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Spotlights » Ann Teliczan, '83
Ann Teliczan, '83 is an environmentally inspired artist. After graduating from William James College at Grand Valley, she kept her talent a secret from most of the world at first.
"For years, I kept my work to myself. It was a personal expression that I simply needed to do," said Teliczan.
Her work is influenced by her exposure to nature as a child. Teliczan was born in Los Angeles, raised in a farming community in Washington state, and lived most of her younger years in Chicagoland where she was inspired by a vibrant art community. While she was a student at Grand Valley, Ann got a taste of her creative expression. She was a disc jockey and ran her own radio show at WSRX (now WGVU) called Annies Rock Hour. She was also very involved in the arts program, testing her skills as a photographer.
Upon graduation in 1983, the Michigan unemployment rate hovered around *13 percent, which left Ann torn between the decision to leave the state or make Grand Rapids her permanent home.
"When I graduated the economy was horrible, in fact there was a saying 'Would the last one to leave Michigan close the door'? I wanted to stay," said Teliczan.
Teliczan began her career as an advertising coordinator at Gemini Publications, a parent company of Grand Rapids Magazine and the Grand Rapids Business Journal. At the age of 29, she took a promotion and became the national advertising and public relations director at Brooks Shoe, a former division of Wolverine World Wide. She also worked for a nationally recognized design firm, and collaborated with hundreds of businesses.
As her children grew older, she longed for the sense of creative expression she embraced while she was a student at Grand Valley, and found it with the pottery program at the Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts in Grand Rapids.
"In 2003, I decided to go public," she said.
Hours spent in the dark room, and experimentation with scanners, composite art and printmaking led to Teliczans unique art works that now hang in hospitals, and other businesses around the country. Her prints are developed using an innovative process that blends traditional painting using minerals with cameraless, filmless digital captures that are printed on canvas and paper.
Recently, Fort Belvoir, one of the military hospitals in Washington DC, purchased 375 pieces of her work to be displayed in patient rooms. To date, it is her biggest sale, and it marks a milestone in her art career - next to the time Oprah Winfrey featured one of her photos in her Breathing Space online gallery.
In early 2011, Ann formed her own ad agency, AT Media Studio where she now develops ad campaigns and shoots photography for clients in the West Michigan area.
When she looks back at her experiences, she is reminded of the impact her Grand Valley education has made on her career path.
"I was able to get a job even though the Michigan economy was at a low point. My experience at Grand Valley gave me courage, confidence and the tools I needed to succeed."
Ann currently resides in Ada with her family.
*Information retrieved from the Michigan Department of Technology, Management & Budget website
Updated January 2012
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