Meet Celeste Seitz | Multidisciplinary Artist, Curator, Public Speaker, Educator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Celeste Seitz and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Celeste, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
I am an adrenaline junkie and have ADHD, so risk has never been something I’ve shied away from.

I fought Muay Thai in my 20’s, graduated from Fire and EMS Academy in my 30’s, and started painting in my 40’s. These experiences have definitely shaped my art and art career. Ask any artist and they’ll tell you: some days in the studio feel like being punched in the face. Repeatedly. Other days, being a creative & entrepreneur can feel like everything around you is on fire.

But back to risk. I used my EMS certifications to work in a Trauma 1 hospital. Working literal life and death situations gave me the gift of perspective. In the emergency department, screwing up could result in death. In art, no one is going to die if I screw up, so I am really comfortable taking risks in my art career. Not every risk I take in art will be great, but so what. The alternative – not taking any risks – means zero reward, zero originality, zero growth. And zero growth sounds a lot like death to me.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I spent my formative years in Singapore, at the intersection of several Asian cultures. Thai, Malay, Chinese, Japanese, Indonesian…. This early exposure to Asian culture has heavily influenced my art. During lockdown of 2020, I began the practice of meditation and East Asian calligraphy, which was the beginning of my art career.
My art has evolved to include sculpture, street art, mural, and art installation. I’m currently working on a series that blends East Asian art with Western street art, which I’m really excited about.
I know I’m not the first person to say this, but it’s worth repeating: the best way to kickstart your art career is to plug into your local arts community. Volunteer. Be present. This has made a significant impact on my career.
It hasn’t been without challenges. For example, one of my proposed art installations about gun violence in schools managed to cause hysterics among a few local artists. The takeaway from this is censorship is alive and well in 2024, so find your people. Find your venue. Not everyone is ready to sit with their discomfort, so leave those people behind, and keep making your art.
I’ve had work juried into exhibits both nationally and internationally. None of my achievements would have been possible if I had allowed fear into the equation, if I had been too afraid to take risks. “You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take,” right? (Wayne Gretzky)

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
HA! To preface, I’m kind of a home body. I don’t drink. I’m vegan. So within those parameters, we’d visit the Crow Museum of Asian Art, Dallas Museum of Art, Daisha Board Gallery, galleries, galleries, galleries. We’d eat Slutty Vegan, Troy Gardner’s TLC Vegan Cafe… I used to work in Oak Cliff, so I am partial to it, so we’d also eat at Vegan Food House and Recipe Oak Cliff. The Dallas Arboretum would be on the list.

Closer to home, we’d hit McKinney Square for Infused Coffee at Leaf Cafe, live comedy at The Comedy Arena, then visit friends at McKinney Art Gallery and LAST Art Gallery. We’d take a weekend pottery throwing class at Jump Into Art Studios. We’d hit The Millhouse for their Tuesday Lunch Bunch lecture series, and Mary Hannigan’s printmaking open studio. Bay Willow Designs in the Cotton Mill occasionally offers high end hat making classes with milliner Jenny Mathison-Foster, so I’d really want to get in on that. I’m not really a shopper unless it’s Jerry’s Artarama Dallas, or Red Zeppelin Records, but McKinney Square has so much to offer in the way of small businesses. We’d walk/jog around Adriatica, and up and down Stonebridge. We’d visit the National Video Game Museum and the art galleries at the Frisco Discovery Center. There’s honestly so much to do in the suburbs even for straight edge punk rock girls like me!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Yes, absolutely. There is no way I would be at this place in my career without a support team. I have a diverse team of encouragers. My parents, Interior Designer Connie Seitz, and artist, Jim Seitz, were the first to encourage my art career, but my husband, Frank Pickrell, gave me “the push.” I signed a year lease on a studio space at The Millhouse, a creative collective for women entrepreneurs and artists. At the time, I wasn’t ready to launch an art career; but, I knew the classes, seminars, and fellowship with other creatives in The Millhouse would point me in the right direction. Dr. Beth Beck, Aimee Wolverton, and Robin Pedrero, in particular, have shared opportunities, suggestions, time, and expertise with me. I have no doubt I would have floundered without the support of The Millhouse and the programs offered there. For women creatives, the open exchange of ideas and information at The Millhouse is career-changing.

In addition, local arts nonprofits like the Visual Arts Guild of Frisco, Visual Arts League of Allen, and the Art Club of McKinney have provided community, education, and opportunities to exhibit my art. Lastly, the Visionary Art Collective out of New York offers a book club spearheaded by Victoria Frye. The reading list is filled with invaluable resources for creatives in business. One of my favorite books on the list is Make Your Art No Matter What by Beth Pickens. I definitely want to dedicate my shoutout to the people and organizations mentioned here.

Website: www.celesteseitzartist.com

Instagram: @celeste_seitz_artist

Linkedin: Celeste Seitz

Youtube: @CelesteSeitz

Image Credits
All images are the property of Celeste Seitz and are copyrighted.