Life and Work with Violet Kasser

Today we’d like to introduce you to Violet Kasser.

Violet, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I was born in Hawaii raised in southern Arizona by a village of wonderful, loving, driven beings & aweing environments. My family instilled mindful, open-hearted, appreciative values in me that I feel made it my nature to be creative. I grew up around beautiful works of art from ancient artifacts to contemporary performance. From papyrus painting and raku pinch pots in elementary school to art history and foundations in high school, art has always been an important point of connection within my self, my surroundings & humanity.

After a failed attempt at pre-business school, I tended bar and managed a tattoo shop that helped me realize I could peruse my passion as my profession. I then moved to Colorado where I attended the Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design, and painting became my focus. Art school was an exciting, eye-opening experience where I learned the importance of exploration and challenge in my practice. I left art school after ownership and intentions changed & locked myself in the studio for 2 years. I then moved back to Tucson and yearned for a connection, which prompted the birth of Monsoon Collective, a community advancement program my father helped me conceptualize in early 2016. Over the past two season, I have worked with 50 artists and hosted over 10 successful art events in a vacant 10,000 sq.ft. building in downtown Tucson.

Has it been a smooth road?
My advice to anyone starting their journey is to DO, organize and execute, persist in your craft and believe in your vision & ability to grow. Take challenges head on knowing you will be a stronger and wiser being at the end. Allow yourself to be.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Red Violet Art & Monsoon Collective – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
My work is a contemporary representation of South Western art, heavily influenced by the ecology of the Sonoran Desert, the advancements of materials and the ether of dreams. Yes, Colorado is a stunning place but I missed the beautiful dangers of the desert, the venomous reptiles, the plants covered in spikes, the extreme heat and monsoon season. In 2015, I began illustrating colorful and playful desert themed mandalas and alien space crafts swapping pink saguaros and seafoam flamingos. These illustrations led me to start a series of paintings further exploring the desert in my mind; and working with materials such as phosphorescence, glitter and gold leaf. I also incorporated microscopic images of cacti cells, the natural phenomenon such as the sundog and geometric mirroring.

I was then approached to exhibit work at Dusk a local music festival and felt limited by my 2d experience and designed my 1st installation “Sonora”. A surreal desert experience with neon couches, 15 large foam sculptures ranging from 10 to 2 ft. tall, a crystal throne & psychedelic lighting that sat on top of a 1200 sqft floor mural of a cosmic lagoon. I was then approached to exhibit at Gem and Jam and a few other festivals and events and before I knew it “Sonora” had been experienced by 20,000 people in the 1st year.

Often it feels as if the media, by and large, is only focused on the obstacles faced by women, but we feel it’s important to also look for the opportunities. In your view, are there opportunities that you see that women are particularly well positioned for?
Women are highly functioning, thoughtful and understanding beings well positioned for leadership roles.

Contact Info:

• Website: violetkp.squarespace.com
• Phone: (520) 395-5959
• Email: red.violet.art@gmail.com
• Instagram: RedVioletArt
• Facebook: Violet Kasser-Pirzadeh

Image Credit:
Violet Kasser, Sam Gonzales

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