Scholastic Spotlight: Casey Solseng

The Abandoned Artist
Solseng, Casey
Grade: 12
School: Park River Area High School, Park River ND Educator: Kierstin Hurtt
AWARD: Silver Key, Journalism

As I drove down Highway 18, I wondered what this road would look like on Friday, when the first big snowstorm would hit. I made my way to the quaint town of Hoople while playing Justin Bieber to alleviate the silence of driving alone. As I made the 15- minute trek, I couldn’t help but feel a pit of nerves since I was interviewing someone I’d never met. As I pulled into town, I craned my head to look between both sides of the street waiting to see the grocery store on my left, and the bar on my right, which would alert me to make my left turn to get to the art studio. I somehow missed my turn and had to take my second attempt at finding the studio, which ended up being successful. I parked in front of a stark white building with three medium-sized windows lining the front of the building. I wasn't confident I was at the right place, but after seeing a Christmas tree made of hats through the window, I knew I was at the right location.

She was just finishing up spray painting a project outside as I arrived. As she brought in her finished project, she left open the black door, inviting me into her artistic world. I stood admiring every inch of the studio as she cleaned up a bit. With a wine social event coming up that Friday, she had different items set out around the studio that would eventually be bought by local customers. It smelt of spray paint which was expected in an art studio. A light brown colored the walls of the studio. Half of the ceiling was embellished in white tiling like tin tiling seen today; the other half of the ceiling was white, just like the outside of the studio. The flooring was a beautiful light brown hardwood complementing the walls perfectly. Multiple paintings lined the walls while dressers and chairs were scattered throughout the studio waiting for their placement around the workspace. Eventually, the beautiful painter made her way towards me. She had luscious short caramel hair that complemented her brown eyes perfectly. She sported jeans covered with a few paint splatters here and there. She wore a dark T-shirt with a gray sweatshirt over the top due to the chilly weather that day. As we sat down about to start the interview, her hands reflected the work she had done that day with smears of
paint along her fingers and palms. On the front of her left hand was a list of words running from the top to the bottom with words I couldn’t make out from where I was. She had me sit on an old-looking vintage couch with brown and yellow threads intertwined together. Placed in front of the couch was an old cart with a sheet of glass over the top acting as a coffee table. She sat on a chair across from me. I placed my phone in between us and pressed record.

Sarah Hultin is a small-town North Dakota painter who had big visions and the skills to accomplish them. She transformed her parents’ old store into a modern art studio, where she holds different social events for people to come explore her artwork.

“My work is very deeply influenced by this area, old houses especially. My connection to my subject matter comes from my grandparents’ old house, it’s nearly abandoned, and I guess my family has tried to keep it alive, but I’ve always felt very connected to it, and it has made me want to paint other abandoned houses just because you can see the history of our area through the houses and the people who have lived here.”

When you grow up in a small town, the school doesn’t always have the capability to offer classes like art, so Sarah taught herself how to paint. She bought a set of paints and a Bob Ross book and through time she became more and more comfortable with paints. As she went to pursue her college education at Minnesota State University Moorhead, she fought the idea of pursuing art as her career, for it is not known as a traditional or practical path of schooling. She ended up going to school for graphic design and took art classes on the side, keeping in touch with her artistic side. Eventually, her classes started to overlap and interfere; after realizing her heart was more invested into painting, she decided to pursue painting along with graphic design.

“My heart was just way more in painting. It’s what I love doing; when I was going to school for graphic design, I would rush through other homework just so I could paint. It's just where my heart was.” Multiple painting professors at MSUM recognized her talent and pushed her to pursue an art career.

When asked who inspired her to become an artist, her brows furrowed as she responded, “That’s a hard one, everyone close to me was kind of like...’What are you doing?’” she stated with a chuckle. “It was hard for people to understand why I would want to go to school for art.” Even though people had doubts, her inspiration drawn from other artists helped her keep her head up and keep going for art. Sarah’s painting professors helped her network in the area and get connected with galleries and museums.

Sarah's first major success struck during her second year in the painting program at MSUM, when she was contacted by the North Dakota Museum of Art asking if she would put one of her paintings in their auction. “That was kind of like a turning point for me. I was like, whoa, I’m actually okay at this.” Like most people do, Sarah encountered failures and obstacles along the way. She experienced many moments of applying to various shows and galleries and not receiving a chance to display her art. Sarah said getting declined is always a learning lesson, and it encouraged and motivated her to keep working.

Today, all of Sarah’s dedication and inspiration have made her a full-fledged artist. For Sarah, no two days are ever the same; she experiences no repetition. She tries to market half the day and paint the other. When asked if she had any set hours, she admitted, “I try to stick to a schedule, but I can get off track pretty easily.” The biggest challenge Sarah has faced in her career so far is keeping herself productive. “You have to make sure to stay dedicated and put your time into it [art].” One perk of Sarah’s career is the flexible lifestyle it has allowed her to live. She has been able to go to Europe five times and even spent this past summer backpacking in China, Indonesia, and South America. She shared that her ability to travel is all because of painting; since she isn’t tied down to a nine-to- five job, she can come and go as she pleases.

Through her journey, Sarah questioned herself on becoming an artist. “Yes always,” she laughed “there’s still days I question it. That was a very hard obstacle for me to overcome, choosing to become an artist. It’s really not that practical, but it’s a skill that I'll have the rest of my life, and even when I’m old I’ll be able to paint; it’s a good education. It's something that I love doing and something I will never regret doing.”

I asked my final question: what advice would you give to someone going into your career field? She responded, “You have to really want it, not an easy career you really have to devote your time to it and if that’s something you want, think of it as a business and learn how to market yourself and sell your work.”

With the interview at its end, I stopped recording and gathered my things. As I got ready to head out the door, I thanked Sarah for her time and she left me her email for any future questions I might have. I glanced around the studio for the last time and made my way back home thinking how cool it would be to be an artist.