All students at Pittsburg State have talents and interests beyond what classes they take. Some are musically inclined, some have a passion for video games, and others love all the things on this earth. For Quincey Turner, a sophomore majoring in marketing and management, her love of art was something that she was able to turn into a business.
Hailing from Bartlesville, an Oklahoman city about two hours away from Pittsburg and about an hour away from Tulsa, Turner is the owner of Quincey Turner Studio, where she creates pieces of art, mainly done with colored pencils or oil, and sells them. She has had her own booth at many art festivals over the past three years, including shows in Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Texas, and she’s hoping to visit more shows.
“I’ve been doing art since I was old enough to hold a pencil. I would say that my dad was the biggest encouragement in pursuing art and encouraged me to practice and never be intimidated,” Turner commented when asked about the start to her artistic journey. Aside from his words of wisdom, Turner’s father also bought her books about art and ignited her dream of being a professional artist when he took her to a famous art show in Oklahoma City.
She also brought up her middle school art teacher as someone who helped her in her journey, being someone who helped give Turner confidence when she needed it the most. Turner also views artists like Carol Marine, Teddy Parker, and Jeff Weir as inspirations to her. In order to fully bring Quincey Turner Studio to life, she took two gap years before coming to Pittsburg State.
Being at Pittsburg State has taught Turner how to truly run her business the best she can. “I’ve realized after taking some basic business classes, such as financial accounting, that there is a method to keeping the books, rather than my thrown-together method of just jotting stuff down.” While she already felt like she had a good grip on expenses and accounting during her gap years, being at Pittsburg State has helped her feel more organized and better equipped to handle accounting for her business.
As is the case with any college student, however, Turner’s time is taken up with other activities. Aside from classes, her business, and her personal life, Turner is also a member of Pitt State’s track and field team, where she competes in the women’s pole vault event. As such, college level athletics has accounted for a lot of her time, meaning some adjustments have had to be made to her business. Not being able to attend as many art shows and needing to find free days to present amongst her schedule has posed a challenge for her the client base she’s established in Edmond, Tulsa, and Oklahoma City during their April and May shows.
However, in the face of these challenges, Turner has her eyes on the future, embraces the challenges with open arms, and is eager to expand her business, wherever it takes her.