I think I just finally reached a point of disgust and desperation. I wasn't feeling authentic with what I was doing. I was producing work, but sporadically. I had a plethora of ideas, but "the committee" - that group of critics that takes up residency in my brain all too frequently - had gotten the upper hand and was making me second guess everything I did. I felt bludgeoned by them. And by my ego, too. It persisted in claiming "artist" status which felt fraudulent. It was time for a change. So...I took down my professional website and charted a new path. I began listening to my heart more intently. I knew I needed to dedicate myself to climbing the stairs to my studio each and every day and just do something - anything - I just needed to DO IT. I looked at the stacks of fabric I've accumulated and the piles of books on quilting I've collected and I considered the fact that I've sewn for 50 + years and always loved it. It slowly dawned on me that I could make a small quilt each day, especially if I threw out the rules about turned edges and precise piecing and clipped threads. I kept the tradition of three layers, but nothing else. I also decided that I would offer the quilts for sale. I've always had a hard time selling my original works and I wanted very much to get over that. I wanted to make the quilts, listen to what they had to tell me, and then set them free. Since I already had the Etsy shop set up - it sat empty for many years - it was easy to decide to post them there. No sales yet, but that isn't really important because when I post the quilts they are, in my mind, "sold". I'm happy to report that I've heard nary a word from "the committee" since the first quilt! It's really quite amazing to me that they are leaving me alone, but I guess listening to my heart just drove them away. The quilts have taught me so much in the short time I've been making them - about listening, allowing, accepting, honoring, and letting go - all good things to learn as I embrace the cronehood phase of my life. I've found a peace that's palpable and I'm finding that I'm content to stay and work in the studio now even after the day's quilt is finished and posted. I'm scheduled to have a show in August so it's encouraging to be excited about the work I'm doing for that.
March 21, 2012
Can you tell us a bit about your background and path(s) you've taken in life?
I was born into a Navy family, I was a naval officer, and I married a naval officer, so suffice it to say, I've moved around a lot and adapt well to change. I was always a creative kid with a HUGE imagination so I guess it was inevitable that I would be a studio major in college. Before college, though, I was lucky to be able to attend Punahou (where our president went!) for two years when my father was stationed in Hawaii. Their art program was separately endowed and incredible. It was there that I began to feel confident that I could express myself visually. I attended classes at the Corcoran for a year after high school (I graduated in VA) and then transferred to the George Washington University where I graduated in 1972. The late 60's/early 70's was when the Washington Colorists - Kenneth Noland, Anne Truitt, Gene Davis, etc. were actively making their mark in the art world. Even though I wasn't really aware of their importance at the time, I can see their influence in my quilts. (Robert Stackhouse, the sculptor, taught drawing at Corcoran then and I've always been more aware of his influence on my work.) After I graduated from college I couldn't find a job that didn't require typing and I didn't want to type. I applied for a commission in the Navy and went through Officer Candidate School and before I knew it I had started a grand adventure! In my first assignment I had a division of 47 men, a male secretary, and equal pay! Not a bad deal in those days! I stayed on active duty for 9 years and then retired from the reserves as a CDR with 24 years of service. I was always able to work my art into my jobs somehow - designing command t-shirts for picnics, being Art Director for a publication, etc. - and I always managed to find time to do small drawings or watercolors along with designing and making things to wear. After I left active duty I did post grad work in Textiles at the University of San Diego and was accepted into the MFA program at CalState Long Beach. Life intervened, however, and I never completed the program. We had our first child, moved to Japan, then moved to RI where our second daughter was born...and moved frequently after that. I always persisted with my art, though, and have been fortunate to gain some recognition and awards for my work through the years. I taught 4k-8th grade Visual Art at a private school in Memphis TN and, after moving to PA I was Curator of Visual Resources at Dickinson College for 9 years.
Now I am happily retired and can finally spend more time with my work.
How about any paths not taken....anything you wish you might have done differently?
You know, when you've taken as many paths as I have, there really aren't many you haven't taken - so, no, I'm really happy with all the twists and turns of my life. I've been so fortunate to experience so much and live in wonderful places all over the world. I fantasize every now and then about getting an MFA because I've always loved the idea of diving head first into my work for an extended period, but then I realize that's what I'm finally doing each and every day and I'm not having to pay tuition!
March 20, 2012
Are you currently and/or have you been working in with other mediums in your artistic practice?
Photography, collage, drawing, (these three in digital formats, too) painting, sculpture - they all come into play in my work at one time or another. I'd get frustrated if I had to limit myself. My work is a response to questions I have - and I want to be able to answer in whatever medium works best for that particular query. I just started some sculptural work that I'm excited about - using rug canvas and window screening- and I've recently started some sewn collages using cut up images of my quilts. And then there's always jewelry to make when nothing else intrigues...:-) My firstborn was married last August and I designed and made the invitations, made her dress, did all the flowers - and really wanted to make the cake and do the photography, but my sister forbid me to do anything else. We had the reception at our home in the garden that was draped in it's entirety with white fairy lights! Magical! So, as you can see, there are no real divisions anywhere; my life ismy artistic practice. It can drive my family nuts, but, thankfully, they love me anyway.
Where do you find inspiration?
From being quiet and looking and listening. To everything; what is in front of me and what is inside of me. Most recently I've been inspired by simply doing. When I'm sewing the quilts in a silent studio, my mind is free to wander and all sorts of ideas pop up. I don't think I'll ever run out of inspiration. I'm a Reiki practitioner and I really feel that my practice has been key in
allowing me to find and maintain the quiet that feeds my soul - and, as a result, my work.
April 22, 2012
How do balance your time and priorities?
An unanticipated benefit of my daily practice of making the quilts is having a more structured day now. Before I started them I would have aimless, unproductive days with my time just frittered away. Now I see how I feel in the morning after a cup of coffee and either go to the studio right after breakfast and then exercise and do things for the home in the afternoon, or reverse that and end up in the studio after lunch. Our girls are grown and have full lives of their own now, and my husband is wonderful with all he does around the house. He does the grocery shopping, laundry, changes the sheets, and cleans the bathroom - how lucky am I?!?!? Having tried to find time for my art when I was working and raising a family makes me grateful for all the time I have now.
March 11, 2012
Artists and/or writers you admire?
Oh - many! Agnes Martin, Alexander Calder, Lenore Tawney, Gerhardt Richter, Andy Goldsworthy, Henry Moore, Louise Nevelson to name just a few. And writers? Kathleen Norris who wrote Dakota: A Spiritual Geography (we went to Punahou together - her dad was in the Navy, too), Barbara Cawthorne Crafton (The Sewing Room), Caroline Myss (Anatomy of the Spirit) Sena Jeter Naslund (Ahab's Wife), Sandra Boynton (Moo, Baa, La-La-La) ...I've drawn a blank on others for the moment!
April 28, 2012
Plans for the future?
Happily continue what I'm doing now. Take time out to travel with my husband every now and then, and to always be available to my family (and puppy Jake!) when they need me.
April 8, 2012
If you could gather a few folks from any period in history for an evening of lively and fascinating conversation, who might be on your guest list?
What a fun question! I think I'd have a Ladies Night even though there are some great men I'd love to invite for another time. I'd have a small, but varied group: Madeline Albright, Mary Magdelene, Marilyn Monroe, and Louise Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun - the 18th century French painter. All unique women who were influential in different but powerful ways. I'd love to hear how their paths were similar and/or different, whether they found being female to be a curse
or a gift, and what words of wisdom they would offer today's young women.
April 1, 2012
Delighted to share these beautiful pieces with you! Please visit Karen Anne at her Etsy
shop,
blog and on
flickr!
