Alex Hirsch: Architectural Glass and Watercolor Paintings

Studio Consultant Alex Hirsch – Studio SOS

studio consultant Alex Hirsch

My expertise lies in visual discernment, articulating observations, and skillful communication. Alone in our studios, it can be hard to see where and how to grow. That’s where I come in.

I see each artist’s individuality and help tease it out. I hear and sense what wants to be manifested. I talk technique, bolster those newer on their path, and help more-developed artists see their work and move through their process. Some of us were never schooled in the formal fundamentals that are tools to problem solving: I can help fill in. Some of us are quite advanced; we, too, benefit from discussion and a fresh perspective. I can share what I perceive around form and content/concept. You always have the choice to follow what speaks to you and listen to your own lead.

For some makers, ongoing dialogue cultivates welcome support and speeds their growth. In other cases, a positive jolt of fresh input is all you need. Let’s explore how to take your practice to its next level.

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YOU

Resolve an artwork with help thinking about how formal elements contribute to the whole
Celebrate what excites you and reinvigorate your practice
Find commonalities across your pieces
Explore how form, function and content interconnect to manifest what you want
Discuss ways to get past being stuck
Can be of any age: my clients range from their 30s to their 80s, and younger clients are welcome

I experience somatically
I am highly trained
My keen eye is matched by clear and kind communication
I speak often in terms of metaphor and accessible analogies to familiar experiences
My only agenda is to support what makes your work yours

MORE:

I’ve been problem solving as an artist for 35 years. I can offer paths to follow, address feeling overwhelmed, give you tools, and suggest directions to explore. My own commissioned work requires extensive planning. In parallel, I use organic processes rooted in deep intuition and iterations on a theme. There are so many ways to be artistic and make work. Let’s reinforce yours.

My work has been represented and exhibited in galleries across the United States, commissioned by private and public entities, and collected by individuals. I’ve made art in studios across the U.S., France, and Germany. After earning a Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Fine Arts, and Master of Fine Arts, for 18 years I was an educator in art schools, liberal arts colleges, and community programs. I refined my noticing and questioning skills by learning active listening, practicing The Field among multidisciplinary artists, and following the Amherst Method in writing salons. The Gateless Writing method has sweetened my capacity to articulate specific, affirming feedback about craftsmanship and the experiential impact of others’ creative work.

Gift yourself another lens. Set yourself free to play and enjoy. Learn from the work itself.

Contact Studio Consultant Alex Hirsch – Studio SOS
Options to Meet Remotely and in Person
Set up a free 15- minute get-to-know-you call
503-970-7483

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Testimonials

In May of 2016 I became acquainted with Alex while we were artists in residence at Caldera Center for the Arts in Sisters, Oregon. While it was only a three-week residency, we quickly became supportive colleagues and friends. I owe a lot of my prolific and visual success to Alex and her willingness to spend time getting to know me and my work. She was always highly communicative and reliable in meeting my needs. She diagnosed artistic problems quickly while keeping true to my overall vision and intent. Due to her thoughtful and alarmingly accurate observations, I immediately trusted her advice and felt confident in following through with her suggestions. During the studio visits, she would spend a lot of time getting to know my aesthetic and motives and give me astute formal and conceptual feedback. Alex navigates critiques like a bird that innately flies south for the winter. She is a natural. Her astounding and sensitive visual and verbal communication skills naturally lend themselves to making Alex one of the best visual critics I’ve ever had the pleasure to benefit from in 30 years of making. If I could have an Alex Hirsch Critic app, I would download it on my phone. Instead, I am blessed with something more precious: her ability to listen to my overall goals and guide me in becoming a better artist.“

—Annie Varnot, painter, sculptor, through hiker, New York/New Mexico

Few people respond to creative work the way Alex Hirsch does. When she listens or looks, she experiences your piece, often with her body. “That line sent shivers down my arms,” she might say. She puts her whole self in service to your work, and she’s able to articulate what you hoped you conveyed. Her gentle, succinct, and focused comments can reveal the patterns you didn’t know you had, the connections you made without knowing, the insights your metaphors explore. She is a master at helping creative people achieve their dreams.“

—Kate Gray, writer and certified Gateless Writing coach, cyclist, wood-chopper, Oregon

I know no one more self-reflective and articulate about their creative process than Alex. She works fluidly in both watercolor and glass. As a tapestry weaver, I know from personal experience that her transition from one modality to another has given her a highly unusual perspective on design, not to mention a broad range of impressive technical skills. Alex’s personal attributes of generosity of spirit and quiet modesty make her a trusted friend and colleague and an exceptional teacher.“

—Stephen Karakashian, tapestry artist, writer, retired biologist and psychologist, Oregon

I came to Alex at a time in my career when I was so lost artistically. I couldn’t confidently move forward. She listened, she viewed all the work, and she pinpointed exactly the aspect of me that was longing for permission to pursue my new direction (painting with an air compressor).

