What does a day in your art practice look like?
On a day when all goes well, I start with coffee, meditation, sometimes sitting in my garden or gardening to further clear my mind and then I go into the studio. Once in the studio I might just look at what I’ve done the day before or I might start painting right away. Picking up the studio, putting things away, mixing paints are ways that I get ready to actually paint. I try to work in the studio 5-7 hours a day, 5-6 days a week.
What is the hardest part of creating your art?
The hardest part of making art for me is being completely present when I am creating. Once I am in the zone I can stay that way for long periods of time. I used to worry about running out of ideas, now I’m more concerned that I won’t have time to make everything that I’m interested in.
What inspires you?
Nature, the emotional atmosphere of place, the urban environment, vintage platters, lace and geometric patterns, beauty and ugliness, memory, chance, the finite and infinity, order and chaos.
What is the best advice you’ve been given?
Don’t worry about the art world, just keep making art.
What do you do to keep yourself motivated and interested in your work?
It has been a very long time since I have been stuck in my work. I do get uncomfortable sometimes with what I am doing. I use that difficult feeling to push me towards something new and unknown. I am not interested in making the same images over and over again. Once I feel like I have investigated an idea and developed the images to resolution I move on to try a new idea or new approach.
How has personal experience influenced your creativity?
Personal experience has led me to understand that my making art comes before relationships, financial security and many other situations. I am at peace and feel complete when I am creating. That is when I am then able to be part of life and give back to others.
How do you make the leap from an idea in your head to the action you produce?
Much of the time I just start making things; drawings, paintings, altered books, collages. I do not sketch ideas out, I just start. Part of my process is to change the idea as I go along. I pour paint, add pattern, sand out, pour over, add shapes, etc. until the painting starts to take a direction. I then follow the painting or whatever I’m working on to its final resolution.
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