Mo Golden is an artist and entrepreneur based in Olympia, Wa. She owns Studio Golden, a design house where she adapts her fine art into functional designs for the home, and leads a team of artisans in handcrafting each piece.
Artist Statement
Art has always been my refuge. Art making became my constant companion from an early age, as well as my tool for understanding the world and expressing my experiences. My art making became a ritual of finding cohesion within chaos, and deliberately crafting a sense of belonging and arrival inside of constant change.
The places I have spent the most time, and that have felt most like home to me, are by the Chesapeake Bay and the Puget Sound. These inlets feel like gentle resting places, where the abundance of the ocean can be accessed without the harsh intensity of the coast. I see the images that come out of me as gentle resting places too. They’re full of complexity and depth, but without harshness.
My abstract landscapes challenge the viewer to find home, belonging, and a sense of arrival within a place that is vast, confusing, and barely there. While these landscapes are not threatening or intense, they are elusive and disorienting.
I paint by gradually building multiple layers of translucent color washes, alternated with layers of tiny dots and marks. During this slow tedious process, something magical happens. Nothingness becomes a complete mess; the mess becomes a complex visual world with depth, movement, perspective, and voice. The piece itself goes through a process of becoming, similar to the development process we experience as humans. Going through this journey over and over again, with each and every painting, I have learned hope, resilience, and the skills to repair what is broken. My paintings allow me to relive this learning and to document it for the viewer. The viewer can see elements of each disconnected layer, while also seeing the layers together as a cohesive whole.
Recently, I have started experimenting in ceramic sculpture, following similar themes and approaches. I have noticed in my paintings, the subject or figure is in an environment, whereas in my ceramic work, there are environments within a figure. I am curious to see how this evolves.
Artist Mentors
Marilyn Frasca
Deborah Koff-Chapin
Yanka Mikhailova
Mariana Gabor
Laurie Mufson
Kristi Higby
Mark Flowers
Cathy Leaycraft
Dan Shapiro
Artist Bio
Mo Golden is a painter and ceramic artist living in Olympia, Washington, whose work is informed by interdisciplinary and socially engaged creative practice. She has participated in group shows in the Olympia/Seattle area at local/regional galleries such as: The Copper Wolf Gallery, The Washington Center Gallery, Marmo Gallery, and Childhood’s End Gallery. She has had solo shows at Momentum Gallery (Seattle), Bar Francis (Olympia), The Cork Gallery (Baltimore). Mo is the recipient of the Olympia Art Space Alliance Grant, Working Washington Grant, the Jim Joseph Fellowship, and the Benjamin A. Gilman Scholarship. Mo has been featured in publications such as The Seattle Times, Seattle Magazine, and South Sound Business Magazine.
Mo owns the design house Studio Golden, where she adapts her fine art into functional design for the home, and leads a team of artisans in downtown Olympia. Mo studied portrait painting in Spain and ceramics in Argentina. She completed her undergraduate studies in visual and performing arts at The Evergreen State College. She earned her Masters of Arts at The George Washington University in Education and Human Development, where she focused on art making as immersive learning. She is currently pursuing a PhD through The European Graduate School in Switzerland, where she is researching the role of artist residency programs for studio artists.
photo credit: Barham W. Lashley
Artist CV
Education
The European Graduate School
Currently pursuing PhD
The George Washington University
Master of Arts: Education and Human Development
Concentrations: Arts-based Experiential Learning, Organizational Leadership, Intercultural Training
The Evergreen State College
Bachelor of Arts: Education and Psychology
Concentrations: Arts-based Learning, Cultural Competence Education
Enterprise For Equity
Business Certification
Concentrations: Entrepreneurship, Creative Business
Prosci
Change Management Certification
Concentrations: ADKAR
Person-Centered Expressive Arts Institute (PCETI) Argentina
Expressive Arts Certification
Concentrations: Creativity Coaching
Touch Drawing Training
With founder of the therapeutic technique, Deborah Koff-Chapin.
The Whidbey Institute, Whidbey Island, Wa.
Touch Drawing Training
With founder of the therapeutic technique, Deborah Koff-Chapin.
The Evergreen State College, Olympia, Wa.
Butoh Dance Seven Day Intensive
With dancers Emelie Sugai and Dorothy Lenner.
IUNA, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Ceramic sculpture Technique Training
With artist Mariana Gabor.
Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Year-long Painting Mentorship
With artist/art therapist Yanka Mikhailova.
Azul Cobalto, Zaragoza, Spain.
Press Features
- The Seattle Times
- Seattle Magazine
- Oly Arts Magazine
- Showcase Magazine
- Moment Magazine
- Lilith Magazine
- Washington Jewish Week
- Hey Alma
- The Olympian
- Thurston Talk
- Washington Women’s Business Podcast
- Purple Honey Podcast
Awards/Grants/Fellowships
- Olympia Art Space Alliance Space Grant, 2025.
