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Claire Wentzel : August 2025

Full Scope Workshop for August invited Claire Wentzel of Red Rose Studios. As a full-time artist, Claire spoke to us about her journey with public art, her time as a Clark County Art Committee Board member, evaluating projects such as ZAP, and where she is at now in her career.

The Need for a Creative Community: Inviting the Public Into Our Art

I began my public art career in high school, creating plein air landscapes and street paintings at festivals. I’ve learned that interacting with people, whether by chance or by intention, is integral to my creative practice. I feel very constrained creatively when I don’t have an active community to share in the process. This need for a creative community and access to feedback in the moment has driven me to pursue travel art residencies, painting from people’s guest rooms, exhibitions in everyday spaces, open studio gatherings, collaborative mural projects, and teach classes and workshops focused on removing the barriers to our collective creative expression, regardless of perceived skill level or past art experience. I also support this work out in the world with a personal journal and studio practice that follows me wherever I go. My practice is grounded in the belief that if you are human, you are an artist, and that creating together with intention and freedom is our best path forward for the survival of our spaces.

Claire Wentzel is a mixed-media artist, poet, and designer with a global practice now based in Santa Barbara, CA. A studio art distinguished graduate of the University of Colorado, Boulder, has led workshops and educational programs that empower individuals of all ages to engage with art as a means of personal expression and community connection. Having spent two decades living and working around the world from South Korea to Portugal to Las Vegas, her immersive, site-responsive, public practice connects her transient experiences with her concept of how a place becomes “home.” Her work emphasizes visual storytelling, cultural inclusivity, and universal design, creating meaningful, accessible experiences that inspire creativity and dialogue.

As a former Vice Chair of the Clark County Public Art Committee, Claire connected her passion for art with community leadership and civic engagement. Claire founded the Desert Bloom Art Scholarship at Nevada State University to support students with art minors, and currently serves on the Santa Barbara Fiber Arts Guild board as publicity chair and is a guild member for State Street Ballet.

The presentation was followed by a question-and-answer segment where attendees asked the speaker about the topics covered. Announcements of Clark County current and future opportunities, events, and services closed out the workshop.

Claire began the workshop with a blind contour activity. To join in on the activity, please download the instructions here: Blind Contour Art Exercise (PDF)

Tag us on social media! #FullScopeAug2025

Visit Claire’s website for more information:
www.RedRoseStudios.com

For more information about the art scholarship that Claire founded, please visit this link: https://www.redrosestudios.com/donate