My name is Tessa Koller, and I am a seamstress, artist, and author from St. Charles, Illinois, a quaint town west of Chicago. The Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design brought me to Milwaukee in 2008 where I earned my B.F.A. A month before earning my college degree, I was diagnosed with 22Q11.2 Deletion Syndrome; a rare disorder caused by a microdeletion of chromosome twenty-two. It affects every aspect and system down the center of my body. That means I have heart disease, lung disease, and other associated conditions. Despite my many health challenges, my artistic abilities have carried me through the most difficult hardships of my life.

In 2019, I relocated back to St. Charles (from Milwaukee) and continued pursuing my creative passions here. My art is inspired by multiple sources including nature, the environment, and my health. People are also a source of inspiration, and I have been drawing portraits since I was seven years old. Since then, art has been my form of communication and I actively engage in the process of drawing, painting, and pushing the envelope with style, method, and various mediums.

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