The Co-Founders of Art is Moving
Lauren and Lisa met while obtaining their Master of Fine Arts Degrees at John F. Kennedy University in Berkeley, California. During a casual conversation both women realized they had similar goals as artists and advocates for the arts. And so, in 2008, they began collaborating and calling themselves Art is Moving. Since then, Art is Moving has formed as a 501(c)3 Non-Profit Organization and turned into an online art movement to make art a part of every person’s daily life. We welcome you to join us in our efforts to give everyone an opportunity to discover the positive impact art can have in their lives!
Radio interview with Amy Conger with Straw into Gold about a past art project, ARTcart! here.
LISA RASMUSSEN
Website
I am a Bay Area visual artist and teacher. In my teaching and work I understand and truly embrace the power of Art. In 2006 I began the Transformative Art Program at Lincoln Child Center, a mental health agency for severely emotionally disturbed youth in Oakland. I see and am touched by my students ability to tap into the source. They leave my class feeling empowered, knowing their ability to create is something that no one can ever take away. I am also a world traveler and sacred site junkie. Within my philosophy and practice I believe art and its process is all-inclusive and it is essential to our daily lives. In my work I explore relationship and space through painting, installation, photography, and site specific Earth Art. Although, these works are diverse in medium they are all interconnected and are unified with a common goal of transcendence and the resurrection of my symbiotic connection to the creative universe. I believe that art is intrinsic and nurtures the human spirit. Art’s true essence is transformative. Ideally, in all my work and my teaching I seek to honor that state of the soul when the artist experiences the ultimate liberation, which is the personal act of creation itself.
LAUREN ODELL USHER SHARPTON
Website
I have always been interested in art as a form of communication with not only others, but with oneself. Art can be used as a tool, can change someone’s mind, can encourage great dialog, get you to notice something you may have otherwise missed– the possibilities are endless. As an artist I believe it is my job to create a world where art is accessible to anyone and everyone. Art is not for the few and the privileged. It is for those who have something to say. One does not have to make art to be involved in art, but I guarantee, once you give it a try you will never stop. The concept behind most of my work is that everything matters. All that I am and all that I will be is determined by what I encounter. Every step I take affects the next. All that I see, all that I touch, all that I leave behind sets up the world of tomorrow. Everyone I meet and every experience changes the direction I take on the path I am walking. The world is an interconnected web. Everyone has a string they build on and take from one place to another. All these strings are connected. Every path is important because if it were taken away a connection would be lost and everyone would be forever changed.