My name is Zoe Mitchum, and I’m a 24 year old artist from North Carolina. Growing up, I fell in love with exploring the natural world and creating art for others. These two loves are what influence my artwork today.
I create art to connect people to nature. In many cultures, it’s not uncommon to find that humans are seen as the rightful rulers over all other creatures. I feel that this uncomfortably separates humanity from the rest of nature. The complexity and beauty of other life becomes oversimplified and can often pale in comparison to the attention we give to human matters. However, humans are on the tree of life with everything else. We are made up of the same matter as everything else. There is a concept found in Pantheism and Hinduism which I feel resolves this separation. It asserts that every being contains a spark of the divine. Through my art, I try to connect the viewer to this concept. When I paint animals in particular, I like to give them a wise, almost regal, appearance. Sometimes, I symbolize this by adding a halo, a sun, or moon around their head. In this way, I hope to give other creatures the platform and the divine spark that humans give to themselves by default.
I also create art to connect people to their memories. It’s easy to get lost in the noise of life and forget the quiet moments. We forget to listen to the crunch of leaves as we walk to school, the falling snow on a Saturday morning, or the laugh of a loved one over coffee. These are the moments that make life worth living. When I create an artwork for someone, I’m not just making a house drawing or a portrait of a child. I am creating a doorway to a memory. For a moment, the viewer can walk through the door, remember, and feel something. For a moment, they can connect to what matters most.
Gallery
