Profile: Summer Hoyt

There are artists among us. Sometimes you never know. The stranger next to you in line might be an advanced cello player well-versed in Dvorak or Schumann. They might be an actor capable of breathing new life into iambic pentameter. Art is alive and well in the community, in ways you don’t always see, helping folks navigate the world in both collective and individual ways, giving them the joy of creativity. If you happen to be in line next to Norwalk artist Summer Hoyt, she might not just be waiting her turn. She might also be wrestling with a new drawing, how certain images are working or not, how to accomplish movement and meaning, how to live a life of discovery. 

“I have been drawing as long as I can remember, to be in my own world,” says the mother of two. “The kind of art I make often comes from trying to explore emotions and vulnerability in human relationships. I typically go on long prayer walks and, since I think visually, images will form as I sort through the junk drawer of my mind and heart with God.”

For Hoyt, this process is both creative and cathartic. “These images often seem very poetic, and they help me not feel so cluttered up and confused inside.”

Hoyt’s work is symbolic in subtle ways offering the observer a chance to find their own meaning, but also layered in ways personal to the artist, helping her find meaning and emotional connection. She works with a variety of media including oil, acrylic, ink, and pastel. She also has been incorporating metal gilding and spray paint to embellish her work. Her subjects include animals, flowers, and characters based in reality or fantasy. Her work often centers on one strong character that grabs the viewer’s eye and invites them to let their mind wander, allowing the characters to tell their story. What happened before? What is going to happen next? Each time a viewer looks, the story might be different.

Drawing from eclectic inspirations, Hoyt calls her work expressionist, a style that captures the emotional response to an image more than its realistic appearance. Having minored in art history, historical influences play a big role in her work. “I really like using historically potent symbolism that communicates like a visual language,” she says. “It’s like a cultural DNA that gets passed down. And that sort of thing really excites me.” She’s also inspired by Byzantine art, Arthurian tales, and even her Jewish roots.

These deeper inspirations are balanced with lighter whimsical play. Hoyt says she loved illustrations as a child and still does, and it’s with this type of energy that she releases her imagination. She enjoys drawing from memory and previous study of the image. This type of free drawing—playing with mirrored hand movements—is fun and feels connected to music, reminding Hoyt of playing the piano. Art isn’t always in the deep, sometimes it’s finding our inner child again, letting our hands play, taking the work where they lead.

Summer Hoyt’s work has recently shown at the Valley Junction Arts Festival, the Waukee Arts Festival, Art on the Lake in Pleasant Hill, Art in the Garden at Ted Lare Garden Center, the Indianola Summer Arts Festival, and in various commissions. She also has work on display at the North River Arts Council’s inaugural member’s show at Simpson College. This year has been quite busy, with her work also accepted into the Octagon’s All Media Show, and the Iowa State Fair Fine Arts Exhibition. On July 4th, in Carlisle, there was a ribbon cutting ceremony at the new playground that also celebrated a nearby mural with Hoyt’s work, supported and sponsored in part by North River Arts Council, a group that fosters connectivity for creatives in Warren County.          

As for the future, Hoyt’s big dreams are to have more time, maybe even an artist residency, and the freedom to focus her creative energy. As a busy mom, moments to create tend to be broken up, a daily reality many artists face, but also one in which Hoyt is obviously comfortable and productive. More immediate plans include working on more collaborations with her husband, local artist Evan Hoyt. Such plans might involve incorporating her painting with his stencil work, creating new compositions, and exploring new combinations of materials.

More about her work can be found at https://www.instagram.com/hoytsummer.art/.