Creator Five: Ophelia Chambliss
Ophelia Chambliss - image courtesy of the interviewee.
Creator Five is an ongoing peek at our regional creatives by asking them to share quick responses to five questions, both serious and trivial. Please take a minute and check out their online presence. Photographs are courtesy of the interviewee unless noted otherwise.
It makes sense to kick off our Creator Five series with a quick look at Ophelia Chambliss, who I've found to be interconnected to much of our area's art and our visual artists — arguably one of our unofficial "deans" in this arts community.
If you've spent any time in York, you've likely seen her work, either her acrylic paintings or captivating murals, throughout our towns and schools. York’s Downtown Inc lists her as a nominee for the 2022 Change Maker Award, and she is one of the York Daily Record’s York County's Most Influential People for 2022: Arts & Entertainment. Chambliss is a commissioner of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, and a member and presenter for NOAH, the National Organization for Arts in Health.
Untitled, Ophelia Chambliss© 2022
Here are our five insights into Ophelia Chambliss:
1) Chambliss is inspired by the work of Pablo Picasso, Joyce Owens Anderson, and Samuel Akainyah. If offering something helpful to other artists, she'd suggest reading the Graphic Artist's Guild Handbook of Pricing and Ethical Guidelines.
2) Our workspaces are essential and very individualized. For example, you'll find multiple pens and pencils on Ophelia's. "I seem to never have enough paint brushes."
This ties in to her pet peeve: "When people abuse brushes. When people waste paint. When people waste time."
3) If asked for advice for others, she suggests that "success is connected to your ability to treat yourself as a professional, so the others view you as professional as well."
4) Chambliss' schedule is busy, but a favorite day trip is to Philadelphia's Barnes Foundation, where one finds an impressive impressionist, post-impressionist & modern art collection.
5) In the food world, Ophelia's sandwich of choice is roast beef, to be followed by Swiss Vanilla Almond ice cream. The guilty pleasure? Popcorn.
Thanks to Ophelia Chambliss for sharing these insights with us. You can follow her work on her professional Facebook page or website, linked here.