About Tenille
Born in Wichita, Kansas in the 1970's. Raised in a family of artists and musicians, she started making mud, sand, and found object sculptures in her back yard at a very early age. As a child, she lived next to Joyland Amusement Park, which sparked her interest in the relationship between fear and excitement. She enrolled in North East Magnet High School for Art and Science. Encouraged by Gordon Zahradnik, Ceramic teacher and professional artist, Tenille found an emerging voice in clay. She attended Fort Hays State University in western Kansas where she received her BFA in ceramic sculpture. Under the nurturing wing of Ceramic Sculptor Linda Ganstrom she discovered art as a language for the expression of inner life. Inspired by the profound connection between art and the psyche, she moved to New York City in 2001 to pursue a graduate degree in Art Therapy from the College of New Rochelle. After earning a master's degree in art therapy, she began training as a psychoanalyst at the National Psychological Association for Psychoanalysis in Manhattan.
She was awarded the Bronx Recognizes its Own (BRIO) grant for Bronx artists. Her work was featured in “Confrontational Clay: The artist as Social Critic”, a book by New York University Professor Judith Schwartz. In 2007, Tenille had a solo exhibit titled “Decent” at the Iron Works Gallery in the Bronx. In 2005, “Loathsome Creatures” was featured as a solo exhibit at The Clay Art Center in Port Chester, NY.
Tenille moved to Branson, MO in 2013. She currently operates a part time private practice as an Art Therapist and Psychoanalyst. Informed by her work as an art therapist, Tenille's work plundges the depths of the human psyche. She is inspired by the complexity and visceral nature inherent in our emotional experience. She uses collage, painting, sculpture and mixed media to explore and process her internal world.
EDUCATION
NATIONAL PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION FOR PSYCHOANALYSIS (NPAP), New York, NY
Certificate of Completion- 5 years Post Graduate Training in Psychoanalysis- 06/2012
COLLEGE OF NEW ROCHELLE, New Rochelle, NY
Master of Science- Art Therapy- 05/2003
FORT HAYS STATE UNIVERSITY, Hays, KS
Bachelor of Fine Arts- Studio Art (Ceramics)- Minor Psychology - 05/2001
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
Middle Age (solo Exhibit), SMAC Art Center, Hollister, MO September 2022
SMAC Portrait Exhibit, Hollister, MO January 2022
Post-it Note, 3”x3” Exhibit, SMAC Art Center, Hollister, MO 2022, 2021, 2022
SMAC Members Exhibit, SMAC Art Center, Hollister, MO, 2020, 2021, 2022
Post it exhibit, Arts & Letters Gallery, Springfield, MO, 2015 & 2016
Featured Artist, Arts & Letters Gallery, Springfield, MO November 2014
SAS & GS Faculty Exhibit, The Castle Gallery, New Rochelle, NY, March 9th - June 17th, 2011
Anthem: An All-American Dystopia, Curated by Melissa A. Calderon, Bronx Council On The Arts, Longwood Art Gallery, 450 Grand Concourse, Bronx, NY 10451, December 2009- February 2010
Confrontational Ceramics, curated by Judith Schwartz, put on by the Westchester Arts Council, Grand Banking Room, 31 Mamaroneck Ave, White Plains, NY 10601, October through December 2008.
