Meet Patsy Rausch | Visual Arts Teacher & Papermaker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Patsy Rausch and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Patsy, how do you think about risk?
I tell my students two things when we begin a project as to the significance of Celebrated Risk:
“There is always the option to feel like a failure, but allow yourself the feeling of the experience before you give into the feeling of “fail.”

As we are in the thick of the project, and feelings of failure creep in:
“You are too early in this experience to be so critical of your work; keep participating, and don’t let your fear of failure hold you back.”
(I also tell them to stop stabbing the erasers with pencils, but that’s not a life lesson I’m 100% invested in, nor is it one they adhere to.)

Celebrated risk has been my driving force for the past 15 years, and I would not be where I am today if I had not allowed myself to feel each challenge, each outside of my comfort zone, or every leap of faith experience.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I never felt comfortable calling myself an artist until I acquired my master’s in Art and Design from KSU. Until then, I was an “Art Teacher” or “Artsy,” but through the master’s program, studio work was a course requirement, and in mediums, I was not invariably proficient. Again, my philosophy of celebrated risk prompted me to experience artmaking beyond my comfort zone; in doing so, it became a catalyst for the focus of my work in papermaking. My master’s thesis: Papermaking as a Pathway to Healing Pandemic Trauma, bridged my artistic initiatives in papermaking as a credible medium of individual work while fostering a community outreach component equally significant to my teaching career. My professional ventures in community outreach have allowed me to engage in Women’s Empowerment workshops with We Hike to Heal, rehab and rehabilitation sessions with Atlas Behavioral Health, family events at Smith Guilbert Gardens, local schools, libraries, and resident artist opportunities at universities and artist societies. My work has been in local galleries in collaborative and collective shows and at the Marietta Cobb Museum of Art’s metro Montage. However, the work I’m most proud of is the pieces that explore my curiosity of an experience – the components in natural fibers not yet manipulated or the characteristics in vats of pulp, pulled into sheets, then pressed or sculpted to innovative boundaries as far as the cellular bonding allows.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
This is a tricky question because I don’t spend much time ITP, and I would probably ask my friends what they want to see before creating an itinerary. Note that there are many places OTP that are small businesses, mom-and-pop, and local/diverse/POC that work very hard to be recognized because they are nestled in the nooks and crannies of the outer Atlanta area. They deserve a chance to thrive as they support local communities and welcome diversity to homogeneous neighborhoods.

Having noted that, the week would be culinarily heavy …that I can confidently say.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My daughters are the origin of my fearlessness. They give me courage, commendations, and confirmation that my path clears the brush for their generation. I want them to know how impactful their support has been in my capacity to evolve as an artist and portray a positive feminine influence in their emerging landscapes.

Instagram: https://www.threads.net/@pmrpaper

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patsy-rausch-5135ba329

Image Credits
Calvin Rausch
Quinn Harrison
Nichole Gaut