The Artist
Shirley Tate is a southern California based artist currently working towards her BFA in drawing and painting at Laguna College of Art and Design. Originally from Utah, Shirley received her Associates in Visual Arts from Utah Valley University in 2013. She is hoping to fulfill her lifelong dream of getting her bachelors degree at LCAD sometime in 2025.
Shirley Tate was born 1992 and grew up in in Logan, Utah. Growing up She loved creating things, and exploring capturing things around her through drawing. She also developed a deep love for abstract art as she doodled designs on the edges of her notebooks during church and school. It was her love for these “doodles” that inspired her to pursue being an artist.
In 2012 Shirley married Nathan Tate and they have three children that they are currently raising together. 2022 was pivotal year for her as it was the year she along with her husband decided to leave the mormon faith with which they had been raised. Her journey out of mormonism and deconstructing the life that had been prescribed for her has been a big theme in the art she has been creating.
Artist Statement
When I sit down to create, it stems from a place of wanting to connect. There are so many limits placed on us as humans that prevent us from being able to be authentic with each other. My art is an act of vulnerability for me to show up with the purest form of myself and hopefully reach through the art piece to an inner more guarded part of the viewer. Through the act of creating I hope to validate the part of me that has felt lonely and hopefully help others feel a little less alone in this world as well. I enjoy using a variety of mediums to express the concepts that I wish to convey. The medium I pick is a deliberate choice of what I feel supports the content of the piece best.
