Christina Spann
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AQ Volume IV artist Christina Spann was raised in the Southwest in a large single-parent family with a lot of ambition and few resources. Exploration of art and movement was a “crazy” part of her family's daily existence and entertainment. In school, the visual and theatre arts were natural paths, and she explored them all, eventually making her way to California, specifically San Francisco. There, she used her painting, drawing, and networking skills to make a place for herself. After exhibiting paintings in galleries and teaching, she soon discovered the glass arts, formed a company, and for the next 23 years, Lightspann Illumination Design produced decorative glass and metal light fixtures for restaurants, hotels, casinos, and high-end residential clients. Her design illustration drawings were the primary marketing tools for procuring these projects. The transference of line and form into art-making is natural to her, so after selling Lightspann, she returned to that focus. In making fluid and fiery marks, sometimes using nature as a guidepost, her artwork has evolved into abstract emotional expression. It feels musical, like jazz—improvising and depicting movement in unexpected directions by layering, erasing, and exposing a composition, like conducting a symphony. Christina holds a BFA in Fine Arts – Drawing and Painting from Arizona State University, with Masters work in Printmaking from UC Santa Barbara. She currently resides and creates in Tucson and exhibits at the K Newby Gallery in Tubac, AZ.
www.christinaspann.com
What inspired you to become an artist, and how did you decide to commit to this path?
I have always been an artist, even as a child, designing and painting pretend album covers. Two degrees in college in Fine Arts and Painting, making glass, directing glass artist teams, and drawing. Starting and growing my lighting fixture business demanded commitment, which I've continued in my painting studio.
Could you share the story or concept behind your recent work?
The enduring power of abstraction, layering materials, and surprise keeps me alive! Recently, I have changed my palette to the "Southwestern" colors that currently surround me in Arizona's Sonoran Desert.
What was the most challenging part of your path so far? How are you navigating this obstacle?
Finding the "audience" that resonates with my aesthetic vision. I continue to refine my techniques and imagery while I reach out to a broader collection of art patrons via social media and entering competitions.
What role does experimentation and exploration play in your artistic practice?
Improvisation is everything. The transference of line and form into art-making is natural to me. In making fluid and fiery marks, sometimes using nature as a guidepost, my work has evolved into abstract emotional expression. It feels musical, like jazz—improvising and depicting movement in unexpected directions by layering, erasing, and exposing a composition.
Do you have any start or stop rituals before creating?
Yes. I start mixing colors to arrive at something appealing or new, then apply these colors to the surface intuitively while listening to rhythmic or ethereal music.
What message do you hope your art conveys to the world?
Abstract art has the enduring ability to connect with human emotions, in ourselves as we create and in others as they observe, despite existing in a world of constant change and distraction.
Share a mantra or favorite quote that keeps you going.
When flowing, keep going!
