Today we’d like to introduce you to Tyler Nicholson.
Tyler, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
I have always worked with my hands. Growing up on a farm in the small, dusty town of Blythe, California, I had plenty of time to develop my skills of making things work that couldn’t (or shouldn’t) and using my imagination to fill the sometimes lonely and mostly isolated days on the ranch. When I wasn’t wrenching on a dirtbike or trying to fix my beat-up truck, I would be drawing. It was in my high school English, Math, Science, Chemistry, Biology, and Civics class (es) that I honed my drawing skills. But, feeling a strong urge to do nothing with my life, I knew that I had to leave. So, after 18 years of busting-up dirt clods and watching the Alfalfa grow, I decided to join the Army.
While in the Army, when I wasn’t sweating out in the field or blowing through cigarettes, I was trying to entertain my friends with crudely drawn pictures of bunnies doing fantastic (or obscene) things. It was when I returned from Iraq that I started my meandering path towards being a person that sometimes makes things and teaches others to do the same.
After a few years trying to figure out my life, I started college (for the 3rd time) at Gulf Coast State College where I received my Associates Degree. Gulf Coast is where I first realized ceramics was not just for little old ladies or Patrick Swayze, it was also for me. Even after a lifetime of drawing it was honestly the first time I felt connected to the material in which I was working. At the risk of sounding cliché, I found help through working in the dirt. This moment of realization prompted me to pursue an education in the Arts. After Gulf Coast, I attended The University of West Florida for my BFA in Studio Art and then received my MFA in Studio Art at Georgia State University.
Currently, I’m the Studio Manager at Cherrylion Studios in Atlanta where incredible art is made at ludicrous speed and I help teach figure sculpting to over 50 students per week.
I’ve been fortunate in innumerable ways, from having the opportunity to grow up in open spaces to serving with some of the finest people on the planet. My instructors and colleagues have been nothing short of amazing and inspiring. However, I do not believe myself to be an artist; instead, I’m a person who makes things.
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
I make work that is largely based on my experiences as a soldier. I’m not interested in recreating images of war or heroics, rather, I portray the, “hurry up and wait.” In my drawings and sculptures, one will often find a slightly (or completely) disheveled soldier, chain smoking, and wondering what cluster f*ck is coming next. My sculptural objects are a combination of ceramics and scavenged materials that reference the up-armored and barely functioning equipment that was commonplace during the beginning of the Iraq war.
Any advice for aspiring or new artists?
Keep making work and keep learning new skill sets. I think it is important to listen to the advice from others but trust your instincts and find your own path.
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
You could mosey on over to tylerleighnicholson.com. However, more important than supporting me, I’d appreciate it if people would go to The Veteran Artist Movement (https://www.veteran-art-movement.net) or the Veteran Artist Program (https://veteranartistprogram.org) and check out the amazing work and efforts of my fellow veteran artists.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.tylerleighnicholson.com
- Instagram: @tyler.leigh.nicholson
Image Credit:
Bio picture – Paula Harding
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