Since my consultation with Alex six months ago I have not suffered the artistic blues. She helped me see so clearly what pieces in my body of work truly feed my soul because she has this gift of listening like nobody else. Alex really hears you, and grasps the deeper artist within. She is like a hybrid art professor/therapist. Alex is he most unbiased critic I’ve ever experienced. After all my years in art school and gallery critiques, I made more headway in an hour with Alex than I did in years with other people’s feedback. I would strongly recommend that any artist, at any point in their career, make the investment and have Alex Hirsch review their portfolio and talk about strengths, weaknesses, goals, and fears. Alex is acutely capable of addressing these big questions within the context of the artist’s specific lifestyle, and thanks to her experience in the art world, she knows how you fit in to the broader art world at large. Alex Hirsch is spearheading a niche, and I wish I had have found her a decade ago! Alex is a laser beam!“

— Iris Scott, painter and art entrepreneur, New Mexico

My studio consultation with Alex Hirsch was the best thing I could do to elevate my studio practice. I found it was less of a critique and more of an energizing exploration of my paintings and process. Alex listened intently as I described my present work, the desire to create a new body of work and my current challenges. She assisted with simple yet important questions to determine what it is I wanted out of the consultation. A keen listener with an experienced eye, Alex took what she saw, connecting it with my words, and developed a few very thoughtful ideas, questions that led to proposed experiments, and innovative steps to challenge my creative practice.

I feel moved and emotional after Alex’s invitation to paint something just for myself. I often leave my true voice out of my painting because it feels like a whisper, it feels like a distant memory or it feels awkward or shameful. Inviting me to paint something that no one else will see is like breaking the dam or taking my finger out of the dike allowing a whole wave of expression to flow forward.

I feel a renewed sense of courage, curiosity and experimentation in my work. I have revisited exploring content more personal to me in a new series of drawings. I have an invigorated confidence around problem solving in my paintings. I realize how important and beneficial it is to receive feedback from someone with a keen eye, thoughtful discernment, and astute inquiries. Thank you, Alex Hirsch.“

—Roberta Aylward, painter, mother, backyard stargazer, Oregon

I am astounded by Alex’s ability to give her total enthusiastic attention to my work. It doesn’t take her long to SEE it. She not only understands what I’m doing, but puts words to possibilities I am not consciously aware I’m interested in expressing. We went on an artist retreat together and it was amazing how she helped me navigate, with a few tweaks and suggestions, my visual experience of that shared landscape. Her feedback is grounded in deep intuition and sensitivity to my voice. Since 2018, Alex has offered her input on my studio work, whether looking at a sketch for a project or a tapestry composition, or just discussing art practices. Her clear and sensible suggestions excite me and lead to a desire to continue to create. She gives me confidence in my own ability as an artist that I have questioned after a professional career in nursing and higher education. I’ve taken many workshops in fiber arts, but I never went to art school. Using her extensive knowledge of color theory and design, Alex can fill in where I need sometimes in as little as 20 minutes. She gives me tangible tools that I can apply to all of my work. I’m so satisfied by the difference in what I eventually create and my renewed process along the way.“

—Claudia Michel, tapestry artist, retired nurse and educator, Oregon

To share in the creative process with Alex Hirsch is a gift for the senses.”

—Gail Alexander, kayaker, writer, retired doctor and business owner, Washington

There are people who love art and others who love artists. Alex is a beautiful blend of both. As an artist and writer who has studied in the Gateless Writing method of non-critical feedback, she’s been a strong and sensitive contributor in many workshops I’ve led. She has a deft, insightful, and gentle way that makes her well suited to helping other artists gain insight into their own work and process.“

—Terri Trespicio, author: “Unfollow Your Passion: How to Create a Life That Matters to You,” New York

I was fortunate enough to benefit from Alex’s subtle yet potent tweaks for a piece I was going to recite. She asked to hear it in two different ways and gave me a clear preference for which and why. That subtle feedback made all the difference. Thank you, Alex!”

—Beth Yohalem-Ilsley, acupuncturist, spoken word performer, Oregon