Mind Body Spirit Artist Series - Diane Clancy

Ever since I first saw Diane Clancy's stunning visual landscapes - with the beautiful little balls -  coming across by computer screen, I have been completely fascinated.  What are they?  How are they created?  What do they represent?  All I know is that once you see one, the images tend to stay with you ~  I hope you enjoy this interview with Diane Clancy as much as I did.  It's a fascinating peek into a beautiful world!

                                                                                                         ~ diane fergurson

Peach Fantasy

MBS: Can you tell us a little about your background? How did you get started in art?

Diane:  When I was 3 and 4, I spent a lot of time (when I was supposed to be napping) watching the shadows across the ceiling where the light snuck in.  We also had this cool blanket (and I still have it) that is peach and cream with the reverse designs on each side.  I flipped it back and forth, back and forth, to see the difference in how it looked depending where the colors were. My Mom would listen as I showed her these things.

I have always loved color and rainbows.  As a young adult I quilted and crocheted some using color in a way different from what I saw others use.

In my late 30's while struggling with a lot of health issues, I looked through every single offering in the U Mass catalog and found only one that I was interested in - Textile Design.  I was a double computer science and math major and I just needed a break.  In that class my work was different from others and they couldn't believe I wasn't already an art major.  They all encouraged me to go take classes in the art department and the rest is history - I never looked back.

For me, math and computer science were comforting and art was like jumping off a cliff … but I went ahead and jumped.

 

Conundrum 1 - Rainbow Woman

MBS:  Well I guess I have to ask the obvious - what did you find?  Both on the way down and also at the bottom of the cliff (or is there a bottom)?

Diane:  When I was very sick for a long time, I had a lot of time to meditate, connect with my inner self and Spirit.  Often I would make up spiritual exercises or read them in books or tapes and try them out.  Remember, I spent a lot of time in prayer and mediation - I couldn't really do much else.  One exercise I read about was being in a very large enclosed bubble.

The activity was to climb up and up a very tall ladder to the top.  At the top was a diving board that I was to walk out to the end and then allow myself to step off.  It was scary for me walking up that high, but it was still solid matter. Walking off the diving board was another thing.  I knew I would not really die, so I took the risk to go ahead and step off.  Absolute terror overwhelmed me as I was falling.  The feeling was totally real and present.

I knew I couldn't physically die, so I kept just allowing myself to fall.  And all of a sudden I was caught and held mid-air.  It was a very physical feeling. I have never felt the same level of fear since then - this healed something inside me.  This was totally transformative for my relationship with my inner self, soul, the universe. I have more trust in the unseen.

So computers and math are a foundation for me, a known quantity, an internal pattern of the universe.  Those first times I put a pastel to paper in drawing class were very scary to me.  Bits of terror flooded me.  But I did it anyway, with the knowledge that I had been caught when I jumped off that other cliff.  It often got easier.  But now, sometimes I still get panicked with a blank piece of paper or the start of a new project.  But I have that inner place now inside that has some essential confidence and connection that allows me to reconnect and thus keep going.

Church-Lady

MBS:  I've always wondered about the bubble imagery.  It's such a predominate part of your your work, but I didn't know if it was a bubble, circle, orb or something else of spiritual significance.  Can you tell us a little bit more about it?  The image is just always so beautiful,immediate and captivating.

Diane:  For me, while creating digital art there is always an element of surprise. There are lots of paths one may pursue as one is developing computer art. I played with KPT filters with Photoshop and came upon the bubbles.  When I first saw the bubbles, I was totally and immediately captivated.  This was a direction I knew I wanted to follow and explore.

The Bubblescapes look like mini-universes to me so I was hooked!  I love seeing things cosmically! The inner and the outer are reflections of each other.  These creations can be micro-worlds within a cell or the very outer edges of space and time (or anywhere in between).  To me, there is also a wholeness of a bubble … a perfect sphere that represents the whole.  I also am quite taken with the way some bubbles are transparent and then there are layers upon layers.  So, they are a reflection of life. These are some fractal Bubblescapes that I see very spiritually.

I then started to create Bubblescapes in a different way (with the Bryce computer program).  Lots of folks create worlds and landscapes with Bryce but I have never seen anyone else use it like I do.  This is partly why I say one chooses the ways to work within the multitude of possibilities with computer programs.  I got totally hooked on creating bubbles and Bubblescapes.

With Bryce the bubbles became more of images of people some of the time.  I have one digital painting (Evening Stroll) with a couple walking down the street with streetlights; I imagine that they are window shopping.   At other times with the ocean bubble landscapes, I also use the bubbles as people. With these kind of images I see the bubbles very much as representations of humans or other beings.

