The Art of Expression
Three North State Artists Share Why They Create…
Whether it’s painting, music, film, dance, the culinary arts, or any of a number of other mediums, the North State has an abundance of dynamic artists. These three artists share what art means to them, why do they do art and what they are trying to say.
JJ Tiefenbach, Cellist
JJ Tiefenbach is 18 years old and started playing cello at age 9. “As soon as I played it, I couldn’t stop.” JJ began playing with the North State Symphony at 14, the youngest person ever to get into the Symphony.
“The reason I have to play cello is there’s nothing else that makes me feel that way,” Tiefenbach says. “It’s like talking about someone I love. My heart gets fluttery and I smile a lot. I definitely get into a flow state; it’s meditative. When I’m playing a piece that I really love, I can pour all my emotions into it. It’s the most I can express myself. It feels really good. I believe in a purpose in life. My purpose in life is to play cello. Everything feels perfect when I do. I feel privileged that I have something that I love doing. After a tough day, picking up the cello, I feel free.
“When I play my cello, I can’t tell where the cello starts and I end. I feel like I’m floating. When performing, it’s an absolute necessity to bare your heart to the world. I love, after I play, when people come up to me and tell me they really felt something from my music. I’m doing what I love and people love what I’m doing. It’s the best gift I can ask for. I hope I can convey what the composer wanted.
“Feeling is the most human thing we can do. If I can make people feel things, that’s just surreal to me. I want others to feel what I feel.”
hether it’s painting, music, film, dance, the culinary arts, or any of a number of other mediums, the North State has an abundance of dynamic artists. These three artists share what art means to them, why do they do art and what they are trying to say.
Eric Nanson, Writer/Sculptor
Eric Nanson is a multi-talented artist. As a writer, he has published seven books, and as a visual artist he works in wood, metal and glass, primarily in the contemporary style. “I’m always looking for something new, new, new. I can’t not do art,” he says. “I would go bonkers.”
Nanson talked about where he finds inspiration. “For poetry, it might be a phrase I hear. For woodworking, it might be a detail or shape that catches my eye and sparks an idea. I sketch and use computer software to play with shapes. Anything and everything that’s available to me, I cobble together to build on an idea. A lot of it happens when I’m working on a piece. I have a concept, but as I’m working on it, when I get it to a certain stage, I look at the piece and it’s its own self. I know when a piece is 100 percent finished. At 99 percent, it just doesn’t feel right. There are times it can be a fire of creativity, that feeling just puts me in another realm.”
Nanson reminds people, through his art, to look at the world with a fresh eye. An example in a recent show was a manhole cover with a periscope coming out of it. “Sometimes you see something so often you no longer see it,” he says.
Nanson has no preconceived notion of what the viewer should get from looking at his work. “They will see whatever they want to see. The highest compliment I can get as an artist is someone who gets down at the level of the piece of art and spends time with it, and you can tell it really means something to them and they understand where I went to do it. It’s the same thing I’m looking for when I look at someone else’s art. Everybody interprets everything differently. It’s fun, to me, to hear what their interpretation is.
“I want to give something special to someone through art – give them an experience that enlivens them,” Nanson says. “It feeds my soul when I see good work. That’s what I want for someone else.”
Rich Garcia, Culinary Arts
Rich Garcia and his wife Chris own Rione Italian Restaurant in Chico. They also co-own The Red Tavern, a fine dining restaurant in Chico. “I began working in a restaurant at 14,” Garcia says. “I fell in love with working with passionate people. It’s a very exciting life. I love the smiles, entertaining and going beyond my comfort level to create as much as I possibly can. I love the challenge of doing things you don’t normally see in this area. I wake up early thinking about new dishes I’m working on. I want to bring something special, something different, something new.”
Garcia uses food to create a remarkable event. He talked about the ingredients for creating one of those special “wow” dining experiences – the kind where time gets lost and people have one of those amazing nights they will remember for a long time. He discussed things he has control over and things he doesn’t. “Of course, the food and service have to be perfect. That’s the starting point.”
Garcia explains that everyone walking in the door is coming in with a different experience – maybe a hard day, an anniversary, maybe they’re bringing in someone they’re falling in love with and how to intuit that. “The best representatives of a restaurant are people with common sense, people who can read a room. They’re looking for behaviors or characteristics of someone having a good time. Conversations at a table are important. A good server has to be able to read the cues. It begins with bringing in people who have a diverse background in communication. It comes with years. It’s my job to fast forward that learning. Everyone on the staff has to work hand in hand to create that amazing night that we want to provide.
“I try to spend at least two weeks a year in Italy. I have such a passion for the culture, the food, the people over there; it’s just such an amazing place. When somebody says, ‘I was in Rome two years ago and this reminds me of a great meal I had there,’ that connection from us to taking them back to that perfect meal, to that ‘wow’ moment, that’s what I’m in this for. When I can take someone back to another time, trigger that memory of a magic moment when they say, ‘This reminds me of my anniversary in Rome’ (or wherever), it doesn’t get any better than that.”
The common thread from these three artists is that art is a way of moving through the world, a way of inviting us to see things we may miss. Artists say, have you thought of seeing or feeling things from this perspective? Art brings out our sense of wonder and amazement at the world around us, and makes this journey through life a little more fun, a little more playful, a little more inspired. A little richer.
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Writers use words to open doors to a bigger world, and Bruce Greenberg is honored by the trust people place in him to share their stories. Through his writing, he invites readers to explore the layers of diversity and experience that make our community unique.
