Rising Stars: Meet Scott Dickson of Grand Rapids

Today we’d like to introduce you to Scott Dickson

Hi Scott, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Visual culture- particularly the playful and bizarre has always captured my attention. Starting as a child with characters like Chilly Willy the Penguin, Pee-wee Herman, and Ren and Stimpy, transitioning to MTV, skateboarding videos, and WWF (now WWE) wrestling, and now as an adult through the Chicago Imagists (Google them), musical acts Frank Zappa and Phish (see their recent performance at The Sphere), and probably most important to my work today, raising two crazy children, I am captivated by expression of youth.

More to the point, fortunately my creative interests were always supported by my parents. Art and music lessons balanced out the typical sports-based extracurriculars. That gave way to skateboarding hangouts in the driveway, all too-loud jam sessions in the basement (during my Dad’s home office work hours), and a bedroom-turned art studio/creative think tank. I don’t think I was fully aware of the either the direct or indirect encouragement that I was provided in my youth, the encouragement to pursue things in a way that made sense to me. This is my call to all of the parents out there- support your kid’s interests- no matter what. It is worth it.

All of that self expression lead towards a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts from the University of Kansas (Lawrence KS) and and Master’s of Fine Arts from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (Philadelphia, PA). This education cemented my live as a creative- there was/is no going back.

Since my education I have developed a career as an art and design educator locally teaching both at Kendall College of Art and Design of Ferris State University and Grand Valley State University, both have provided opportunities to share my insane passion for the visual arts with the next generation of creatives. In addition to a career in academia, I have exhibited my work nationally and internationally and have work published in a variety of media both in print and online.

Outside of visual art, I continued my self-expression through music playing with the funk-rock band KJ and the Good Time Family Band- engineering and producing our second LP, Dynamics, and co-creating/producing the local music podcast, MI Music. Both projects are worth a checking out if you’re interested in exploring the local music scene.

There’s a lot on the stove right now creatively but as a parent of a 5 and 7 year-old, my time is mostly devoted to encouraging their interests and aiding in the development their abilities, which is pretty cool. In this I hope that I am giving back the hours my parents gave to me.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I don’t think any road is particularly smooth. Choosing a creative life is a path that is going to be full of ups and downs. As any artist will tell you, for every “yes”, there are many, many “no’s”. You certainly have to be thick skinned- or just not care. I suppose I hesitantly put myself in that category. I’ve never been very competitive, but the world benefits you to be so. For myself I just can’t, it makes me not myself. I take the road of “drifting where there current chose” allowing life and my choices to dictate where things go, open minded about opportunities and celebratory of others successes.

I suppose the biggest struggle I’ve had is balancing my visual art and music output. I care deeply for both, but both require very similar attention, cultivation, and care. I often think back to a professor of mine in graduate school, she confronted me on this issue through the example of Paul McCartney. McCartney is universally celebrated as a musician but how many are aware of his artwork? Our creative exploits require everything of us and often priorities must be made to make advancements, sometimes one interest needs to be shelved to support another. I try to be okay with this. I find solace in celebrated creatives who have also had to balance (and have found it) in their work, successfully straddling visual art and music. Devendra Banhart (painter / musician), Dave Kanopka (graphic designer / musician), Mike Gordon (musician / filmmaker), and Jeff Ament (musician / photographer) come to mind, check them all out.

And so I find myself at 40, continuing to explore any and all avenues to express my creativity.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I mostly make small or human scale drawings, paintings, and sculptures, things that most anyone can put in their home. I love large scale works of art, ones that are impressively expansive and monumental, but for my interests, the intimacy of an artwork belonging to a home (and the life within it), elevating walls and surfaces that most contain, it is just so relatable. At the same time, I like loud things. My work is generally pretty assertive and I’d like to think, possess a touch of a snarl. Inviting but challenging. As suggested, my recent work has been consumed by documenting the lives of my children, the experiences that seem so elevated in their youth- lost teeth, stubbed toes, snowflakes caught on the tongue, starry-eyed gazes. Kids themselves are not just loud, but their lives are, I try to capture some of this. In a way, they are my ultimate time machine, the fountain of youth. Thats pretty cool.

How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
People can easily reach out to me via Instagram at stateofscott or explore an archive of my work at www.scottdicksonart.com. I’m interested in any and all opportunities to apply my skillsets and share my creative energies with my community.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.scottdicksonart.com
• Instagram: stateofscott