

Today we’d like to introduce you to Carolin Peters Hosac.
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
When I was a young child, I came across my great grandfather’s sketchbooks, which were filled with drawings of his fellow soldiers, landscape sketches, animal portraits, and little story illustrations. I was mesmerized by these drawings and admired the skill behind them. The thing that impressed me the most was how these drawings gave me a sense of who my great grandfather was. It let me see what he saw and valued, but not just through a snapshot, but through his hand. That visceral connection to his life impressed me deeply. More so than his larger, refined paintings we had at our house.
I pursued classical training in drawing in painting to acquire the type of skill he had. During that process, I eventually lost sight of why I wanted to know how to draw and paint, to begin with, and got sidetracked by trying to figure out how to make a living off of art.
The birth of my daughter reminded me that I value drawing and painting as a practice and not so much as a means to produce saleable products. Remembering this made me shift my focus away from producing artwork and toward building a community that embraces creating for the sake of the artistic process and all its accompanying benefits.
Please tell us about your art.
It’s always been the artist’s role to look deeper, longer and more unflinchingly at reality than the rest of society, and to then share what they have noticed.
I believe that this act of looking carefully, and of noticing, which is what happens when you draw and paint, is inherently good for your wellbeing. Even though this artistic level of noticing is by no means confined to drawing and painting, the act of drawing/painting is a uniquely practical way of sharpening your awareness.
In my career as an artist, I’ve found it challenging to stay connected to this core insight when trying to make a living off of my art, and I’m sure I’m not the only one to experience this. But in response to noticing my disconnection from the joy of creating I decided to shift my focus away from producing work for a while, and toward creating a place that reminds artists of the joy of creating.
This place is called Cura Studios, and it combines access to workspace for different types of artists (digital and traditional artists alike) with a learning environment. The word Cura means “to heal through looking carefully” which makes it the perfect name reflecting the studios underlying core value.
We offer select classes and workshops, as well as uninstructed practice sessions that allow artists to reconnect with the experience of growth. It’s so easy to settle in and believe that you have “arrived” at the pinnacle of skill, which easily results in stale artwork. Adopting an attitude of continuous growth is so beneficial for the creative output, so I wanted to create space where artists can experience this.
The third piece that Cura Studios brings to life is a physical, communal space where artists can connect. There are few places outside of private get-togethers, where genuine connection with other creatives can happen, and I wanted to do my part to create opportunities for the real-life community.
In this age of easy online connection, and of unlimited access to information I find it so important to have physical places to go to to meet flesh and blood people and to be in the room together as each of us is working to grow. In art school, you can feel a palpable air of focus, which is hard to replicate after school ends. Cura Studios is my attempt at creating that kind of space.
So artists can benefit from Cura Studios. I run it like a gym with different tiers of memberships, which give the artists varying amounts of space or class access for a very affordable rate.
What do you think about the conditions for artists today? Has life become easier or harder for artists in recent years? What can cities like ours do to encourage and help art and artists thrive?
I think conditions for artists have always been equally hard. It’s just not an easy life path. But rather than pointing the finger and saying “museums should do more of this, city councils should do more of that. We need more x, y, z” I prefer to create my solutions with the help of other artists who feel the same. That’s really how any meaningful change has ever come about. Don’t wait for institutions to fix things. The infamous Salon des Refuses a response to the institutionalized art world not reflecting what’s current. It’s a great reminder of artist’s own creativity and resourcefulness for coming up with solutions.
Sure, it sucks that it’s a struggle, but it’s through the struggle that value is created.
How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
Cura Studios is located in the city of Orange. You can get a sense for it at our website www.curaoc.com or on our Instagram feed @curaoc.
To stay current with our class/workshop/session program sign up for the inside scoop mailer at www.curaoc.com/welcome.
If you are an artist come attend one of our Open Sessions or workshops, or drop in for a day of co-working.
If you know visual artists living near Orange, please share our info with them.
Contact Info:
- Address: 1407 N. Batavia St, #114, Orange, CA 92867
- Website: https://www.curaoc.com
- Email: draw@curaoc.com
- Instagram: @curaoc
- Facebook: @curaoc
Image Credit:
Sargeant Creative
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