Tom HlasArtist and Teacher
Artist Statement
As a mixed media artist, I find inspiration in childhood memories: my mother and sisters sewing and working with fabric; the men and boys working together in the fields; the rural seasons of the year; my Czech heritage and growing up in a large, extended family. In many unforeseen ways, my move back to rural NW Connecticut from the cities of Philadelphia, Miami, and Washington, DC, has awakened these memories and emotions and they have now found their visual place.
My current body of work explores movement and stream of conscious self expression. Being an abstract artist, I am curious about how the mediums I use respond to the substrate and how I can allow the mediums to best express and push their properties.
I feel a kinship with the abstract expressionists and color field painters of yesteryear as well as the print makers and collage artists of today.