Summer 2024 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!

Mirjana Miric

Q: What do you feel is the hardest part or best part about creating art or doing photography?

A: For me, the best part of doing art and photography is getting to explore and in a way ‘capture’ a scene, and simultaneously make it both my own and everyone's, as well as the world's. It likewise makes me feel that when I am creating - I belong. The hardest part for me is accepting and reconciling, in today's rapid world, that our hobbies and callings can be and should be perceived as beautiful, even when they do not make us earn lots of money or become famous. There is a lot of pressure for artists and photographers to stand out, while I feel like being a part of the creative community is something that is far more valuable, and it is often hard to find like-minded people locally. 

Ani Assatourian

Q: How did I land on the title of this piece?

A: While I was working on this piece all I could think of was this sentence “this is the journey of life.”

The title “Odyssey” suggests a journey or adventure, often one that is complex and full of challenges.The painting features a central dark form that's symbolizing the self or the core of one’s being, serving as the anchor throughout life’s journey. The pop of Red represents a significant events or emotions—moments of passion, conflict, or turning points and the swirling texture suggest the complexities and chaos of life. In these ways, the painting encapsulates the essence of life’s odyssey—complex, unpredictable, and deeply personal. 

And I believe those who saw this painting in person found a piece of their personal journey somewhere between those colors and layers.

Winslow Schmelling

Q: How did either of these pieces begin? What was its seed idea?

A: I write letters when I need catharsis. It’s like journal writing, but if the journal pages go away, never to be seen again. Still, they’re likely held by someone else, just like I hold onto their words, kept in a box in my closet. I’ve been writing letters for so long, there are now several boxes (not yet several closets).

I handmake envelopes and collages with each letter. A theme emerges from our words mirrored in the cutouts. For these collages, I realized I had been writing to women artists around the globe while playing with the shapes of women cut from 1960s Time Magazines, vintage paper doll sets, cereal boxes, Trader Joe’s bulletins. As I wrote to fellow collage artists, writers, painters, weavers, beaders, makers, our friendships mirrored women’s friendships in the 60’s, penpals, pouring our hearts out about our lives in ink and any art that could fit in an envelope. By playing with the shapes of the women on these pages, their expectations, and their personhoods, then sharing the dis-embodied versions through the post, we were rewriting their shapes, honoring them while creating something new, and sharing in a timeless friendship only letters allow.

Ruby Wang

Q: What’s something you’ve read lately that you really loved/found inspiring?

I recently completed Rachel Cusk's new novel, Parade and found the experience to be visceral. I mean, I couldn't even fall asleep for two nights because I kept thinking about certain points the work made. Parade follows mini stories about different artist personas, all named G, and each of these stories offer tidbits on the gruesome, challenging aspects of the art world: sexism, race, capitalism, etc. While I am so adamant about participating in the art world, I must also concede the parts of me I must be willing to give up. While Cusk deconstructs this gruesome industry, she also takes apart the form of the novel. The narrator is confusing—who are they? The prose sometimes feels like it should belong in a feminist essay collection rather than a fiction novel. All of it is fascinating as it is challenging and confusing.