Q & A with Hold Us Tight artist Stacie Sampson

Stacie Sampson is an artist based out of Maple Lake, MN. After moving at the beginning of the pandemic, Stacie wasn’t able to see close friends or family in person for over a year. Much of Stacie’s current work reflects on her feelings of loss in the context of relationships and isolation due to the onset of the pandemic. Stacie’s more recent works are an open communication to people who have struggled with similar circumstances. She is speaking directly to anyone who has found themselves in this long waiting space in their homes over the last year and a half. Loss in this context refers in particular to the grief from all of the connection many people are still waiting to resume. Please enjoy this interview with Stacie Sampson, in her own words. 

Chloe: Who are ya? 

Stacie: Stacie Sampson

Chloe: And stacie, What do you do? 

Stacie: I’m an artist

Chloe: What kind of art do you make? 

Stacie: Acrylic. 

Chloe: Acrylic art?

Stacie: Yeah!

Chloe: Tell me a little bit about your personal practice. Do you know what I mean when I say personal practice? 

Stacie: No. 

Chloe: How do you go about deciding what to make in your artwork? 

Stacie: It comes by my, like, my mind. Like what I really picture. I picture what I really want to draw, then I draw it. 

Chloe: Do you have a pretty clear picture in your mind? Do you always know exactly what you want to make? 

Stacie: Yes

Chloe: Do you remember the concept for the art you have for Hold Us Tight? I have the art- let me grab it. Okay tell me a little bit about the concept. (Chloe holds up an artwork featuring a single rose painted on a bright orange background)

Stacie: I was drawing it to remember people that are loved ones, in need of love. And to hold them with those. 

Chloe: To hold them with that thought? 

Stacie: Yes.

Chloe: (Chloe holds up an artwork featuring blue lilies painted on a neon yellow background) Is this one the same? Or a different idea behind this one? 

Stacie: That one was a memory of like, in my head to draw for people that are in Covid times where they’ve lost someone that’s in need of holding a flower of holding a flower in their memory of their lost ones. 

Chloe: Do roses and lilies hold any significance to you? 

Stacie: Yeah. The colors that I did are based on different emotions. So like, the rose was a happier one for love, and the other one was more for loss and to hold someone with their loss. 

Chloe: What drew you to this concept? What made you interested in participating in this show? 

Stacie: That when I say Covid, and the love of lost ones, they should hold a flower for their love and loss because it’s like they’re holding it for love and forever. 

Chloe: That’s a really lovely way to say that. It kind of makes me think of like, holding space for different feelings like good and sad? 

Stacie: Yeah. And that’s why I felt I should be in it. Because it’s Covid, and some people need a flower to hold them tight. 

Chloe: So are you offering this flower to like, your viewers as well?  

Stacie: Yes.  

Chloe: And what do you hope that your viewers take away from this after they look at your work? 

Stacie: Passion and love. 

Chloe: Passion for what? 

Stacie: Passion that they understand that holding a flower for their loved ones, and knowing that they should care for how much they lost. Or if they have someone still with them, they can just hold it tight. 

Chloe: That’s beautiful, thank you for sharing, Stacie. 

Stacie: Yep. 

Chloe: Is there anything else you’d like to say to people who might be seeing your interview or your artwork? 

Stacie: I would like to say that if they were to see my artwork, they should know one thing about me is that I do the artwork not just for fun, it’s for my passion and for loved ones to show that I care. 

Chloe: I love that, thank you for sharing.