ARTIST STATEMENT

 

My artistic practice began as a way to help me navigate anxiety. Over time, it has become much more than that—it has become a place where I can slow down, experiment, and reconnect with myself. I genuinely enjoy the creative process: the uncertainty, the discovery, and the freedom that comes from not always knowing where a piece will lead.

 

My love of working with paper began during my studies in collage at Barton College under Paula Patterson where I first began experimenting with deconstructing paper pieces. Taking them apart and reimagining the pieces satisfies the need to create intuitively. Allowing the materials to guide the way, the strategic use of color, placement, texture, and form rather than following a predetermined plan.

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Sewing has also been an important part of my creative language. I learned to sew from my grandmother. The act of stitching connects me to family, while giving my work another way to be assembled, layered, and transformed. I think of these processes as giving materials new life—an idea that has become central to my practice. I continue to build upon techniques I learned from Paula Patterson, incorporating her influence into my own evolving process.

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Color is another constant in my work. I share a love of a similar bold, vibrant color palette with my uncle, Vollis Simpson, whose creativity and way of seeing the world have been a major influence. His work reminds me that art can be joyful, imaginative, unexpected, and deeply connected to place and personal experience.

 

In many ways, my work is about transformation—taking something apart in order to create something new. I look to the past not as something to remain in, but as a way forward. Combining materials, techniques, memories, and influences I have inherited become starting points for something that is uniquely my own. 

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BIOGRAPHY

 

Since 2019, Oliver has served as the Visual Arts coordinator for Wilson Arts. Prior to joining Wilson Arts, she worked as a freelance photographer and studied ceramics and collage at Barton College.  Her work is held in private collections throughout the United States and internationally and is featured in a public art installation in downtown Greenville, North Carolina.