Member Spotlight Series: KORINNA HIRSCH

Sep 28

3 min read

Spend enough time at the Doraville Art Center, and you’re going to meet at least one of every personality type out there. Our diverse and dedicated staff and regular visitors represent the entire spectrum of human expression, and it's one of the things that makes the center so important, and such a source of pride for its board members.

Korinna Hirsch, longtime event volunteer and board member, corners the market on thoughtfulness, warmth, and generosity of spirit, all of which translate naturally into her creativity.

Though it was New Jersey she first called Home, Korinna has been a resident of Doraville for more than 26 years, and is fully embedded in her local community. A project manager and graphic designer by trade, her eye is well-trained to proportions, positions and palettes - so finding the art in the ordinary is key to her nature.

"Art is everywhere," she says, "if we stop to look."

It's a philosophy that shapes not only her craft, but her entire worldview. "Art affords precious, deeply personal opportunities for expression and connection in ways nothing else can," Korinna says. "It can actively connect community through classes and gallery openings, and passively connect community through personal exploration. And by sharing it all, we discover our shared humanity."

Like many of us who've chosen to commit ourselves to the Doraville Art Center, Korinna's enthusiasm for the creative has been with her since early childhood. Vividly, she recalls the first time a work of art had profound impact on her:

"My parents had this framed lenticular image, circa 1970, of a deer in a richly green, deeply wooded area, hanging on the wall for 50+ years. I loved the composition, the depth, and how the piece activated and moved with me when I moved. I would fall asleep as a child imagining myself in those woods with the deer and other forest animals watching over me.”

This fantastical image inspired not only a love of visual arts, but an equally significant love of the outdoors and an enduring desire for adventure. Hiking, camping, caving - all of these are core to Korinna's sense of peace and power. This summer, she even plans to row the Chattahoochee River for the first time.

Her evolution as a creator has been as varied as the rest of her pursuits. For many years, Korinna has branched off from one fascination to the next, never entirely leaving any behind.

"As a child, I made greeting cards for family and enjoyed the connection of visual/literary expressions. From there, I moved on into pen & ink portraiture, then painting - particularly enjoying the flexibility and richness of oils."

Korinna has a distinctive flair for photography and illustration, specializing in architecture and portraits of people and animals. For her son’s apartment, she created a series of posters featuring their family cats using nothing but POSCA markers.

"Emotion is the main dish," she says of her artistic dogma. "Joy, anger, awe, wonder, thoughtfulness - with a big side helping of technical excellence when it makes sense."

The success of this recipe is strongly reflected in pieces like The Kiss, a dreamy representation of a lover’s embrace, done in the style of Klimt, and Headache, a brutal self-portrait that serves as an encapsulation of frustrated, overcome rage.

Music, dance, sculpture, jewelry – to meet Korinna, you would think there is no medium she hasn’t met and mastered, but there is one that remains elusive:

"The most challenging medium for me is watercolor painting. It's so unforgiving. To me, if a person can paint watercolor, they can do anything!"

The other significant challenge, she says, is simply accessing the time and space to work creatively amid the chaos of daily life – or, in her own words: "Quieting my mind enough to consider and produce meaningful work."

It’s one of the many reasons DART has become a kind of sanctuary.

"I'm grateful to DART for offering the community opportunities to try things they may not have - and at reasonable costs, so people can discover new mediums for themselves. That is one reason I love our tie-dye and acrylic pour classes. The expectedly unplanned nature of these classes takes away a lot of the pressure to do something ‘right', be 'perfect' or 'powerful'. They are just fun. And you get cool art!"

It’s no surprise that after several years of docenting and volunteering, Korinna was nominated to the board of directors, and has been lending her unfailingly kind, creative approach to our endeavors ever since. “I'm honored to work alongside such talented, smart, caring people- especially our courageous executive committee!”

The feeling is mutual, Korinna!