Sometimes the Bubblesapes are landscapes over an ocean with the bubbles floating. These Bubblescapes again seem more cosmic and mystical.  The series that has faces in the bubbles are overtly spiritual since the faces I used are from my Goddess series.  I have some Goddess images that I have created in traditional mediums (oil, mixed-media, acrylic, pastel).   Often the bubbles are transparent and thus back to the mysticism.  Other times they are opaque and reflect light and create color in wild and beautiful ways.

Bottom line, I connect with my inner self, soul and Spirit when I create, to the best of my ability.  So I am especially happy when my art reflects the whole, inspiration, goodness, spirituality in some small way.  Bubblescapes seem to help me reflect spirituality.

Spring Creation

MBS:  Are all of the Bubblescapes Digital, or have you created them using other mediums as well?

Diane:  I have a little bit of precursor work with Bubblescapes in traditional mediums, but as of now all my true Bubblescapes are digital.  I have tons of ideas for bubbles in pastel, collage, colored pencil, acrylics and even watercolor.  I am hoping as I get stronger and healthier, I will be able to get back into the studio.

MBS:  How long does it normally take you to complete a piece?  Do you work on more than one piece at a time?  Do you work in a series?

Diane:  There is an incredible variety in how long it takes me to complete a piece!!  My signature piece of Conundrum I, mixed-media, took me over 100 hours over several months to complete.  Some of the digital work can have total synchronicity and pop out in a half an hour.  Many digital pieces take an hour or two while others it is hours.  Of course after I create a piece there is a lot of other work to be done.  In many ways the creation is the easy part.

I do work on several pieces at once - I find it helps me keep the momentum going.  Almost always I work in series.  I like to work from one direction, then another and shifting again.  I feel that helps me explore a subject, a feeling, a vision better.  Sometimes the series occur over a period of years.

MBS:  Do you have any themes surrounding the Bubbblescapes that you find yourself coming back to?

Diane:  I very much want to get back to the KPT filters to create more Bubblescapes like the Inner Flow series.  KPT only works on an older version of Photoshop and on an older computer (system 9 for Mac folks).  So I have that next to me to get going on them.  I love the sense of inner and outer connection that I get from this type of Bubblescape - it draws me deeply in.  So this pulls me back.

For the Bryce Bubblescapes I need to go back to an older computer also because Bryce is not supported in the current Mac system versions that one needs to use for protection on the web.  So again, I really want to get back to creating with Bryce!!  Those ocean bubbles speak to me so loudly!!  Ideas and values are fun to play with in the ocean Bubblescapes.  I have been working on a Simple Pleasures series that I would like to return to.  These are oceans with ideas like Whimsy, Love, Solitude, Joy.  It is such fun to create feelings based on color and design.

I also want to explore some of the landscapes like Peach Fantasy, Spring Renewal and Bubble Garden to see where I can go with them.  And many people have been responding deeply to ones that I have temporarily called Instincts and Bittersweet.  I like this clearer sense of bubbles as people and values.  So I want to dive more deeply into Bryce again to push the limits to see where else I can go and explore.

As I can, I sure want to expand the bubbles into traditional (non-digital) mediums.  In my mind I am testing what it would be like to work with Bubblescapes in different mediums.  I test ideas out so that when I face blank paper I will have some idea of what I want to play with.  So, as you can see, bubbles are always floating around my mind!

Love Birds

MBS:  Do you have any current projects or shows in the works?  What are you currently working on?

Diane:  I am working on a project with a friend in Norway and one in Denmark to showcase art and artistic images on home decor products to make it easier for people to find a wide variety in one convenient place.  Many of our friends promote others work (besides their own) as a way to make extra money from marketing others' products to get a small percentage of the sale (affiliation).  I have been working very hard to get many of my paintings on a wide variety of items both at CafePress and Zazzle to make sure I can be part of this promotion.

The range of merchandise is wild!!  It goes from shower curtains, duvet covers,  pillows  and canvas prints to skateboards, flip flops, thermos food jars, clocks and iPad covers.  As one can image creating images, prepping them and actually getting them on products is quite time intensive!!  Then comes the marketing!!  This is called POD (Print on Demand).  The items don't get created until someone orders them.  A lot of my time has been taken up with this exciting international project of marketing POD items.

Recently I gave a presentation on POD for 2D artists at the 4th Creative Economy Summit in Franklin County, MA.  I  also have been (and remain) on the planning Summit committee for the whole year it took us to put this together.  I have been involved with the Fostering the Arts and Culture Project for years as we work to promote and support the local creative economy, especially as it relates to artists.

