Erin Swanson was born in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1977. As a child, she experimented with pastels, colored pencils, and watercolors. She graduated from North Central High School in 1995. In 1999 she earned her B.F.A. degree in painting from Ball State University. Swanson earned a second bachelor degree in Art Education from Herron Art School and became certified to teach K-12 in 2005.
Swanson currently teaches at the Zionsville SullivanMunce Cultural Center, and has taught at the ... view more »
Artist Medium: Visual Arts: Acrylic, Clay, Drawing Media; charcoal on paper
I have always felt very close to nature on a spiritual level. Nature teaches us everything that we need to know about life. I grew up playing outside all day, digging for earthworms, catching crickets, searching for bullheads in seaweed, loving the phases of the moon, examining the textures of sweet gum, and hatching moths from cocoons that dropped from the trees in our backyard. Nature is a work of art with its lines, shapes, values, textures, colors, and sounds.
After attending art school, I wanted to turn nature into something different. Some of my artwork reflects the softness and beauty of the elements. Some of my artwork reflects the way humans manipulate and treat the environment based on societal and material influences. Not all of my artwork is supposed to be pretty. The world shows itself to be entangled with light and dark, both which have the capacity to be beautiful or ugly.
$50 – $1,000
B.A.E. Herron School of Art 2005, B.F.A. Ball State University 1999
Zionsville SullivanMunce Cultural Center, AV Framing Gallery, Indianapolis Art Center, Anderson Fine Art Center, Herron School of Art, VSA Arts of Indiana, Irvington Historical Society
Indianapolis Arts Council – ArtsGarden Cafe Tables Project 2008, Indianapolis Arts Council – Art Fan Project 2007, Indianapolis Museum of Art – Vending Machine Project 2006, IU Kokomo Regional Exhibition Award of Distinction 2005, Irvington Historical Society – permanent collection 2003.
