Winter 2023
artist Mini-Interviews
To give artists a chance to talk more about their process and craft, or just to give us a little more insight into their piece, we provided them with a list of questions from which they could pick one to answer. We hope you enjoy this peek behind the curtain!
WHITNEY TIMBROOK
Q: How did this piece begin? What was its seed idea?
A: This piece began with research on slime molds. I was enamored with their beauty, size, and intelligence. They are brainless amoebas, but yet they can travel long distances, adapt to environmental changes, and find the most efficient routes to resources. Although these slime molds are considered lowly, they possess intellect and can adapt just like humans. Scientists are currently researching their movement, memory, and how they can be used to create efficient maps.
LISA WRIGHT
Q: What’s something you’ve read lately that you really loved/found inspiring?
A: I have recently finished the absolutely breathtaking short story collection, "You Have A Friend In 10A" by Maggie Shipstead. Running the gamut from horrifying to sublime; hilarious to desolate (and everything in between), Shipstead's range and velvety prose was a pure joy from start to finish.
BLAKE NOELLE STOLARIK
Q: Tell us about the place where you do your best creating.
A: My best creating occurs at the desk that sits in a little corner of the sunroom in my childhood home. There are often two mugs sitting there, one with tea and the other with paint water. I have to pay careful attention not to mix them. I’ve surrounded myself with a variety of houseplants including pothos that scale the windows and hang from the ceiling in a lush curtain. There’s a garland of colorful paper stars and a string of flowers drying for my next art project amid oil paintings that are waiting to dry. Scattered around the floor are baskets of yarn and letters from friends. It’s simple but full of life and inspiration. It has seen many a hobby learned and changes as I do.
DIANA NACCARATO
Q: What’s something you’ve read lately that you really loved/found inspiring?
A: I recently read Mary Gabriel’s Ninth Street Women and learned so much about the Abstract Expressionists, whose work and ideas I have always admired. Gabriel traces the development of the movement against a backdrop of the Great Depression and, eventually, World War II. As a lifelong New Yorker I am always interested in my city’s history, and loved learning about how New York was a safe haven for artists during the war. After the war, women were reluctant to give up the relative independence they had enjoyed while their husbands were abroad. They had taken their husbands’ places in the workforce and didn’t want to return to domesticity, as they had realized their value outside of the home. Meanwhile, psychologists told them it was unhealthy to continue working. All of this was stirring while artists like Elaine de Kooning were young, and it shaped them. You can see it in the art of Elaine, Lee Krasner, Helen Frankenthaler, Joan Mitchell, Grace Hartigan—- a relentless pursuit of that which excited them in their work, and an unyielding conviction to live the life of an artist.
JAY DAUGHERTY
Q: What is your favorite part of this piece?
A: The factory in the distance is my favorite part of this piece because without it the ground plane would dissolve into the ether. That simple structure extends the world infinitely.