Looking Deeper

Plenty of people can draw or paint a likeness of another person. But when a portrait is more than an accurate depiction of someone’s physical appearance, when it captures and conveys not just how they look but who they are – that’s art. For Montgomery artist Elana Hagler, there’s a bit of science in it too. We asked her to share her evolution from pre-med student to painter, what she hopes to pass on to her art students at Alabama State University and her thoughts on beating out hundreds of other artists to score a contract from the United States Mint.

When did you first get interested in art?
Elana: I’ve had a lifelong interest, but I come from a medical family, and it was expected I would be a doctor. I drew and painted as a child but just stopped at some point, because I was raised on the idea that art is not a serious career choice. Plus, we came to the United States from Israel when I was five. My family felt like since we were immigrants, we would have to struggle, so it was even more important to be practical and make practical choices.

So you went to college to study medicine.  What changed?
I was pre-med at Brandeis University, where I studied neuroscience and psychology. Halfway through, I just came to the realization that I could not have a life of fulfillment unless I followed an artistic path. So I changed course. I had already finished my psychology major, but I picked up a fine arts major. I never looked back. I continued my art studies for two years at the Jerusalem Studio School in Israel and then in Umbria, Italy, for three summers. I went to graduate school at Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.

How does your psychology degree factor into your art, specifically portraits?
They are a natural fit. Psychology is all about asking questions of the world, attuning yourself in the right way to receive answers. That is how I think of painting and drawing as well. And I’m also fascinated with people on all levels. How they look, but also how they think and act. I believe this interest plays into my portrait work, as I am always thinking about totality of person as I paint or draw them.

What does your creative process look like day to day?
In art school, I painted every day. Now, I spend a lot of time teaching. And I have two kids, a son who is 11 and a daughter who is 9, so I want to spend as much time with them as I can. When I have odd bits of time where I’m not teaching or being a mom, that’s when I do my art. Right now, that’s not as much time as I’d like, but know this is simply a season.

What drew you to teach?
My husband got a position teaching history at Troy University six years ago, and that brought us to Montgomery. A few years later, I began teaching at ASU. I teach all levels of drawing and painting and color theory. When I was studying in Israel, some first-year students asked me to tutor them, and I found I really enjoyed it and those students seemed to get something out of it, so I knew from that that teaching was something I liked.

What do you get out of creating art?
I feel like there are a number of things I could have done, but nothing else could have given me the fulfillment that art gives me. I very strongly believe that when people are allowed to develop their talents and live their life in the fullest possible way that it gives permission for others to do that as well. That’s actually an answer to this and the below question.

What do you hope others get out of your work?
It took me a long time as young person to give myself permission to follow my bliss and be an artist. I hope me doing this gives others the courage and that same permission to follow their dreams. It has not been easy. There has been obstacle after
obstacle. But what matters most is having the perseverance that even if you don’t have success, you still feel that devoting your life to this act that means so much—that it in itself is worthwhile enough. I remember asking myself, “If no one ever cared, would you still create?” The answer was and is yes.

Grandmotherly Love
Breast cancer has a long reach, touching so many in some form or another. Both of artist Elana Hagler’s grandmothers have battled the disease. Her paternal grandmother, who she was named after, died from breast cancer before Elana was born, and her maternal grandmother, who is like a mother to Elana, is currently going through radiation treatments. Elana has felt support and love from her grandmother all her life and wants to make a public display of her encouragement for her grandmother as she now fights breast cancer. “In light of the important work that the Joy to Life Foundation does for women, and in support of my grandmother, I’d like to dedicate this interview to her,” Elana said.

Newly Minted Success
Montgomery artist Elana Hagler was recently chosen from more than 400 other artists around the country to draw a portrait of President George H.W. Bush to be used on a just released $1 Presidential Coin. It’s an amazing achievement and yet, it was not the realization of some long-held dream. “I applied on a whim, never expecting I’d be picked,” Elana said.

In 2018, the U.S. Mint put out a call for artists, and although it was not something Elana had ever even thought about, she put her name in the hat. “I just had this sense it would be something I would enjoy. Turns out, I was correct. It has been a wonderful experience.”

After months of the Mint whittling down all the applications, including demonstration design submissions, Elana got the news she’d be working with them. She recently completed her fifth project, but it’s the first to be selected for minting, a portrait of former President Bush. She worked from multiple photos to create the image that was then used on the coin.

And she’ll continue to do more work for the U.S. Mint, saying she has a few other projects, additional coins and even Congressional Medals, “in the works” right now.