{"id":2425,"date":"2023-04-19T16:48:13","date_gmt":"2023-04-19T16:48:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ebling.library.wisc.edu\/corpus-callosum\/?p=2425"},"modified":"2023-04-24T16:41:47","modified_gmt":"2023-04-24T16:41:47","slug":"six-questions-for-christina-virnig-thomas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ebling.library.wisc.edu\/corpus-callosum\/six-questions-for-christina-virnig-thomas\/","title":{"rendered":"Six Questions for Christina Thomas-Virnig"},"content":{"rendered":"

Christina Thomas-Virnig (she\/her\/hers), is Director of DOVS Translational Research in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences (DOVS). Her watercolors, El Yunque-As I Remember It<\/em> <\/a>and El Yunque II \u2013 As I Remember It<\/em><\/a>, were published in the Inaugural and Fall 2022 issues, respectively.<\/p>\n

Question 1:<\/strong> What drew you to watercolor and what is your background in it?<\/p>\n

Thomas-Virnig:<\/strong> I am mostly self-taught and have been creating 2D art since I can remember.\u00a0 I started with pencil, then oils and now mainly concentrate on watercolor.\u00a0 I enjoy all these techniques, but watercolor allows for a way to express myself quickly after a long day at work without a lot of prep time.<\/p>\n

Question 2:<\/strong> What motivates you to create and what inspires your art?<\/p>\n

Thomas-Virnig:<\/strong> I have always been fascinated by nature which also led to my career in science.\u00a0 That career in turn also inspired my art.\u00a0 I enjoy taking a step back from the microscopic natural world and admiring nature through art.\u00a0 <\/em>I attempt to capture the natural world by emphasizing some of the key features of what I am drawing or painting with striking contrast and bright colors to hopefully engage and inspire the viewer.<\/em><\/p>\n

Question 3:<\/strong> Do you have any favorite artists or art that have influenced you and who\/what are they?<\/p>\n

Thomas-Virnig: <\/strong>Definitely Georgia O\u2019Keeffe.\u00a0 She depicted nature in a modern form using vibrant and distinct color combinations that I found fascinating.\u00a0 The fact that she was a woman artist was also inspirational.\u00a0 When I was younger, I had a very large poster of her work hanging in my bedroom that I would see every day.\u00a0 After moving to Wisconsin, I discovered that she was originally from this area.\u00a0 \u00a0It is intriguing to think that she may have seen and experienced some of the same things I do every day living here.<\/p>\n

Question 4:<\/strong> How do you balance your art with the rest of responsibilities in your life and does art help you in those other arenas of your life?<\/p>\n

Thomas-Virnig:<\/strong>\u00a0 Art is my form of meditation.\u00a0 Art fits very well into my life and brings balance.\u00a0 As I mentioned before, I can come home from a long day at work and pick up a brush and work on a composition without much prep; essentially just filling a cup with water, having my paints at hand, and finding some paper.\u00a0 Even if I only have time to work on a project for 30 minutes it helps to alleviate the stress of the day.<\/p>\n

Question 5:<\/strong> What is next for your art (anything you are working on now or planning to)?<\/p>\n

Thomas-Virnig:<\/strong>\u00a0 I just completed a watercolor of a scene from northern Wisconsin, and it features the mouth of a river meeting Lake Superior.\u00a0 Water is so ephemeral and dynamic which is a challenge for me.\u00a0 I have been concentrating on more scenes with water as a focal point to facilitate my own growth and development as an artist.<\/p>\n

Question 6:<\/strong> Do you have any advice for anyone curious or interested in getting into art who hasn\u2019t before?<\/p>\n

Thomas-Virnig:<\/strong>\u00a0 Don\u2019t hesitate, just try it!\u00a0 The reason why I love art is because there is no \u201cone\u201d way.\u00a0 There is no right or wrong approach to generating art.\u00a0 If you create something that puts a smile on your face or others, then that is really what is truly meaningful.<\/p>\n

Madison has a very active and supportive community of artists at all skill levels.\u00a0 Several associations in and around Madison organize public art shows at least once a year for their members if that is something of interest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Christina Thomas-Virnig (she\/her\/hers), is Director of DOVS Translational Research in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences (DOVS). Her watercolors, El Yunque-As I Remember It and El Yunque II \u2013 As I Remember It, were published in the Inaugural and Fall 2022 issues, respectively. Question 1: What drew you to watercolor and what is your… <\/p>\n

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