Holli May Thomas

Sponsor Member

I live in a cosmos filled with stars, colors, words, and wonder that rotates in a circle, and for that reason, you will see this shape in most of my pieces.

My affection for books and the written word led to a thirty-year career that I loved in teaching English to high school students in lower income schools in Texas where I was the captain of a rowdy pirate ship of misfits, band kids, drama students, athletes, and everything in between from every nation, ethnic, and religious background and I would write along with them on every assignment. Common denominators I read in their stories were the need to feel safe and loved.

Many times, their poetry or prose revealed abuse, poverty, or neglect, but over the years, I witnessed many rewriting their own stories, and their stories helped shape me into the person I am today. Upon retiring from my educational career, I returned to my other passion: art and the creative process.

I started drawing and painting as a child, and as an adult, when I wasn’t grading essays, I was noodling around in my creative space. I have remodeled and refinished furniture, spent a decade making jewelry, and adored taking doodads I had found to create assemblages for my little bohemian house. My dad taught me how to use every tool under the sun, and I am good with an Exacto knife, which steered me into collage. What you see today is a combination of those skill sets.

I still follow the exact same process that started thirty years ago, and that is writing in my journal every morning, praying/meditating, and then I begin to create. I am grateful to be here and believe magic happens if you keep your eyes open to it. May your own story and circle be unbroken, and if it is, come sit with me in my art studio, and we will glue it back together. Namaste y’all!

Visit my website: https://www.hollimaythomasart.com/