“When there aren’t word to express what you need to say, art provides an outlet.” These are the words of Herrick District Library’s summer Maker-in-Residence, Andrea Rich, who hopes to provide an artistic outlet for the greater Holland community through her time at HDL this June.
Andrea always wanted to be an artist. In 2020, when the business where she was working closed, she finally found her opportunity. After 10 years of dabbling, painting and creating commissions on the side, the Covid era gave her a chance to launch into art full-time. Andrea began soaking up knowledge and creating at a rapid pace. She hasn’t turned back since. The more she paints, the more she falls in love with the medium.
Andrea loves sharing her work with others and bringing them joy. Even if she’s feeling cloudy, the bright colors of her work lift her up. Andrea’s art is always nature inspired, reflecting the colors and patterns of flowers, water, and trees.
“Every day there’s something new to see in nature,” she says. “It’s always beautiful and bright.”
As she wraps up a show at the Holland Area Arts Council, Andrea looks forward to a different sort of artistic endeavor at HDL. Her goal is to help others fall in love with the oil medium as much as she did in that magical first experience. “Oil is so bright and blendable,” Andrea says. “It’s a more approachable medium than it gets credit for.”
Andrea will also be working on a painting of a horse throughout her residency, something new for her, inspired by the Year of the Horse in the Chinese Zodiac.
“Everybody has creativity. You just have to nurture it,” says Andrea. She looks forward to nurturing the creativity of the greater Holland opportunity throughout her residency, which runs throughout the month of June into early July. Find more information about Andrea Rich and view the specific dates and times of her drop-ins and open house sessions at herrickdl.org/events.