OLIVIA STINSON
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
Olivia Stinson was born in Omaha, Nebraska in 1998. She was raised in a family where creativity was often practiced and shared with one another. Her interest in art started at a young age through drawing, nail art, and homemade music videos. This passion progressed its way through grade school, where she took every single art class available to her, and into college. Her junior year of undergraduate school is where she fell in love with storytelling through the figure and body casting. Stinson graduated from Doane University in Crete, Nebraska with a Bachelors of Arts in Fine Arts, with an emphasis in ceramics and professional practices in May of 2020. After graduating from Doane University, Stinson moved to Hays, Kansas to attend the Master of Fine Arts program in Ceramics at Fort Hays State University. From 2020 to 2023, she learned the ins and outs of the materials she works with, and a large amount about herself in her personal life and as an artist.
Focused on healing from her traumas, she uses her ceramics as a vessel to portray her lived experience and the lessons she has learned along the way. Life is complex and can make one feel alienated in both experience and emotions. Stinson aims to connect with the viewer on those intimate levels and encourage them to sit with their own trauma, and heal from it. Moving forward, Stinson hopes to become a leader in the arts, motivating the community around her to create and share their human experience. Being vulnerable is life’s best medicine.
ARTIST STATEMENT
In my work, art serves as both a vessel for storytelling and a powerful tool for personal transformation. Each piece I create is a reflection of the ongoing journey towards healing, self-discovery, and connection with the world around me. Art, for me, is not merely an expression of external reality, but an intimate dialogue with the inner self—one that unfolds with each stroke, color, texture, and form. Through this process, I invite others to witness and engage with the raw, vulnerable moments that shape our lives.
I believe that every experience, whether joyous or painful, carries within it lessons that have the potential to guide us towards deeper understanding and growth. Healing, to me, is not a destination but a continual process of unraveling, exploring, and becoming. My work explores the intricate layers of this journey, acknowledging the complexity of emotions, the ebb and flow of life, and the delicate balance between strength and fragility. Through my art, I seek to honor the beauty in our imperfections and the quiet power of resilience.
Each piece I create is a reflection of this healing process, shaped by the stories and wisdom gleaned from everyday life. The themes of transformation, renewal, and the search for truth are ever-present in my practice. What does it mean to find truth within ourselves? To me, it is the act of peeling back layers—letting go of preconceived notions, societal expectations, and the noise of the external world. It is about embracing the quiet moments of clarity that arise in our daily lives, whether in the stillness of nature, the warmth of a shared conversation, or the introspective space we carve out for ourselves. Truth, in this sense, is not an abstract concept, but something we can touch and feel in the small, profound details of our existence.
Through the act of creation, I allow myself—and others—the freedom to explore and express these truths in all their forms. Art becomes a space where we are free to experiment, to question, to celebrate, and to heal. It is a place where the boundaries of reality and imagination blur, where stories unfold in unexpected ways, and where the process itself becomes as meaningful as the finished work.
Ultimately, my goal is to inspire others to embrace the therapeutic potential of art, to find their own truths, and to see the beauty in the everyday experiences that shape who we are. Through storytelling, open creation, and the exploration of healing, I hope my art can serve as a reminder that within each of us lies the power to transform, to heal, and to find meaning in the journey of life.