Image Portrait of the artist by Candice Davis Alumni ’18 Education BFA, Minneapolis College of Art and Design Website www.nancyjuliahicks.com Social Media Instagram Current Career Teaching Artist Location Minneapolis, Minnesota What was your major and how did you choose it? I started out at MCAD as an illustration major, but I realized that I was far more interested in making dimensional works, so I changed to a sculpture major and that very semester I took a papermaking class and decided to become a print paper book major! I fell in love with the tactility of papermaking, the political history of printmaking, and the dimension of bookmaking. Who was your favorite teacher and why? I had many professors at MCAD who challenged my perspective on artmaking and who are still wonderful mentors to me now! Natasha Pestich helped me understand that a major doesn't equate to the work you make, and she was always flexible around me making dimensional work even as a print paper book major. Anna Chisholm's African American art class changed the way I approached my studio practice, and Lynda Monick-Isenberg was and still is supportive of my teaching practice. Describe your internship(s). I worked at Cave Paper the summer after my sophomore year and learned the ins and outs of paper production, dying papers, and why they called it Cave Paper. My last semester I worked as an intern for Piotr Szyhalski, an instructor I'd worked extensively for throughout my time at MCAD. I worked with him to create a large We Are Working All the Time banner for the Soap Factory prior to its closing. Best thing you ever got/saw on the free shelf? I found a ceramic cowboy boot that's graced my studio for the last three years! How have things changed since graduating? Is there anything you miss about being a student at MCAD? The most difficult part of graduating for me was that when you're at MCAD you have everything built out for you. You have your community available for feedback and critique, a library, a printshop, and your studio all in the same building. When you graduate, you have to find ways to puzzle piece those things together. You have to find ways to work around your peers' schedules to get together to critique and develop. I miss how simple it used to be—I could walk one row over in my studio and find a friend to pick their brain about a project, but now there's a commute. Is there anything you wish you knew when you were an MCAD student? I remember Natasha Pestich always telling me that when you get out of school your practice moves much slower. I think I always heard it but never listened to it and my first year out I spent a lot of time beating myself up for not having the same momentum that I had as a student. It's harder to be an artist when you're not scheduling your life entirely around being an art student. It's okay to move slower than you expect. What advice do you have for artists at the beginning of their creative careers? It's okay to take pause for yourself if you feel overwhelmed with balancing life and art and work. What advice do you have for artists at the beginning of their creative careers? It's okay to take pause for yourself if you feel overwhelmed with balancing life and art and work. Describe what you do for work and how you feel about it. I work as a teaching artist with various organizations across the Twin Cities—including the Minneapolis Institute of Art, the Walker Art Center, the Textile Center, the Minnesota Center for Book Arts, the White Bear Center for Art, and with various community organizations designing my own lessons. I love working as a teaching artist because I'm able to share knowledge and skill between generations and I still have time for my own studio practice. Working as a teaching artist is inspiring for my own studio practice as well because I'm constantly learning from my students and their experiences. How do you feel about the Twin Cities? The art community in the Twin Cities is extremely supportive, I love it! How did you get your job? Having a teaching artist minor gave me the experience, skill, and connections I needed to apply for the jobs I have. I was suggested by an old classmate for my current position at the Mia, and applied for the positions I have with the Textile Center, the MCBA, and the Walker. How do you network yourself and your art? Go to openings! Have genuine conversations with people and genuine connections will come. Keep in touch with those you've met, ask them to come to your studio (for the last year and a half I haven't had a studio and I've had folks come to my living room to look at my work). What inspires you? Collective action, anarchist literature, kid-art, west Texas Anything you're currently obsessed with? Weaving! I've been making a weaving a day for the past week! Lastly, can you share your biggest takeaway from MCAD? The communities you build at MCAD are vital even after graduating. I wouldn't be the artist I am without the instructors, staff, and classmates that I'm still able to talk to about the work we all make.