Christine Hogg has quickly become a powerhouse of creative expression here in Fort Collins. Originally from Arkansas, she moved to Fort Collins in August of 2022 and immediately plugged into the creative community. She’s a poet. She’s a visual artist. She’s a community organizer. If there is creativity happening in this town, Christine has found it. And made it better!
GuloGulo: What got you into writing?
Christine: At first, I learned how to communicate the best through visual art. However, there were still times when it was hard to convey my thoughts visually. Then, I turned to writing.
GuloGulo: You grew up as a visual artist?
Christine: I did. I expressed myself the easiest through drawing when I was really young, so my parents enrolled me in arts magnet programs in the public school district and in classes at the community arts center. I was able to develop a portfolio, take post-secondary courses as a kid, participate in community exhibitions, work at internships in arts organizations, travel abroad with arts peers, and be accepted into post-secondary arts programs. I give a lot of credit and gratitude to my high school arts faculty for keeping me safe and helping me feel free.
GuloGulo: Do you have a preferred art form?
Christine: It’s close. Visual art has always felt the most natural, but writing has become such an integral part of my creative process – as a tool and an interwoven expression.
GuloGulo: Was poetry the writing you discovered?
Christine: Yes. Later, when I started to travel (whether internationally or locally), journaling became a way to document the unexpected. Years later, I now alternate between an abstract style and an observational style with my poetry.
GuloGulo: Have you ever gone somewhere crazy?
Christine: There’s not a place that comes to mind that I’d call crazy, but one potentially crazy circumstance was when I went to Morocco with a couple of peers (also fair-haired). One peer who was Christian and who had grown up in Indiana surprised us one day by sharing she was dating a Muslim man online in Morocco and that she was going to go alone to meet him for the first time. So, our friend and I decided to join her so she wouldn’t take the risks on by herself. Having never been to the city (or country) or met him ourselves, we crossed the Strait of Gibraltar from where we were living at the time and discovered how lovely he was. He and the community of Al-Hoceima were very hospitable.
Christine!
3rd Tuesday
October 21st
4pm writing workshop
6pm open mic & feature
Our host for the evening: Phoon!