I continue to create new artwork in a variety of directions.  These days most artists need to spend a lot

of our time marketing our work.  There are many new venues for sharing and marketing our creations. Part of the process of marketing is creating descriptions and tags so that buyers can find our work.  The rules for those seem to keep changing and most of us (including me) often struggle with that.   I network a lot (much of the new marketing involves one kind or another of social media), learn about what's happening and then dive in to keep moving ahead to cultivate collectors of my artwork.

Inner Flow Mug

MBS:  What is a typical work day like for you?

Diane:  As anyone who owns a business knows, there is hardly a typical day! Some days of course I have appointments, including clients and meetings so that breaks my rhythm.  Or there are taxes to prepare, the plumber, roofer or whatever.  I like the days that I have no structure from when I wake up until I sleep!

On all days, first thing I align with my Inner Self, my Soul and Spirit first and ask that all my thoughts, words and actions be aligned with my own and the Universe's highest and best good.  At some point in the morning, I connect and check in with my partner, Susan.  I check and see if there are any orders from folks that I need to work on, fill or mail out.

On days that are all mine, I open up the computer and start going!  Often I have set up some computer work the night before so I don't have to think too hard to start.  Most of my life involves creating art, prepping this artwork for POD or printing or showcasing, writing descriptions and creating tags for this work, getting that creation where it needs to go for the next step and then promoting and marketing.  Networking is an important part of my day, whether or Facebook or some online group.

At some point, I take a break to exercise.  I might check in with a friend or family member.  At dinnertime Susan and I take a break and eat and watch some TV or a movie.  We love analyzing together the colors, design, story, issues …lots of things!!  We watch the ads with no sound and guess what they are trying to sell and see how well they did that.  With me as a painter and Susan as a photographer, videographer and writer, we get ideas to follow and not follow!  Then I go back to work on the computer.

I have made lists of what I think I should do every day and each week.  The problem is that I would probably need 10 of me to carry all that out.  (And that doesn't include making the art!!)  There is so much out there today for social media, selling and promoting one's art!!  Differentiating what is most important for me to pursue is an ongoing project.  I strive to analyze what is most effective.  And I want to keep learning the art programs I have to expand what I can do and what art I can create.  I value the connections I have made in my online and offline worlds around art and that networking is important to me.   In summary, my days are not boring and I feel grateful to have a full life!

Inner Flow 3

MBS:  I see that you sell your work online.  How has the online experience been for you as an artist?

Diane:  For me, selling online has been fantastic!  I have gotten a lot of feedback that many people are uplifted by my work so it seemed to me that getting my paintings out there in different ways would be a high priority.  My original plan when I consciously went into business, was to license my art so that many people could be inspired.  With licensing, since a company would pay me a usage fee, that company would deal with all the printing and distribution and I could get some income from that.   In my mind, the best way to do that would be to get my creations on calendars, cards and items like that.

The industry has totally changed since then - POD (Print on Demand) has turned everything upside down.  This way I myself could put my work on things and get them out to people.  Instead of my having to buy 50 or 100 mugs to have my art on mugs, instead I can put my creations on mugs online and then when someone orders it, the company prints, ships, deals with problems and I get my markup.  The variety of items I can create blows me away!! Shower curtains and skateboards (and I have sold both).  This has given me my goals and dream in a different way.

There are lots of POD sites, like CafePress and Zazzle, out there now where the artist puts their work on merchandise and the rest is done - besides marketing.  There are also sites like Etsy where one sells directly to the customer, so all the preparing the work, shipping and returns is done by the artist - and again also the marketing.  Sometimes I sell directly from Facebook or my blog and I love that!

There are tons of places to network and market our work and products as artists.  One upside is that it is much easier to reach a real worldwide audience of potential buyers and collectors.  Another upside is that is thrilling to see my art out there, appreciated, liked and purchased.  Some of my art on merchandise is now in Japan, Sweden, France and the U.K. among other places.

One downside is that there are now millions of pieces of art easily available on the web.  Another downside for me as an artist is the relentlessness of all I can do for promotion and marketing.  I am very excited by the networking and marketing - I think it is thrilling to see my creations in the real world and have people buy them.  I know I could walk from any marketing I choose not to do (and I do walk away from a lot).   But it is still a lot and a large portion of where most of our time as artists goes.

For me as an artist with a disability, the online marketing has given me freedom.  I meet a lot of other artists online who also have been so happy with being able to participate on an even playing ground.  I still do some selling offline in shows, stores or privately, but the POD selling has given me a lot of ability to connect with my buyers.  Even though the networking and marketing can be just too too much, I am still overall totally delighted to be an artist selling online!

