Erica Ott

   When Erica was a young and naive artist, she was often encouraged to create pieces that challenged her viewer emotionally through it's content.  However, she never seemed to get satisfaction from creating artwork that has a deep meaning or portrays a controversial message, which in turn left her questioning where she fit in the vast world of art. She always found herself enjoying the process of creating art and the end product, more than the content. She often felt marginalized because she sensed most successful artists, including those whom she was greatly influenced by, were creating artwork that evoked emotion not only through their technical skill but especially through their message conveyed in their work.

   As Erica grew more confident in her artwork, she realized that she didn’t need profoundly significant themes in her work to be a successful artist. In fact, she found her viewers where actually connecting to her work through an appreciation of her attention to detail. She was often told that they found her art to be refreshing because they could just enjoy the pieces for their technical skill and how they weren’t overshadowed by heavy content.

   This is still reflected in her art today. She enjoys trying her hand at several different categories of art and she appreciates the journey that it takes her on. She has always had a passion for oil painting, but she challenges herself by learning techniques that are highly uncommon but extremely rewarding. She also recently picked up the art of crocheting, which she finds oddly magical. There is something about the process of transforming yarn into an object that she finds to be extremely rewarding. With that said, art for Erica is all about the journey and she hopes her viewers appreciate it as much as she does.