Stan Welsh was born and raised in Southern California in the town of Claremont. He currently has a home and studio on three acres of property in the coastal mountains of Santa Cruz California. For the past 20 years Stan has been a professor at San Jose State University in the School of Art and Design where he is currently the Graduate Coordinator. Welsh has been honored with the Meritorious Performance Teaching Award, and has received arts grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, The California Arts Council and the Arts Council Silicon Valley 2005 Fellowship Award. His work has been recently collected by the San Jose Museum, Ca. the Santa Cruz Museum, Ca. and the Daum Museum, Missouri.
What did the Fellowship or Laureate mean to you at the time you received it?
The fellowship was a real vote of confidence at the time. To be recognized in the art community where I live and work was truly validating and it gave me a sense of renewed motivation to move forward with my ideas as an artist.
What do you do now? Has your art evolved or changed?
My current work incorporates a wide range of mixed media, including large format photographic images of the ocean juxtaposed with porcelain figurines. It?s very different from the work I submitted for my fellowship application. To see my works, go to: www.stanwelsh.com
What is one piece of advice you would give to an emerging artist?
Work hard and practice. Inspiration and desire are important; but in order to successfully communicate your ideas, you have to be really good at what you do.
Briefly, how would you describe the state of the arts locally, as well as national and beyond?
Support art programs in education.