Dawn of Time Wall Clock

MBS:  Any advice for those who (seriously) wish to pursue an artistic path.

Diane:  Nowadays the art field is very different from even 10 years ago.  I would encourage someone to think about exactly what they wanted out of an artistic path.  There is many ways one can be an artist.  One basic question is how much one is going to connect making one's livelihood directly from one's own art.  Many wonderful artists paint and create while having full-time or part-time jobs.  That is a time honored path and a smart one in my opinion.

Other artists make their living working in arts related fields.  There can be a lot of connections made that way and it could be a way to break into an often elusive field.  It is important to be honest with one's self about what one really and truly wants to do - from one's heart, not just out of form's sake.

Whether full-time or part-time, it is important to decide how one is going to position oneself.  Some artists I know would never sell their work on prints because they feel it cheapens their work.  And certainly they wouldn't put it on POD (Print on Demand) merchandise.  They want to be artists who sell original paintings and only original paintings.  Very valid.

I want to get my work out in the world to be accessible to a vast amount of people.  So I choose to get my work out in prints, cards and lots of POD merchandise.  This is another valid position.  Still other artists I know, who create beautiful work, don't feel they can do much of that.  Many of them are full-time PODs sellers who figure out the trends and design for the trends.  Many of them create a lot of slogans, and what I would call cute work - very different from their artistic work.  They do this to make a living.

Speaking of livelihoods, obviously many folks who create ads are extremely artistic people.  Some of the ads are awesome in the artwork (I said some).  That is an example of working for hire in a field that can be creative and still give you a decent wage.  Speaking of money, one of the best ways to become richer is to lower what you need to live.  I know there are basic necessities, but for many people, lowering one's financial desires can translate into more artistic freedom.

I would recommend studying and analyzing where the art field is today.  I would look at the possibilities and use one's mind, heart and soul for direction to where to go.  If one is going to do art as a business (which most of us need to do), then studying business is good - maybe taking a business planning class at a local Community Development Corporation. There are also a lot of resources out there to teach artists the Business of Art.  Having that kind of perspective can really help in being an artist making a living.  There are a lot of internet resources and newsletters that share that kind of information.

One other tip - if one gets into creating POD merchandise, one can also affiliate one's own and others' products.  This gives a little bigger slice of the sale to the person who affiliated the product.  Some people make a lot, a whole lot, of money through promoting other artists' and designers' work.  A lot of these people work very hard but also make quite a bit of money.  It's a thought.

Whatever direction one chooses to go, networking is likely to be crucial.  If one chooses to do art online in any way, networking is the lifeblood of the web.  There are tons of kind artists who will help another artist on the way - even if they are helping to develop their competition.  Marketing is also the other key that makes a difference for one's work to stand out among all the other pieces.  Expect to spend a substantial amount of time marketing or expect to pay someone in one way or another. They say that now developing personal relationships with potential buyers and collectors is very important - and I agree.  They are collecting us the artist besides our art.

So, stop, think, ask your whole self which direction is for you.  Being honest to one's self is key to being a successful artist, whether you only create occasionally for yourself or decide to go full force into jumping in full-time art, no holding back!  Be true to you, create, ask for help, network, market and have fun!

Thank you Diane!
















Diane Clancy's Art
http://www.DianeClancy.com
http://www.DianeClancy.com/blog
http://facebook.com/DianeClancyArt
http://DianeClancy.etsy.com
http://cafepress.com/DianeClancy
http://zazzle.com/DianeClancyArt*

Links to other interviews in the Mind Body Spirit Artist Series.

         

          Follow the daily updates of the Mind Body Spirit Marketplace 
on Facebook
and 
Pinterest

Artizen Magazine Interview - Diane Fergurson

I recently had the wonderful opportunity to interview with Artizen Magazine about my artwork, the Mandala Series, Connecting Heaven and Earth, qigong, creativity - and a whole variety of other interesting topics!  Artizen Magazine is an absolutely 'gorgeous' award winning, online publication.  If you are not familiar with it, take a few minutes to look around - enjoy!

interview link

          Follow the daily updates of the Mind Body Spirit Marketplace on Facebook and Tumblr.

