Today we’d like to introduce you to Nancee Moster.
Hi Nancee, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work life, you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
I consider myself a woman of contradictions. I was born and raised a city girl in Cleveland, OH, but I spent 20+ mid-life years managing our you-pick berry/herb/vegetable farm in Central Illinois with my husband (while we both held other full-time jobs). I’ve always been “artistic,” although it was only recently I started to think of myself as an artist! But I spent almost 40 years of my life using my left brain as a high-tech:
- Technical writer
- Instructional designer
- Marketing communicator
I consider myself an off-the-chart introvert, but:
- Successfully marketed myself as an independent consultant for decades.
- Led a technical communication organization for half a dozen years.
- Spearheaded a philanthropic/teaching event to introduce disadvantaged youth to the message of the “Hidden Figures” movie (my proudest achievement).
I was ecstatic as an independent consultant, but I spent the last 12 years of my technical career, happy years, as what we independent consultants call a “captive,” during which I:
- Created high-performance and parallel computing documentation for software developers.
- Taught my fellow (usually much younger) writers the art and science of information architecture and content management.
Alright, let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what challenges have you had to overcome?
Of course, it has been a challenging road! If a fully-lived life is smooth, something is wrong. But my struggles were and still are too numerous to mention in this brief interview.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
My post-retirement second career as an artist began with quilts. I adore quilts. I’ll never forget my first visit to the National Quilt Museum in Paducah, KY, decades ago; I thought I’d died and gone to heaven! Yet I never had any desire to sew a quilt. Never. Fast forward to 2016, when I visited a quilt exhibit at Austin’s Palmer Event Center. I wondered, “Can I duplicate this beauty in paper instead of fabric?” Short answer: yes (with tremendous encouragement from family and friends). There were many early failures. Then a dear friend introduced me to alcohol inks. These extremely vibrant, dye-based pigments changed my art trajectory. I still think of my artwork, which is all paper-based, as “quilts” composed mostly of cut “fabric” (alcohol-inked Yupo paper I design and create myself as well as store-bought paper), beads, feathers, washi tape, ribbon, fabric, and anything that sparkles. But I now call my pieces “collages” to avoid confusion. I’ve never seen any other collages similar to mine. I’m blazing a new trail. (I have a habit of doing that. Two phrases you’ll never hear me utter: “We’ve never done it that way before” and “We’ve always done it that way before.”).
Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
Intel, my final employer, has a wonderful perk for interested retirees: the company subsidizes “Encore Fellowships that match professionals with social sector organizations in high impact, paid leadership engagements.” I spent 1000 fabulous hours helping the Ann Richards School Foundation, which “raises funds and forms partnerships to advance education, empower young women, and create opportunities for girls who may otherwise be held back from achieving their full potential.” I was also on the Board of Directors of Rape Advocacy, Counseling, & Education Services, a community-based rape crisis center serving multiple counties in East Central Illinois. My final year on the Board was particularly challenging during the state budget impasse and the lack of funding for social service agencies. My husband and I now volunteer with a Central Texas dachshund rescue and personally rescue senior and medically challenged fur babies. You can take the boy out of the farm, but not the farm out of the boy! Intel moved my family to Austin in 2016, and my husband and I have enjoyed slowly transforming our backyard into an oasis for both people and animals. (The house/yard we bought in 2016 was chosen to accommodate our dogs. We started adapting the house for people during the pandemic.).
Contact Info:
- Website: https://nanceemoster.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nanceemosterart/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nanceemosterart/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancee-moster-6450291/
Image Credits
You-pick-farm-with_husband photo: The News-Gazette in Champaign/Urbana
