Conversations with Caroline Hahn

Today we’d like to introduce you to Caroline Hahn.  

Hi Caroline, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
The story of my artistic journey begins with my family. We moved around a lot when I was little, so my five siblings were my best friends growing up. We did everything together, but most often and notably, we loved making these silly movies with my parents’ old video camera. We didn’t have any fancy equipment or costumes, so we would just make whatever we wanted with whatever we had. My parents, of course, were saints because we often weren’t quiet or clean (to say the least), and they always encouraged and prioritized creative play and exploration. So, these movies were this amazing creative and collaborative experience for us. I would often be in charge of the special effects since I had always been good at drawing and enjoyed it. I was really lucky to be in this environment where we were encouraged to be creative, no ideas were stupid, and we were just making these movies because it was fun, and we loved it. Looking back now, when I decided at a young age that I wanted to take my life as an artist seriously, I think it was because I never wanted to stop doing things like that – imagining and creating for no other reason than for the sake of enjoying that experience and the people it might connect you with. 

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?
Jumping forward a few years now – I was about to finish my degrees (I was working on a BFA in painting and a BA in art history), and I knew that I needed to have a plan in place to get a job after school. I had worked many jobs throughout college to help me pay for it – some art-related, others just basic minimum wage work. However, my favorite by far, and the one I was able to stick with for a few years, was working as a graphic designer for my school. So that became my plan – to find a graphic design job. Of course, there isn’t much that goes according to plan in our lives, and this was definitely one of those times. For all of my efforts, certifications, and desire to work, I just couldn’t find one for months. When I finally did get a “design” job, it was easily the worst job I’ve ever had for a number of reasons – I only lasted about a month before I just had to quit. I began questioning my purpose, my decision to be an artist, the worth of my work and myself, pretty much everything like that. I didn’t know what to do, and I was working about 60 hours a week at 3 different part-time jobs to make it by. I stopped painting. I pretty much stopped making anything at all. This was a very dark time for me. However, it was also at this darkest time that I received two miracles. The first was a film production company that I had worked for on a freelance basis for several years that offered to train me as an editor after seeing my sample editing work. This gave me the opportunity to unite in one job so many things that I loved. The second was meeting my husband, who is also an artist. He was the only person who saw my cessation of working for what it was and encouraged me through it. He was also one of the only people who believed that I really could quit my salaried job and make it as a fine artist when even I didn’t believe that was possible at the time. Looking back now four years later, it’s abundantly clear that I would not be the person or the artist I am today without my husband and, of course, my daughter who was born in 2021. 

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
First and foremost, I am a visual artist, most often a painter. I create works in a few different mediums, including acrylic and oil paint, charcoal, India ink, and gouache to name a few. In terms of my fine artwork, I am most known for my water paintings and swimmer series. I started this body of work as my capstone project for my degree in college, and I continue to explore it along with several other bodies of work I’ve started since then. However, I would say that I’m most recognizable and known for offering in-person ink portraits at art festivals in the summertime. I absolutely love being a vendor at festivals; I get to meet so many new and interesting people and paint so many different faces throughout the day. I think that there are a few things that separate me from other artists and vendors at these festivals. Offering the portraits is one of them, and another one is the “Name Your Price” section I always make available at every festival. I’m very passionate about making original artwork available to anyone who wishes to own it. The sort of unspoken price barrier of “fine art” has always frustrated me because I’ve found that people who hold art in the highest regard are often those who can’t afford a thousand-dollar painting. The works that make up this section are studies and experiments – often misfits – who find incredible, loving homes where they’re appreciated. Honestly, that’s worth so much more to me. When it comes down to it, as an artist, I really see myself as a public servant. It’s my job to provide this service to the best of my abilities and make it as enjoyable as I can. Buying art should be fun and exhilarating! And if, at the end of the day, I’ve made enough to provide for my family and to buy more art supplies, then everyone wins. 

What’s next?
There are definitely a few things I’m excited about for the future. I’d like to continue developing relationships with other artists – it’s so important to stick together and support each other. I’ve always wanted to start a community of artists who meet regularly and discuss our work since it can be so hard to create in isolation sometimes. I’m not sure what that looks like yet, but I’m hoping it develops naturally. Otherwise, I’m really excited to keep working and continuing to cultivate and explore this “secret garden” that exists in my imagination – it’s essentially where all my paintings come from and where they all take place. Ultimately though, my big goal at the moment is to have an exhibition of my work at the Grand Rapids Art Museum. This past fall, I had my first solo show of 22 works exploring the human body called “Anatomy Lessens.” I have a little more work to do and a few more exhibitions to put on before I make it into that league, but that’s my goal! I’m actually working on a new body of work right now that I’m really excited about. I’m not announcing anything just yet, though – occasionally, you might see a peek on some of my social media accounts, but I like to maintain some mystery there. 

Pricing:

• Commission in Charcoal: 25 cents/square inch
• Commission in India Ink or Graphite: 3o cents/square inch
• Commission in Gouache Paint: 35 cents/square inch
• Commission in Acrylic Paint: 40 cents/square inch
• Commission in Oil Paint: 55 cents/square inch

Contact Info:

• Website: www.hahnstudio.art
• Instagram: @hahnstudio_art