TRACY BLACK / LIFELIGHTS
Tracy Black, a twin born in Sacramento, CA, was lucky to be raised throughout different places in the world. Most memorably in West Berlin for 3 years, she lived as an Air Force brat in an active military family, lucky to see and absorb the sights and sounds of various foreign places around her. These impressions would elegantly and fiercely imprint Tracy with an exotic understanding of culture, the importance of community and an adventurous curiosity.
Tracy attended Kutztown University in Pennsylvania, graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1999 and concentrating in Theatre with minors in Fine Art and Creative Writing, Tracy became a pioneer for her University, after enduring years of medical setbacks, as the first person out of 1500 applicants to win the WDWCP internship for the opening of Disney's Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World in 1998. Disney's extensive conservation efforts, working alongside the beautiful people from South Africa and lifechanging engagement with Give Kids the World, would help mold her life.
Around 2007, Tracy moved to San Diego County after success working for March of Dimes in Pennsylvania as a Community Director in special events, Project Management for the Lenape Nation Indian Monument, Larry Holmes Honorary Sculpture and youngest board member for the Bethlehem, Lehigh Art Alliance. Tracy would become increasingly involved in marketing, advertising, fundraising, event planning, and creative pursuits. After proudly volunteering with a myriad of Oceanside Museum of Art openings and events, Tracy was asked to join the Art After Dark Committee upon its creation in 2008. She joined the hardworking OMA team in 2011 as the Art After Dark Coordinator and continued to be a part of its exponential growth until 2014 when she was invited to help develop a high tech traveling exhibit by one of Hollywood’s leading concept & creature designers, Neville Page. Tracy would also create her own company in 2011, MSTBLACK, finally equipping her multifarious skills and facilitating her love for the arts, community and philanthropic endeavors.
Tracy, in more recent years, has been busy working on an assembly of projects including, her own /\ R T, special events, fundraising, production, set design & stage management with RexRode Productions at the famous Belly Up and Music Box theaters. She was invited as a guest curator for Unlocking Wonderland, a tribute to Alice in Wonderland, she created, and THE ENTERTAINING ART OF NEVILLE PAGE presented from May 21st -August 14th 2016 at the impressive California Center for the Arts in Escondido alongside helping the Global Medical Relief Fund.
With legacy and impact in mind, Tracy Black co-founded her first LLC, GREEN STEAM ALLIANCE, alongside BeCREATIVE.Zone's chief operator, Kristi Stone. GSA would open up extraordinary avenues to sustainable innovation while collaborating with the "circular economy" revolution! At the same time, she influentially became more involved in 3D printing, laser cutting, LEDs and electronics with San Diego Maker's Guild. Boosting Geordy's Rocketry to reach new heights in 2021, her passion for interplanetary inspired products, along with her flagship program, CAUSEmic, essentially all worked together to support the planet, its inhabitants and beyond. In 2022, The SpaceKind Foundation would take her on a journey supporting the 20+ year running & stunning event, Yuri’s Night. As a core member of the YN Team she worked tirelessly on creating a global event that celebrates the power of space to bring the world together and help support The Cosmic Odyssey Scholarship and Mission: AstroAccess. The Cosmic Odyssey Scholarship sends families affected by pediatric cancer on an incredible trip to Family Space Camp in Huntsville, AL while Mission: AstroAccess would launch a group of disabled scientists, veterans, students, athletes, and artists on a historic parabolic flight with the Zero Gravity Corporation (ZERO-G) as the first step in a progression toward flying a diverse range of people to space. Fused with fearlessness, mixed with a devoted work ethic, sharp intuition, grace, humor, joy, and most importantly, a deep empathy, Tracy is designing a more beautiful world to live and believe in.
Addendum:
Tracy, as an active ARTIST, recently exhibited at the internationally acclaimed Copro Gallery in Santa Monica, CA, Bergamot Station, for the 2019 BLAB Show curated by Monte Beauchamp out of Chicago. She also opened the exhibit, Space & Surface: an Exploration in Art with artist, Greg Schaefer at La Playa Gallery in La Jolla, CA under the curation of Erica Putis. Her work resides in national and international collections. Attributing most of her knowledge to her dear mentor, Ben Marcune, Tracy also picked up experience working for over a year with globally celebrated sculptor, Steve Tobin, aside one of Patrick Dougherty's stick work sculptures, and aspiringly engaged in the epic work of assemblage artist, Kris Kuksi!
Tracy would find a new passion for up-cycling materials in her work, such as Mac computer parts, metal, plastic, and other products that didn't need to be thrown into a landfill, while exploring advances in technology, science, space, rockets, and nurturing her love for nature & mythology. The artist has become a universal alchemist where all of her experience has lent a hand to the allegorical appeal in many of her pieces whilst spurning innovation. Influence for this artist is her mortality, while the mythos helps in understanding the beautiful follies of life., life is fleeting and art is a device threaded with immortality.. The medium of the mind is an unending resource and there is inherent value in experimenting with different methods of creation. Tracy feels an artist should push the limits and that is why mixed media and technology motivate her the most. Not fearing what mistakes or criticism her endeavors will bring, she has explored realms only open to the courageous. Applying oneself to exercise the great and heavy gifts of their imagination will daringly define a true state of being. Tracy Black thrives on a healthy diet of gauntlets, soulful compassion and generating fearless authenticity in her work!
