Today we’d like to introduce you to Carole Kuck.
Carole, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I have always been a creative person, primarily expressing my creativity through music. I grew up playing the piano, oboe, and trumpet, but piano has always been my favorite instrument. When I began writing my own music, a whole new world opened up for me. Through music I express my feelings and emotions. I released my first solo piano album “Blossom” in 2002. I played piano in a band, wrote music and songs for locally produced musicals, and played in ensembles around town.
As things changed in my life and in the music experience I was having, I felt it was time to step away from the band. My creative expression turned to visual art. Years earlier I had been teaching mathematics at a visual and performing arts school. I started an elective class in mural painting. Students and I designed and painted murals all over campus. I loved that experience and never forgot the feeling I had of fully being myself.
I quit the band, bought an easel and began my personal artistic journey that led me to galleries and exhibitions. My artwork was juried into shows and people started collecting my work. I was accepted into an artist mentorship program that propelled me forward into the business of creating art and getting it out into the world.
Being a creative person, I am always in the flow of following where inspiration leads me. Sometimes it is music that calls me. Last year I released an album titled “My Camino.” It is a collection of songs I wrote that tell the story of my pilgrimage through Portugal and Spain as I walked the Camino de Santiago de Compostela. I worked with Ross Cooper, a fabulous musician and music producer out of Los Angeles. I played piano and sang the songs on the album. It was the highlight of my music expression.
Currently I am experiencing a highlight in my visual artistic expression. As the year 2025 began, I wanted to create a series where people of the LGBTQIA+ community would feel seen, people across the wide spectrum of gender identities and sexual orientations. To do this I researched Pride flags and was amazed and inspired by all I learned.
I created a series titled BOLD & BRILLIANT: The Colors of LGBTQIA+ Pride. It references 50 Pride flags, 50 expressions of self awareness, freely being oneself, and Pride in community. It is currently featured in the 8th Annual PROUD+ art exhibition at The Studio Door gallery in Hillcrest, San Diego. The show runs from July 3 through August 1.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My greatest challenge along the way has been believing in myself and finding the courage to follow where inspiration leads me. Self doubt, questions of worthiness, lack of confidence in being able to carry out a vision—all of these things came up for me. They could have potentially stopped me from expressing myself and sharing those expressions with others, but I am grateful for my own tenacity and for all the loving support in my life. Most especially I am grateful to my wife Nancy for her unwavering and enthusiastic support of my creative expressions. She always believes in me.
My formal field of study was mathematics. I loved it throughout school and majored in it in college. For 39 years I worked in mathematics education in a variety of capacities—teacher, curriculum writer, professional developer, teachers’ coach, workshop presenter, textbook writer, mathematics administrator. Creative expression was personal pleasure and a way to more fully express myself. I never dreamed that it would be something that I would share outside of my own home with people other than family and friends. I have grown and evolved to recognize that I am all of these expressions—mathematician, mathematics teacher, musician, songwriter, artist.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
What is perhaps unique or fascinating about me is my love of mathematics as well as my love of creative expression. I access both sides of the brain—both logical and creative.
I thoroughly enjoyed my career in mathematics education and had great success in it. I was awarded the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. I continue to stay in contact with students of mine and young women I coached in tennis. We had a phrase in my classroom that we would yell out—“Math! We love it!” When I run into past students, they still yell it out to me.
Teaching mathematics at a visual and performing arts magnet school was a dream come true for me. I could teach mathematics through the arts and I could teach the arts through mathematics. This provided me the opportunity to fully express myself and my unique skill set in my work. Incorporating the arts in my teaching of mathematics made math more interesting and enjoyable for my students. It also gave me the marvelous opportunity in 1999 to travel to India as part of a Fulbright-Hayes grant to study teaching and learning in a multilingual environment.
I love learning! In my teaching career I am most proud of the enthusiasm that my students saw in me and experienced in my teaching. My classroom was a dynamic, enjoyable and safe place for students. I was always learning and trying new strategies to make math accessible to my students and to help them realize the power of their own thinking.
In my creative expression, I am not afraid to explore an idea. My passions for expressing myself and sharing who I am provide me ways to feel vibrantly alive and to connect with humanity and its beautiful diversity.
Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?
I love following other artists and musicians on social media. I enjoy seeing and hearing their work as well as learning new techniques. I especially love following young and emerging artists and songwriters.
I read and practice the methods described in the three books of Julia Cameron’s “The Artist’s Way” series. Elizabeth Gilbert’s book “Big Magic” is another source of inspiration and encouragement.
I enjoy relaxing and clearing my mind to make room for creative ideas to flow. I listen to DreamCentral and their music meditations. I am learning how I can become more aware of my dreams, remember and record them. Creative ideas often come to me during the night.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.carolekuckart.com
- Instagram: http://instagram.com/carolekuckartist
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/carolekuckartist
- Other: http://album.link/us/i/1735410028
