Artist returns to the Valley after 14 years on the road

WASILLA — Tina Larkin is hoping her return to Alaska will make the Valley a more musical — and colorful — place.

Larkin, a musician and visual artist who performs and teaches out of her Meadow Lakes home, recently moved back to Alaska after spending 14 years “touring, composing and painting” around the word. She’s traveled to Europe and lived in a number of places across the U.S., most recently in Washington State.

“I came back because I always missed it,” Larkin said in an interview on Wednesday, Nov. 17.

Larkin performs a variety of music from Celtic to folk. She plays a fiddle, harp, guitar, ukulele — basically “anything with strings,” she said. She’s also a painter who likes to use a unique sensory gift to show music in a visual form.

Larkin has synesthesia, a condition that often gives people unusual connections between different senses. This can manifest itself in people who “see” music or “hear” colors. In Larkin’s case, she said she can visually see colors when she hears music.

“My visual cortex in my brain is connected to my audio cortex,” she explained.

She described her first experience with synesthesia as a child as one of her most vivid memories. She was watching The Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show and remembers hearing the legendary rockers perform “She Loves You.”

“I remember yelling out to my brother and sister that ‘She Loves You is a really pretty song. It’s so red,’” she recalled.

Larkin said the condition gives her a unique view of the world.

“I see music and I hear colors or shapes,” she said.

She uses synesthesia in her performances and lectures to students. She has also created a video that she uses to give people a taste of what the condition is like.

“It gives people kind of a synesthesia experience of what it looks like,” she said.

Larkin has a couple upcoming gigs planned, including a Dec. 4 show at the Settlers Bay Lodge afrom 3 to 5 p.m. and a Dec. 26 show at the Alaska Vegan Christmas Party at the United Protestant Church in Palmer. She also offers music and painting lessons in addition to being available for performances.

Larkin said her teaching style is flexible. She likes to tailor her lessons in music and art to the individual’s strengths, she said.

“I make learning fun and I make it as easy as possible,” she said. “So people who have been intimidated about the violin or about drawing, they need to come to me. I can help them.”

Larkin has a master’s of fine arts and has taken graduate-level courses in education. She said her strategy with new students is to feel the person out for his or her learning style. For example, some people might be more mathematically inclined while others are more visual learners.

“If the teacher can figure out what is the learning moality of the student, the teacher can make learning easier,” she said.

Larkin said she’s excited about her return to the Mat-Su and said she and her dog are planning to stay here for the long haul.

“I like the people here,” she said. “They’re more authentic than a lot of people in the Lower 48.”

She’s already begun to connect with old friends, and said she’s been running into familiar faces all around town.

“I’m so glad to be back,” she said. “This is wonderful.”

Anyone wanting to learn more about Larkin’s music and artwork or to schedule a lesson can email her at tinalarkinmusic@live.com or call her directly at (513) 305-0476. She’s also got a website set up at tinalarkin.net. She said she’ll be teaching out of Matanuska Music and also doing home lessons. She said she caters to home-school students and pretty much anyone interested in learning about music or art.

“It feels like coming home,” she said. “It’s a wonderful feeling.”

Contact editor Matt Tunseth at 352-2268 or email matt.tunseth@frontiersman.com