Christine Hager-Braun

Art to Nourish Your Soul

MENU

A Magical Moment: Witnessing the Transformation from Artist to ARTIST

Last week I attended the artist reception for the national juried exhibition “2023 Handcrafted” at the Maria V. Howard Center in Rocky Mount, NC. Part of the event was a much-awaited award ceremony. After viewing the artwork, the artists, their guests, visitors from the town, the representative of the gallery, and juror Susan Fecho congregated read more

Hibernation and the Joy of Missing Out

You might or you might not have noticed that I have not posted much on social media for a while. No worries, there is nothing wrong. I just needed a break. After my solo exhibition in Charlotte came down in October of last year, I immediately switched to creating small original art and functional art read more

7 Factors to Consider When Choosing Artwork for a Solo Exhibition

Recently, I had the pleasure of showing my solo exhibition “Embracing Imperfection” at the Overcash Gallery of the Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte, NC. Among the many questions I received in conjunction with this exhibition was “How do you choose artwork for a solo exhibition?” Of course, making the selection did not just happen read more

Choosing Colors

A few weeks ago Nancy K. from Florida sent me an email wondering how I choose the colors for my fiber art. The way I select colors for my work has changed over time. Early on my work was based on photographs. I stayed fairly true to the colors of flowers or landscapes in the read more

Impermanence – My Thoughts for a New Series of Artwork

Our lives are in constant flux, and change is part of living. This is true for thoughts, emotions, events, or people. Nevertheless, the word “impermanence” seems to elicit a mostly negative response.   When looking up synonyms for impermanence, I find words such as precariousness, volatility, and shakiness. No wonder, we feel uneasy about impermanence. read more

Perseverance – When You are in for the Long Haul

Many years ago, during a job interview for a position as scientist, I was asked what I consider my biggest strength and my biggest weakness. My answer was “determination” for both. I don’t give up easily. And I do. Not. Give. Up. Easily. I’m ambitious and I don’t mind hard work. I can stick with read more

Thoughts on my textile art piece “Perseverance”

Perseverance – Persistence regardless of difficulties, continuing efforts despite the lack of success. Dedication to see the project through, stamina to go even further. We set out to reach a goal, but obstacles are in our way. They might surprise us, overwhelm us, stop us. But only for a while. We can learn to overcome read more

Benefits of Habits, Routines, and Rituals in my Art Practice

We all implement habits, routines, and rituals in our lives. As discussed in this article, the difference between habits, routines and rituals is the amount of consciousness we put into each respective action. Our habits allow us to get things done without thinking much. This is true for good habits, but also for bad habits, read more

Does Chaos Breed Creativity?

Occasionally, I dump out my fabric scraps on my studio table. These little pieces of colorful fabric, arranged in a heap without preconception, trigger ideas and inspire me to create new art. But how do I get from this chaos of snippets into an organized piece of art? Does the notion “chaos breeds creativity” hold read more

Finding Balance

Our lives are filled with thoughts, emotions, and experiences originating in our own hearts and minds but also created as a response to the people and circumstances around us. All of these make our lives complex. We try to balance the connections with our partner, our children and parents, our extended family and friends, our read more

Be Kind to Yourself

Happy New Year, my dear Readers! I know, I know, it’s the end of January and my wish for you comes almost a month late. But there is a reason for that. You see, January was a challenging month for me. Over the years, several members of my husband’s and my close family have passed read more

Celebrating the Magic of Color with Hand-dyed Silk Scarves

  As fiber artist I enjoy not only the visual aspect of textiles but also the tactile elements of fabric. So, for the last month I relocated my studio – the place where magic happens – into the garage. There I transformed white silk and powdered pigments into lush scarves with vibrant colors.  During my read more

A Big Thank You to Thanksgiving

Here in the US, we are celebrating Thanksgiving this week. As we are ambitiously striving for bigger and better, we sometimes forget to take a moment and reflect on all the good in life. Certainly, I have a lot to be grateful for. So, let me tell you: Thank you all for accompanying me on read more

Behind the Scenes: Keeping Up with Technology

Are you on Tik-Tok? Maybe you like Facebook Watch? How about Instagram reels? Did you see Pinterest’s video capabilities? I’m sure you enjoy YouTube. What do all these platforms have in common? The all offer videos. BUT Every platform requires different settings for their still images and videos. If I want to create a 4k-high-definition read more

