NGAG - Teresa Weiser

The Arts The North Georgia Arts Guild

Art From the Heart With Teresa Weiser

By Tricia Moore

As with most artists, Teresa Weiser has had a life-long love affair with art. However, it has taken many twists and turns along the way, and Teresa did not have an opportunity to fully experience the creative art experience her heart has always longed for until the last two

years. Teresa was born in Atlanta, Georgia where she lived with her parents until she was seven. During her seventh year, tragedy struck with the death of both of her parents, and she and her two younger sisters became orphans. After her parents’ death, Teresa and her sisters went to live with relatives in Missouri.

Teresa stated that she always loved to learn and has spent a good part of her life in the pursuit of learning. Even though she worked in the field of Cosmetology for over 40 years, she also continued her education, eventually earning a BA in Clinical Psychology and Art with a concentration in Art Therapy, an MAT in Emotional Behavior Disorders and an Ed.D in Leadership for Curriculum and Instruction.

Returning to Georgia, Teresa has called Clayton her home for the past 36 years. But it wasn’t until 2020 that she began fulfilling a life-long dream of learning to work in the style of the Old Masters when she started an on-line art class with Charles Miano. Miano is founder and director of Miano Academy of Fine Art in Sarasota, Florida and conducts on-line art classes for art students around the world. Teresa’s first work of art as a student of Miano’s was a beautifully rendered portrait of a woman done in red chalk. The love for the work of the Old Masters began at an early age for Teresa. After the death of her parents, she had little to remember them by except for a large Catholic bible from which she has fond memories of her mother reading to her. Even though she could not really understand the passages in the Bible when she tried to read them for herself, she loved to look at the many photographs of the artwork done by the Old Masters that were in the bible. These works of art spoke to her heart in a special way and created a lifelong love of them for her. Teresa did not have a great deal of time for creating art due to her career in cosmetology and working on her educational goals, but she was always interested and skilled in drawing. She also had the opportunity to experiment and create art in other mediums in the pursuit of her BA in Clinical Psychology and Art. It was during this time that she created her copper sculpture depicting a heart with heartstrings. She refers to Proverbs 4:23 as the basis of her belief that the heart is integral to all things; “Above all, guard your heart, for from here flows all you do and the issues of life.” Her preferred mediums currently are oils, red chalk and charcoal. And even though her work in these mediums does not literally depict a heart, as does her copper sculpture, one can easily see the heart connection in her work. There is also a definite link between her career in Cosmetology and her artistic ability and skills, Teresa noted. It has been said that drawing is seeing. As a cosmetologist, she was always viewing and working on faces. This experience provided the opportunity to closely study facial features and learn bone structure. She has been able to use this experience in accurately drawing and painting portraits. Teresa is the loving mother of two grown sons, Todd and Trent, and three beautiful grandchildren. Her current artistic goal is to capture her grandchildren in oil portraits that truly come from the heart. Whether it is a work in progress or a finished piece, Teresa’s art has the ability to touch you in a very special way. If you are interested in contacting Teresa about her work, she can be reached at the following email address: Weiserexpressions@gmail. com. She also has some of her work on display at Gallery 441 in Dillard, Georgia.

Tricia Moore is a retired teacher, having taught both English and Art in public and private school settings.

She is currently an active member of the NGAG and has held several positions on the board. With her background in both art and writing, she feels that writing the NGAG featured artist article in the Laurel of Northeast Georgia is a good fit and something that she will greatly enjoy doing.