Featured Student Artist | March 2024

Noelle Tennis Gulden

Writing Practice | © Noelle Tennis Gulden

What did you enjoy about your experience in Speak to Me From Everywhere?

I had a very unique experience with Speak to Me From Everywhere. As some people here might already know, I work as the studio manager for Laurie Doctor Studios, and in that role I helped Laurie launch Speak to Me — her first online class — in November of 2020. That creative experience was enthralling! Laurie and I had long played with the idea of translating her distinct teaching style to an online format, but we knew we had to make it happen when one in-person class after another was cancelled in the wake of the pandemic. It was hard work, but it was so rewarding.

After helping guide hundreds of students through four live sessions of Speak to Me from November 2020 through March 2021, I took a week in April 2021 to experience the class as a student. Having been a student of Laurie’s for several years before starting as her studio manager, I treasure those rare moments when I get to be her student again.

What did you find difficult about Speak to Me?

There are definite benefits to doing an online class, such as not having to travel away from home, getting to work in your own studio, and getting to revisit the course material again and again. But there are some difficulties as well, such as having to balance time in your studio with the demands of work and home, and missing the unique energy of being in a room with a dozen or so other students (and Laurie!). That was the most difficult part for me — not getting to experience the magic that happens when a room full of makers are giving their full attention to their work. There’s nothing else quite like it.

Writing Practice and Color Study | © Noelle Tennis Gulden

What is the strangest object in your studio?

The strangest thing in my studio is a rudimentary cabinet of curiosities that houses my favorite finds from the outdoors, many of which are quite strange themselves! A few favorites from my collection include the impossibly small bones of an unidentified creature and the partially dissected owl pellet in which I found them; a perfectly preserved monarch butterfly my daughter found many years ago after it chose the bush in our front yard as its final resting place; and the otherworldly fossils from hundreds millions of years ago, remnants of sea creatures who lived during a time when this now-dry land was once ocean floor.

What is one intention you have as a maker this year?

Until sitting down to answer this question, I hadn’t yet set an intention as a maker for this year. But after spending the evening playing pickle ball with my family, I’ve decided to set an intention to play outside at least once a week. This might look like riding my bike, or chasing my dog around the yard, or going kayaking. Playing outside gets me out of my head and into my body, helping me integrate the two (which, truly, are one), transporting me directly into the realm of delight. I can’t think of any better foundation for my practice as a maker.