Life & Work with Nicci Schwartz of Hixson, TN

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nicci Schwartz.

Hi Nicci , so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I came to my current practice through a nonlinear path. I received my BSS degree in Fine Arts with business and art history minors, but I began my career in the arts at a theatre outside of Washington DC as a costume coordinator and later moved to the Chattanooga, TN area where my career path shifted to arts management while my own career as an artist took a backseat.

Becoming a mother, particularly to three children, marked a turning point in my career. That distance from young artist to a seasoned professional was important. My experiences in life gave me time to understand structure, presentation, and the long arc of an artistic life. Now that my kids are all in the pre-teen to teenage stage, I decided to refocus on my own artistic endeavors.

How I view my art and artistic journey has been heavily influenced the choices I make as mother. That experience changed how I thought about time, inheritance, and the kinds of histories that get carried forward. In working through my mother’s estate, I began researching letters and documents connected to my female ancestors, and that material gradually became central to my work. Using ink, thread, and paper, I started responding to those texts through acts of writing, stitching, and repetition—gestures that mirror the labor of memory itself.

Over time, the work moved from individual pieces into installation, where scale and proximity could create a shared, embodied experience for the viewer. The installation, The Weight She Carried, now on view at AVA – Association for Visual Arts in Chattanooga through the end of February reflects where I am now: a practice rooted in archival research, material restraint, and an interest in how personal histories can resonate collectively.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The life of every artist has some kind of bumps. Mine are defined by generational inheritance, motherhood, family and time. All themes that can be found in my current art practice.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
My work centers on drawing and textile-based practices that use ink, thread, and paper as both material and metaphor, which I now extend into installation. I specialize in research-driven work rooted in archival materials—letters, documents, and handwritten texts—particularly those connected to my female ancestors. These materials are not treated as artifacts to be preserved, but as sites of translation, where personal history is reworked through acts of writing, stitching, and repetition.

The installation The Weight She Carried has allowed the work room to breathe and take up space. The pieces are not meant to be consumed quickly; instead, the installation invites viewers to move, pause, and physically orient themselves in relation to the work, much like navigating memory itself. At AVA, the installation emphasized intimacy while also creating a cumulative presence—individual moments building into something larger, a shared memory.

What I’m most proud of is continuing to grow as an artist while also being a mother. Being able to show my children that dreams don’t disappear, rather they change, evolve, and grow as we do. This feels essential to both my life and my practice.

In creating The Weight She Carried, I transformed my own personal burden of inherited objects, histories, and traditions into a shared space. By bringing these images into public view, the weight is lifted from my shoulders and offered to the community, where memory can be held collectively rather than privately. I think this resonates because we all inherit something whether it is objects, traditions, expectations, or silences. The work creates a quiet, safe place to acknowledge and share that experience.

What were you like growing up?
Growing up within a family filled with artistic talent in the Metro Washington, D.C. area, I was immersed in the Arts. From a great grandfather that played multiple instruments to a cousin who was awarded a chance to be tutored by Baryshnikov. Not to mention being surrounded by museums, theatres, festivals and more that fed my creativity. My family found value in the arts so my own talents were nurtured and encouraged. With a wide variety of my own interests from dance to theatre to fine art, I learned the importance of composition, balance, and narrative. All are concepts that seamlessly translate from one artform to the other. Other interests included swimming, soccer, hiking and learning to sew. Both of my great grandmothers on my mother’s side were seamstresses. One worked in a glove factory while the other created clothing for her family and friends both from existing patterns and ones she created. I like to think of my artistic journey as a tapestry of accumulated knowledge, from the technical skills of sewing to the nuanced linework of ink. That these varied experiences converge within my work, where each stroke, dash, and wash is rooted in something deeply personal.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.schwartzcreativestudios.com
• Instagram: @schwartz_creative_studios