Artist Chris Tessnear
A school teacher by trade, Chris Tessnear has drawn and colored most of her life. She began serious study of watercolor and drawing in 1990 with Anne Godfrey. She continued to take classes, study on her own and get involved with the local arts organizations and opportunities. She also helped to found and manage a local non-profit art gallery and instructional center, Art 1 in Gastonia.
Chris works in watercolor, mixed media and has recently become obsessed with collage and altered art. She enjoys all subject matter and often works in series. Making devotional booklets and note cards on her computer from her art is part of the joy and mission she considers her art to be.
Having studied with many local artists and internationally known artists such as John Brady, Steve Jordan, Rick Chin, and Frank Webb, Chris has enjoyed a variety of experiences to expand her style and techniques.
Currently, Chris is teaching at Gaston School of the Arts and Explore Beyond School (Monart Method) for school age children. As a result of teaching two high school art interims, she is taking art classes at Gaston College to add art to her teaching license.
She is working on a new body of work called “Her….” which features women in their lives, a collaborative journal project on the theme of “woman” and a collage series on various themes.
Chris allows the creative process to dominate not always expecting a finished piece worthy of framing but an aid in the continuing process of growing and expanding her abilities. She enjoys the simple process of child-like creating, rejoicing when the end product does turnout a keeper.
Chris is married to Terry and has one son, Matthew, who is in college.
Her art is available at the Gaston County Museum of Art and History and Clay Cafe in Gaston County, Blue Moon Gallery, Cliffside, NC; Alta Vista Gallery, Valle Crucis, NC.
Chris has work published in Somerset Studios Gallery-Summer 2006, Somerset Studios July-August 2006, and Legacy October-November 2006.
