Creating is co-creating.
The process is the point.
Artist statement

As a preschooler, Tamryn Spruill, an Army brat, appeared in a local English-language newspaper in Vicenza, Italy. In the photo accompanying the article, she is seated at an art table—her face reflecting total concentration as she cuts pieces of construction paper with kid-sized scissors. Above the photo, the headline reads: “Education—Where It All Begins (Pages 6-7).” The “Where It All Begins” part, in context with the photo, Tamryn considers to be validation of a lifelong inclination to make things from paper.
It is an impulse to which she finally surrendered well into adulthood, but it took a long time for her to get there.
An oddball middle child in a traditional family, Spruill's whimsies were not always understood, supported, or encouraged. She did not for a long time comprehend her own artistic inclinations, but Spruill began to glimpse their power and importance amid various personal crises which spotlighted for her the life-giving force of her practice. Now engrossed fully in an art practice, Spruill is glimpsing through her work in mixed media and collage the development of a budding artistic language all her own. Since late-2022, Spruill has shifted her approach -- focusing more on painting (acrylic on canvas or other surfaces) than collaging. Without the hypnotic tactile experience of working with paper, printed or written text, canvas, wood, twine, cloth, and other materials she has used in collage, Spruill explored ways to generate a similar energy in her painting practice and found texture to be its lifeblood.
It is an impulse to which she finally surrendered well into adulthood, but it took a long time for her to get there.
An oddball middle child in a traditional family, Spruill's whimsies were not always understood, supported, or encouraged. She did not for a long time comprehend her own artistic inclinations, but Spruill began to glimpse their power and importance amid various personal crises which spotlighted for her the life-giving force of her practice. Now engrossed fully in an art practice, Spruill is glimpsing through her work in mixed media and collage the development of a budding artistic language all her own. Since late-2022, Spruill has shifted her approach -- focusing more on painting (acrylic on canvas or other surfaces) than collaging. Without the hypnotic tactile experience of working with paper, printed or written text, canvas, wood, twine, cloth, and other materials she has used in collage, Spruill explored ways to generate a similar energy in her painting practice and found texture to be its lifeblood.
Woman of the World
"Woman of the World" examines the colors, complexities, beauties and ravages of motherhood. It was inspired by the poetry collection What Mothers Withhold by Elizabeth Kropf (Finishing Line Press, 2021) and appears on the book's cover.
Copyright © 2025 Tamryn Spruill.