy the students
What are some differences between the University of Central Arkansas and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago compared to Northwestern?
BD: I taught four undergrad classes at the Chicago Art Institute and it was a lot bigger. The pace itself is really different… You can kind of focus here a little better. I went to an undergrad school similar to Northwestern and I think for me that was a really good fit. For undergrads you just want to keep your future open I think and not get in a on of debt.
In what way did the Art Institute of Chicago help you grow as an artist?
BD: It helped me grow a lot. It was very challenging and a very competitive school, so for the program I was in, Fiber and Material studies, it was ranked #3 in the US so I was nervous all of the time, but that was really good for me. It was humbling so I think it forced me to really work hard.
How did you know art was something you wanted to go into?
BD: I really love being creative, writing, making things. My whole life I was making furniture and hanging out playing with my dad’s tools. So I knew that was an interest, but I didn’t think it could be a career, but then I got to college and saw how it could be. Things that helped me make that decision were working different jobs. I worked a lot and I got to see things that I didn’t want to do and it made me think of what could be out there. This ended up being the perfect field for me.
What is imperative to the work of an artist?
BD: That’s a huge question because I think there are so many ways to be an artist, which is really exciting. I think you just have to be a person who has a question and their work is a way of exploring these questions.
What inspires you to make your pieces?
BD: I love seeing how things connect and how they grow. I just like understanding how things are made. I love to be with people and the ideas of how people interact and connect is an element of how I work sculpturally, and there are natural organic influences in my work as well.
What are your plans for the future?
BD: I was actually awarded a residency at Vermont Studios Center in Johnson, Vermont. I’ll be there doing another residency so I’m excited to do that. I’ll be living in Memphis after that and working for a ceramic artist there for a while and deciding what the right place is for me next fall.
What advice would you like to share with students?
BD: Wherever you’re at just being a person that is a learner will serve you very well. It pays to be coachable, I learned that in grad school. Just be a person that is really invested in whatever you do.
Davis’s residency here at Northwestern ends on November 4th. She will showcase her art at the Graceful Arts Center’s First Friday of November.