Artist and educator Casey Hanrahan received a BFA from the Hartford Art School in 2012, she was a double major in Ceramics and Illustration. With her degree, Casey began teaching general art at a private boarding school, where she continued to work for five years. In 2016 she felt that it was time to look into graduate school. For artists it is often better to experience a few years in the workforce prior to attending an MFA program. While Casey still enjoyed teaching, she wanted to push herself as an artist. She craved continuing her own education and “seeing what new experiences would come from grad school.”
Hartford Art School teaches artists to build their own career by taking the right steps for their own unique path, especially following graduation and continuing on to a career. “Hartford Art School showed me the benefits of hard work and guided me to being a successful artist, but also someone that could work with people from other disciplines. Matt Towers gave me guidance and encouragement while in school but also after, when I needed to make the next step and apply for grad school. His teachings (and many, many others at HAS) still echo through me and now I am passing along some of those teachings to my students.”
After researching and applying to different programs, Casey knew that she wanted to work with the professors at Arizona State University. “Being a candidate at ASU guided me and pushed me to try different things, some that I would not have tried alone in my studio. I never thought I would only be making slip cast work after grad school, but I am in love with working that way now!” She graduated from ASU in May of 2020, which Casey notes was a daunting time to graduate. However, she already had a home studio, “being quarantined forced me to create a studio in my spare bedroom, even though I had several doubts about the mess or transporting fragile work, I tried it out. It turned out to be a decision that helped me in more ways than one. It taught me to streamline my studio and keep it organized and tidy. It helped my mental health I genuinely do not know what I would have done with my summer last year if I didn't have my work to focus on. I am thankful I had a creative outlet to help me through COVID times.”
As someone that is driven by creativity, Casey is the kind of person that needs to be making artwork constantly. Even when she did not have a ceramics studio in her home, she continued to create in other ways, such as knitting or painting. The broad lessons and variety that you learn as a student at Hartford Art School prepares artists to be multifaceted and create using multiple mediums, providing adaptability and endless creative opportunities.
Grad School and her natural hunger to work hard allowed Casey to utilize the time and circumstances of the pandemic to figure out her studio practice before moving on to a new job. Casey is beginning a new position as the lead Ceramics technician at Mesa Arts Center. With her ample teaching experience and the ability to be multifaceted that was fostered by her experiences as Hartford Art School, she will also be teaching ceramics classes at a handful of community colleges in Phoenix, AZ.
She will continue to utilize her ceramic knowledge and her home studio to work efficiently. “I make work in cycles, as many ceramics artists do, by making work to fill a kiln, then firing, then glazing, firing, and repeating. When I have less time to make work I try to focus on quality over quantity and to not rush the process. It is also important for me to incorporate time into the marketing aspect of my work. Maybe it's making a post on Instagram, taking nice photos, or applying to shows, these things take time too.”
Look out for Casey’s work, which was recently featured in the Margarita Cup Invitational in June 2021 at Companion Gallery (Humboldt, TN) and will be in the Charlie Cummings Gallery Clay Jam this fall (2021), in Gainesville, FL.
When looking back, Casey reminisces on her experience with her fellow students. “The great sense of community at Hartford Art School helped me through the tough times and the good times. I'll never forget the late nights in the studios with my best friends and the positive influence my peers had on me.”
It is important for artists to do what works for them. With the variety of knowledge that you learn at Hartford Art School you can do anything you wish to do. Whether you go on to graduate school, start a career in teaching, as a studio artist or in countless other ways, using your creativity to build a path that is unique to you is what is most important.
“During these times do what is right for you. We all need something different but try to listen to yourself. Keep going and don't be afraid of some hard work!”
Casey Hanrahan '12, Ceramics and IllustrationThe great sense of community at Hartford Art School helped me through the tough times and the good times. I'll never forget the late nights in the studios with my best friends and the positive influence my peers had on me.