- Working Washington Grant, to develop and illustrate interactive products, 2020.
- The Jewish Week’s Selected Individual of Innovative Achievement, 2019.
- Kenissa Network’s Selected Individual Leading Contemporary Efforts to Re-imagine Jewish Life/Community, 2018.
- Jim Joseph Fellowship, to research Jewish Cultural Arts, 2017/2018.
- Benjamin A. Gilman Scholarship, to research art in Peru and Argentina and develop a performance, 2011.
Exhibitions
| 2026 | South Sound Studio Tour, Solo show, Olympia, Wa. |
| 2026 | Inner Compass, Solo show, 222 Market, Olympia, Wa. |
| 2026 | Fruiting Together, Solo show, Populous Hotel, Seattle, Wa. |
| 2026 | Arrival, Solo show, Bar Francis, Olympia, Wa. |
| 2025 | Places & Spaces, Group show, The Washington Center, Olympia, Wa. |
| 2025 | Wood Wide Web, Group show, Marmo Gallery, Shelton, Wa. |
| 2025 | Equinox, Group show, Tumwater Craft, Tumwater, Wa. |
| 2025 | Inlets, Solo show, Momentum Gallery, Seattle, Wa. |
| 2025 | Tides, Group show, The Copper Wolf Gallery, Tumwater, Wa. |
| 2025 | First Stop, Group show, Childhood’s End Gallery, Olympia, Wa. |
| 2025 | South Sound Studio Tour, Solo show, Olympia, Wa. |
| 2025 | Spring Arts Walk, Solo show, Opal Salon, Olympia, Wa. |
| 2025 | Whales Again, Solo show, 222 Market, Olympia, Wa. |
| 2025 | Inner Landscapes, Solo show, Bar Francis, Olympia, Wa. |
| 2011 | Longing To Belong, Solo show, The Train Station, Shepherdstown, Wv. |
| 2011 | Weaving Worlds, Solo show, The Cork Gallery, Baltimore, Md. |
| 2010 | Becoming Home, Solo show, Motion In Balance Studio, Olympia, Wa. |
| 2009 | Love Songs, Group show, Mandible Arts Collective, Olympia, Wa. |
| 2009 | Jammy Stash, Group show, Mandible Arts Collective, Olympia, Wa. |
| 2008 | Images and Words, Group show, Mandible Arts Collective, Olympia, Wa. |
Product Design / Illustration
| 2025 | The Healing Bridge, an oracle deck for healing intergenerational trauma. Illustration, product design, writing. |
| 2020-2023 | The Jewish Tea Experience, 12 interactive guides with botanical illustrations, along with herbal blends. Illustration, product design, writing |
| 2020 | The Omer Workbook, a 49 day interactive illustrated creativity workbook. Illustration, product design, writing. |
| 2018-2023 | The Jewish Planner, weekly agenda following the Hebrew calendar, annual releases. Illustration, product design, writing. |
| 2016 | Night Forest, award-nominated game ritual. Illustration, experience design, writing. |
| 2018 | BFF!, analogue story-telling game. Design and concept consultation. |
| 2015 | Fall of Magic, award winning analogue story-telling game. Design and concept consultation. |
| 2011 | Sunny Side Up, book cover art. |
| 2005 | The Transparent Feather, book cover art. |
Installations/Performance Projects
| 2016 | Inspurrational Posters for Cats, a dada inspired performance and design project, Olympia, Wa. |
| 2011-2017 | A Self-Portrait Of Home A one-woman show about home, belonging, and otherness.
|
| 2012 | Usted Está Aquí, Immersive theater experience, Buenos Aires, Argentina. |
| 2011 | What Is Healing?, A one-woman show about the healing process from multicultural perspectives
|
| 2011 | Holding to Remember, An experimental theater piece about transforming intergenerational patterns, Motion In Balance Studio, Olympia, Wa. |
Lectures, Presentations, Workshops
| 2019 | Mayyim Hayyim Network Convention, arts-based programming, Atlanta, Ga. |
| 2018 | HIAS, arts-based volunteer and staff training, Silverspring, Md. |
| 2016 | The Tandana Foundation, arts-based volunteer and staff training, Otavalo, Ecuador. |
| 2016 | The Evergreen State College, arts based workshop series for undergraduate students, Olympia, Wa. |
| 2015 | The Evergreen State College, arts based workshop series for undergraduate students, Olympia, Wa. |
| 2014 | The Evergreen State College, arts based workshop series for undergraduate students, Olympia, Wa. |
| 2013 | International Expressive Arts Therapy Association, research presentation, Berkeley, Ca. |
| 2012 | La Universidad Del Salvador, visiting assistant professor, theater department, Buenos Aires, Argentina. |
| 2012 | La Universidad de Buenos Aires, visiting facilitator, psychology department, Buenos Aires, Argentina. |