YoHo Artist Studios Fifth Annual Open Studios, Yonkers, NY 2008
Descent, Iron Works Gallery, Bronx, NY 2007
13 Women 13 Walls, The Haven Gallery, Bronx, NY 2006
Loathsome Creatures (solo exhibition), The Clay Art Center, Port Chester, NY 2005
Emanations: Works from the Clay Art Center, Elkton, Maryland 2005
Clay Art Center member’s exhibition, Labin City Gallery, Labin, Croatia 2003
College of New Rochelle Graduate Exhibition, New Rochelle, NY 2003
Pushing Clay, international juried/ Invitational, University of Southern Maine Art Gallery, Gorham, Maine. 2002
Body Text, Invitational Exhibition, Kansas City Artists Coalition New Works Gallery, Kansas City, KS 2002
College of New Rochelle Graduate Exhibition, New Rochelle, NY 2001 &2002
Plains State Undergraduate Exhibition, juried exhibition, Emporia, KS 2001
Grand Opening, Wind Song Gallery, Russell, KS 2001
Menagerie of the Imago, Solo BFA exhibition, Hays Arts Council, Hays, KS 2001
Body Text, Invitational Exhibition, Moss- Thorns Gallery of Art, Hays, KS 2001
31st Annual Smoky Hill Competition and Exhibition, Statewide Juried Exhibition, Hays, KS 2001
Something New from Something Old: Art from recycled Materials, Juror Richard Stauffer, Sternberg Museum, Hays, KS 2001
Fort Hays State University Student Honors Exhibition, Moss- Thorns Gallery, Jurors Recognition Award, Hays, KS 2001
Russell Original Art Review, Juried Exhibition, Russel, KS 1999
Kansas Artist Craftsman Association Members Exhibition, State Juried Exhibition, Juror Sheery Leady, Emporia, KS 1999
The Bakers Arts Center 3rd National Juried Art Exhibition, Liberal, KS 1999
Fort Hays State University Student Honors Exhibition, Moss- Thorns Gallery, Jurors Recognition Award, Hays, KS 1999
Home on the Range, Hays Public Library, Invitational Exhibition, Hays, KS 1999
Plains States Undergraduate Student Exhibition, Juried Exhibition, Emporia, KS 1999
NCECA Scholarship Cup Exhibition and Sale, Invitational Exhibition and Sale, Columbus, OH 1999
Russell Original Art Review, Juried Exhibition, Honorable Mention, Russell, KS 1998
Plains State Undergraduate Exhibition, Juried Exhibition, Emporia, KS 1998
Home on the Range, Stouffer Lounge, Invitational Exhibition, Hays, KS 1998
Inspirations and Expressions, Felten Gallery, Invitational Exhibition, Hays, KS 1998
Fort Hays State Student Honors Exhibition, Juried Exhibition, Scholarship Award Winner, Hays, KS 1998.
PUBLICATIONS
Blair-Neff, Tenille (2015) Dogpatch USA; A Reflection. State of the Ozarks. Retreive from http:/stateoftheozarks.net.
The Psychoanalytic Review, The official journal for the National Psychological Association for Psychoanalysis. Editorial staff from 2011-2014.
Free Associations Newsletter, editor of the member-in-training publication from 2008-2013.
Schwartz, Judith (2008). Confrontational Ceramics; The Artist as a Social Critic, University of Pennsylvania Press, PA. (featured pg. 104)
Blair-Neff, Tenille (2004, September) The Form of Character and the Character of Form: The Sculpture
of Kelli Damron, Ceramic Art and Perception,(57), pp. 59-62.
Ganstrom, Linda (2002, November). Body Text, Ceramics Technical, pp. 86 Photo of "Shadow" on pg. 19.
Ganstrom,Linda (2002, March/April). Stained Surfaces, Clay Times, pp. 16-19. Photo of “When the Angels Fall” on pg. 19.
PRESENTATIONS
Blair-Neff, T. (2014). Art Therapy A Journey Within, community presentation at Branson Arts Council.
Blair-Neff, T. (2010). Phototherapy; Picture Yourself in Recovery. FEGS Health and Human Services System, Bronx, NY. Internship training presentation.
Blair-Neff, T. & Cavallaro, M. (2009). Phototherapy; Picture Yourself in Recovery. FEGS Health and Human Services System, Bronx, NY. New York Association of Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services 27th Annual Conference.
GRANTS AND AWARDS
2014 NAMI Southwest Missouri Distinguished Service Award winner.
2014 Rockbottom Studio’s film festival grand prize and peoples choice award winner.
2008 Bronx Recognizes Its Own (BRIO) Award Winner