My Textile Painting “Breathing Space”

I created this textile painting as a reminder of the importance of the spaces we have to take a breath: We stick our nose into a bunch of flowers, we enjoy the fragrance of perfume, the smell of freshly baked cookies triggers memories, we inhale the crisp morning air in the fall, and sometimes the read more

Make a Difference Today

We all are members of the human tribe, yet we forget sometimes that we are surrounded by people who experience ups and downs like we do. Take a moment to notice the people around you. Like you, they might be absorbed by problems, occupied by worries, consumed by pain. They might struggle to make it read more

We are good enough – not only on World Mental Health Day

Today is World Mental Health Day and I encourage all of you to acknowledge how important our brain health is, not only today but every day. Over the years, my artwork reflected some of my own challenges with depression and PTSD; lately, however, my own experiences and the lessons I have learned inform my art read more

Gently Shake the World – International Day of Non-Violence

  What do you remember about Mahatma Gandhi? Do you recall that today would have been his 152nd birthday? Or that he died on January 30th, 1948? While birth and death are the cornerstones of a life, these facts typically are not be what we remember a person by. As human beings we tend to read more

A Glimpse of Hope

©Christine Hager-Braun, “A Glimpse of Hope” Fiber mounted on stretched canvas, 36x36x1.75 in I feel this sense of accomplishment, mixed with immense joy and a bit of pride. My art quilt “A Glimpse of Hope” was selected by curators Ellen November and Andi Perejda as one of 28 pieces to be displayed in the virtual read more

Hope, Resilience, and Pantone’s Color of the Year 2021

  In 2019, I created two art quilts, Gift of Resilience #1 and #2. The pieces were part of my solo exhibition Alchemy of Resilience at the Galleries of the Art Council of Moore County in Southern Pines, NC. Frequently my work revolves around mindfulness, emotional well-being and personal growth as I’m in awe of read more

Inspiration in a Single Word

Do you usually set a New Year’s resolution just to abandon it within a few weeks? Well, then let’s try something new for this year. Let’s choose a word!   For the past several years I have chosen a single word to inspire and to guide me. My words ranged from blossom and clarity to read more

When Art Touches Us

©2013, Christine Hager-Braun, “Life Goes on: Corregidor Island”, Fiber, 18”h x 22”w   Have you ever heard Henryk Gorecki’s Symphony No. 3, also known as the Symphony of Sorrowful Songs? Or have you listened to Edvard Grieg’s Wedding Day at Troldhaugen?  These two compositions could not be more different in instrumentation, tempo, or texture. But read more

Does Art Matter in Challenging Times?

  My studio is my bubble. There I feel at ease. I very much enjoy creating art, but also sharing my work with my followers so I can use my voice as an artist to speak up and speak out. (You can read more about “Job, Career or Calling – Why do I create?” in read more

Maze on Fire

“Maze on Fire” ©Christine Hager-Braun, Fiber, 39 x 38 inches   Today is “World Mental Health Day”. In this post I share a very abbreviated version of my story as I have been using my voice as an artist to raise awareness about mental health. Why do I share my story? The reasons are many, read more

The Joy and Challenge of Learning

  I consider myself a lifelong learner. I enjoy watching documentaries and I love reading nonfiction books.  As a child I didn’t mind being grounded too much as long as I had access to books. During my time at university I read books beyond the requirements for my major and later graduate studies, but also read more

Connect With Abstract Art

In my opinion, attitude has a significant influence on the outcome of a project. The stories we tell ourselves, how we view our circumstances, and the moral values for our daily life can sway us in the direction of success or failure. As I find attitude to be a strong power, I intend to capture read more

Transition – In Life and Art

  Back in January I set out to create the series entitled “Transition”. Change is constant, if we like it or not. We might long to hold on to what has passed, but we need to move forward. Or we can’t wait for the future to arrive as the present is difficult to endure. Nothing read more

Job, Career or Calling – Why Do I Create?

Happiness on a Rainy Day, Fiber, 14”h x 18”w x 1”d, mounted on canvas   Recently I read the following parable in the book “Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance” by Angela Duckworth: Three bricklayers are asked: “What are you doing?” The first says, “I am laying bricks.” The second says, “I am building read more