Ignite Studio welcomes our Fall Maker-in-Residence, Gina Baird! Visit Ignite Studio from September-December 2026 to meet her.
Gina M. Baird, LMHC, ATR-BC, ATCS is a multi-media artist and a credentialed art therapist. In addition to maintaining a long-term private practice, Gina is a celebrated artist known for her contagious love for expressive art. Her art celebrates multiple layers in both materials used and in the symbolic presence of the artworks themselves. Gina has been awarded numerous grants that have supported her art and clinical work and have helped her have an impact on her community. Examples include a leadership award as adjunct faculty, Penrod Grant Awards, a Creative Renewal grant through United Way, a Hoosier Women Artist award, and a fellowship of Creative Renewal through the Indy Arts Council. Gina has taught art in numerous settings, presented expressive art-making at many conferences, and shares her art in juried shows and competitions throughout the Midwest. Gina’s art has been featured in numerous publications, such as the cover images with a personal commentary on the art and her work with trauma survivors in the text Art Therapy and the Neuroscience of Trauma: Theoretical and Practical Perspectives in both the 1st and the 2nd Edition.
Maker-in-Residence Q&A
What mediums do you work in and why?
I am a mixed media artist with a strong affinity for ceramic sculpture. I am self-taught and I demonstrate a constant need and desire to create. My attitude and approach to life, paired with my deep love for art and learning, has me engaging with many media and techniques. However, I have always felt that ceramic sculpture offers me the best of all worlds. I lean into the relational aspect of art making, my process and product. My ceramic sculptures almost always have more than one function that may or may not be seen to the viewer as an additional relational element.
Where do you draw artistic inspiration from?
I draw inspiration from my emotions, the awe and the energy in nature, animals, visits to art museums, my clinical work, my dreams, my relationships, books I read, and challenges I have overcome.
What is your favorite art tool/supply?
This may be a trick question. How can anyone choose an absolute favorite? I allow my inspiration and intuition to lead me, but clay and acrylic paint are both essential. The Gelli plate is one supply that I always travel with. It is an excellent companion and can adjust to being used with almost every media.
Who are some of your favorite artists?
I admire Frida Kahlo for her many contributions to art and its history. I love her ability to place the viewer in her raw and unfiltered internal experience. I love the whimsy and dreamlike movement in Marc Chagall’s work. My favorite art is folk art from around the world. My favorite places to see art, aside from New York City, are The International Folk Art Museum in Santa Fe and the International Quilt Museum in Lincoln, Nebraska. Virginia Findley Wolfe is an artistic quilter that I admire greatly. I love the innovation, scale, and process in Ngozi-Omeje’s ceramic work. I love the cultural significance and the raw explosive color in Ramesh Mario Nitheindran’s work with clay. I love the innovation of the musician and sound sculptures of Hernan Vargas, Natalia Scromov Espada and sculptor Nataia Arbeleaz
What kinds of things will you be doing during your residency in Ignite?
During my residency I hope to bring an energy that fosters personal expression and assists people to thoroughly embrace their creativity and imagination. The classes I teach will offer layers of ideas, tips, and ways to personalize your relationship to your creation. In my classes, we will explore working with clay, mixed media, and upcycling designed around a wide variety of experiences. I will be attending Harvest Fest and celebrate with you at LibraryCon! During my residency, I will have a collection box for fabric items you wish to contribute to a community art quilt. I will hold several open studios devoted to working on the quilt. I will be looking for a few community artist volunteers to help sew our quilt together.
What art accomplishment are you most proud of?
I am most proud of being awarded a Creative Renewal Grant for my work as an art therapist through the United Way, and being awarded a Creative Renewal Fellowship as a visual artist through the Indy Arts Council. These accomplishments were incredible life-changing experiences that enabled me to use art as creative renewal to increase my quality of life.
What is something you still hope to accomplish in art?
I have endless ideas and a desire to continue to take artistic risks to challenge myself to grow as an artist and a person. To name just a few, I have always wanted to create a large-scale sculpture in nature. I dream of having my own raku kiln. I want to try tufting so I can make giant elaborate cat trees and cat furniture in the style of my paintings. And if all my dreams could come true, I would be asked to work with The Herds and to contribute to their meaningful mission.
What else do you want the HEPL community to know about you?
I strive to encourage people to express themselves using their imagination and creativity through art-making. I prefer to foster a person’s creativity and self-expression vs teaching people to create a cookie cutter version of something I make. I do not strive for perfection in my art, but I do strive for it to represent me. I look forward to challenging and supporting the makers who visit my residency to play and connect with your own inner creativity and imagination. I will encourage you to embrace the qualities within the media and the function of what I share, to play, to go bold, to get comfortable breaking conditioned art rules that have no actual place between the artist and the materials and that are, ultimately, often a barrier to imagination and creativity.