Check Out Ryah Christensen’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ryah Christensen.

Hi Ryah, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I was born in Boston, MA, to artist parents. I apprenticed in my father’s studio, fabricating plaster, resin and concrete sculptures in both public and private spaces. I attended college for musical theater, then graduated with a BA in History / Minor in Asian Studies from the University of Texas at Austin. I began my studio practice as a painter, often using historical narrative, folklore, fairy tales and BIG CANVASES so that my art would be a participatory, accessible, theatrical experience. The desire to create large scale, touchable art is what led to making mosaics. Learning such a durable medium created many work opportunities in functional, exterior, and public spaces. Over the past 23 years, I have created tile, glass and stone mosaics on retaining walls, in sidewalks, floors, showers, kitchens, lobbies and stairwells. I have fabricated three-dimensional mosaic sculptures and fountains. I have coordinated with individuals, neighborhoods, architects, design professionals, corporations, City officials, Arts organizations and construction crews to design, fabricate and install aesthetically beautiful and durable artwork that resonates with its audience.

Recently I have revisited my painterly beginnings by fabricating my own unique tiles and using them in conjunction with more traditional mosaic methods. This, in turn, has evolved into directing large collaborative art projects with diverse communities. For these works, I teach children and adults to make tiles, then incorporate their myriad voices into giant, collage-style mosaics, thus forging a profound connection between a community and the artwork it helped create.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I have never doubted that I am pursuing the right career for me, though I have struggled with the unpredictable employment, steep learning curve, and demand for flexibility that comes with being a self-employed artist. It has been especially hard to balance those demands with parenting two daughters. I always feel that I do not have enough time to execute projects to a feeling of perfection or to just play around in the studio and dream / explore / experiment a little. On the other hand, I know that over the last decade I have grown and stretched as both an artist and a person because of these challenges.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am storyteller. A good story engages you in familiar realms, then takes you somewhere new. It should be participatory, and accessible, and make people feel. I build mixed media works whose skins are comprised of common yet charged materials – journals, children’s scribbles, leaves, bone –things we have all picked up while wandering are arranged in a surprising order that renders the journey meaningful. I make multi – dimensional, painterly mosaics whose laborious surfaces invite touch and wonder. I direct collaborative art projects in which I teach others to make tiles – about themselves, their lives, their neighborhoods – then incorporate those intimate, personal expressions into large, collage – mosaic works that embody their community’s depth and complexity. On a small scale, this is like taking a walk together, during which we realize how much our narratives have in common. On a large scale, we are creating powerful stories that will become well-traveled maps that sustain our individual and collective myths. Engaging public art builds community and directs our energies towards a more joyful world.

We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Success is hard to define, but I know it when I feel it. It feels like “a job well done,” which means I have made something to the best of my abilities within the constraints of the current environment. It means I have a happy client who feels seen in the artwork I’ve made them. It means that I see a community, enamored with their own work, who feels like their big story has been told, and that their individual stories were an integral part of that larger tale. It means I have followed a vision to its end. Success is a lovely feeling… almost a sensation – like rest – or exhalation.

Contact Info:

• Email: ryahchristensen@gmail.com
• Website: www.ryahchristensen.com
• Instagram: Ryah Christensen
• Facebook: Ryah Christensen

Image Credits
EilerPhilipRogersPhotrograph-1 (Courtesy Philip Rogers), collaboration with Sun McColgin Brazos (Courtesy Philip Rogers) All other photos by Ryah Christensen Also, “Community Quilt” (collaboration with Melissa Knight and the Rosewood Community “Wildflowers” (collaboration with Aly Winningham and the students of Austin Discovery School