We had the good fortune of connecting with Tiffani Erdmanczyk and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Tiffani, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
Each season of life has a different version of what balance is for it. And it’s not always an even split between everything. Somethings get put on a shelf for another time, while you’re filling your cup with other things. I’m always reevaluating what I need at that particular moment and work to readjust things as I listen to what I need.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Architect by day and artist by night, I’ve have been painting with watercolor since 2000. I enjoy creating paintings that have a real sense of texture to them. By using salt, wax, and scarring to manipulate the paper and paint, I create abstract works that rely on the interaction of controlled mark-making and chance.

In 2011, I developed sensory neuropathy, a condition that makes my nerves overactive. The textures in my art represent the sensations I feel in my nerves; my physical interaction with the paper is an expression of what happens beneath my skin. While nobody else can see or experience these sensations in the ways that I do, I try to visually articulate them by bringing them to the surface of my art. I feel that the texture one is drawn to in a painting is a reflection of the impressions that life has left on their soul.

Watercolor has taught me focus and patience, and continues to be a form of meditation that helps me cope with circumstances beyond my control. When working with a medium that uses water, one must give up a certain level of authority and appreciate the effects of chance. However, through practice and experimentation, colors and their relationship to one another are carefully chosen. When I discover exciting color combinations from my daily interactions with nature and the built environment, I recreate them in my palette and let their unique personalities guide my paintings compositionally. The time spent creating my paintings, composing their colors and weaving the layers of textures into them, has brought light back into a life that I once thought would be destined for darkness.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
The week would be spent either showing them all the art that Denver has to offer or all the beautiful nature we have to explore all around us. We’d go to the Sante Fe Art District, the RINO art district, the Denver Art Museum, Walker Fine Art, The Clyford Still Museum, Willam Havu Gallery, 40 West HUB in Lakewood, SeeSaw Gallery and the Denver Botanical Gardens – and that just scratches the surface of the art adventure tour we’d go on.

The outdoor time would be spent on the trials in and around the area, Golden, Evergreen, Green Mountain, the list is endless. We’d also sneak a little trip to the Chatfield off lease dog park too, because any friend of mine is a friend of my pups.

In between all of that we’d find some time to visit a few of our favorite restaurants in the area. A personal favorite of ours in Teller’s Tavern. We also love Parisi on Tennyson St. When it comes to food, we are more low key and into neighborhood spots than into anything super fancy.

You can’t wrong with neighborhood eats, lots of art and exercise in the great outdoors!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
There are lots of folks that have helped me get here, but the two folks I’d love to give a giant shout out to are the most prominent watercolor teachers I’ve had throughout my life and that is Michael Swisher and Linda James. These two have been instrumental in teaching me the skills I have an a watercolor artist.

Website: https://www.tiffanierdmanczykart.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tiffanierdmanczykart/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tiffani-erdmanczyk-leed-ga-2b013ba1/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tiffanierdmanczykart

Image Credits
Headshot is Leslie Riibe
all others are Alex Quetzali

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