Mind Body Spirit Artist Series: Lori Field

I first became introduced to Lori Field and her enchanting world of art around 13 or 14 years ago.  Her work was part of an artists' studio tour that the town of Montclair, New Jersey use to host annually.  There were many homes and studios that were scheduled to be open that day, but I had been told under good authority that Lori's work in particular was not to be missed.  My source was correct as usual. Her work stood head and shoulders above the rest, and over the ensuing years I would inevitably cross paths with Lori over and over through various groups and events.  Every time her work would pop into my field of vision, it would have grown again, becoming more and more accomplished as she gained her full stride as an artist.  Lori's work is now exhibited all over the world and has been used in many publications.  Her facility with the mediums she chooses to use combined with the characters she creates has produced a volume of work that truly does embody the phrase, 'je ne sais quoi'.  I'm very happy and appreciative that she agreed to be interviewed for the Mind Body Spirit Odyssey.  Thank you Lori! 

                                                                                                                ~ diane fergurson

Beany and Cecil in the Garden of Earthly Delights

MBS: Can you tell us a little bit about your background. How you got started in art?

Lori: I grew up just outside of NYC. I attended art school in the fine arts program at SUNY Purchase for one year. This is my only formal educational background in art other than taking courses over the years at various schools in NYC during the twenty years I lived there after leaving school (printmaking, jewelry design, textile design, fashion illustration). For the first few years I did no art at all supporting myself as a bartender and cocktail waitress at restaurants and comedy nightclubs around the city. While still working nights I put together a textile design portfolio and got a job designing children's textile and lace and embroidery (designed for lingerie and home furnishings) for a company I'd work for for the next ten years both on staff and freelance later on. I never went back to art school to get a degree. While at this company, I put together an illustration portfolio and began to get freelance work in that field. I designed book covers, did editorial work, some album covers etc. for the eight or so years I did illustration. This overlapped with my textile design job, where I began to take on the role of art director after awhile. 

During this time I married, had a family, and moved to the burbs. In 1996, after a series of life-altering events, I began the work that would be my re-introduction to the fine art world. I started out doing collage work while my third child was an infant - I made one every day while she slept in her portable car seat. I began to submit them to juried shows and very soon afterwards had my first invitation to have a solo show at the Pierro Gallery in South Orange, New Jersey. I have never stopped showing since. Life begins at 40 is most definitely true when it comes to my art career.

Snakes and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails

MBS:  I'm finding that sentiment true with a lot of artists I talk to.  Being over 40 definitely alters a person's perspective.  What insights as an artist do you find that you have had over the age 40 that you did not have before?

Lori:  When I think about the rebirth of my fine art career after the age of 40 I keep coming up with the phrase 'I'm dancing as fast as I can....' I think that once I got started doing what I loved, and no longer trying to have an art career that didn't express my true voice I just attacked the whole process with a hunger I didn't know I had inside of me. The fact that I had three still young children whose lives and care I had to incorporate into my own was daunting. I think that the main insight I had was that being fulfilled as an artist would make me more fulfilled in every aspect of my life, including being a parent. When I was younger, procrastinating about what I wanted to 'do with my life' seemed less problematic. Once I began, as an older person, I just couldn't believe what I'd been missing all those years I put off doing what I really was meant to do.

MBS:  I remember that time period, when you started exhibiting in a really big way.  There are several aspects of your work in particular that have always interested me.  First, the mediums that you choose to use and in addition, how you choose to use them. Also your subject matter. As far as mediums, what do you use in your work?

Lori:  I have been concentrating on either archaic art materials, those that have fallen out of use for centuries until a recent revival of interest, and materials that are not usually considered art materials like slate chalkboards, embroidery thread etc. I like the idea of putting a contemporary spin on an ancient or incongruous material. The mediums I've been using the most in recent years are encaustic painting combined with colored pencil drawing or silverpoint drawing. I have a detailed description of the processes I use for both mediums on my website.

Purgatory

MBS: What sizes do you usually work in?  Your artwork seems very labor intensive.  How much time to you normally devote to a particular piece?

Lori:  The encaustic work becomes formally difficult if I go over 36" in any dimension. I have done one 48" piece but since a part of my process involves pouring molten wax over the piece, it isn't practical at that size. I'm getting some 12" square and 16" square mixed media and encaustic paintings ready for a solo show in Nashville this September. The 111 silverpoint drawings I am getting ready for my next solo exhibition in the fall in NYC range in size from teeny tiny 7"h x 5"w up to 50"square ones. The pieces vary in the time it takes to prepare them depending on medium or complexity. I also don't always work in a linear way from start to finish on an encaustic piece. Sometimes I'll spend weeks doing the drawings and then weeks more working on the backgrounds. Then more weeks adhering the drawings to the backgrounds and pouring and scraping to finalized the piece. In general the encaustic work and the silverpoint work are equally labor intensive, it's just different in that the process for the encaustic work is so complex and the silverpoint is comparatively simple, although in many cases takes as long to finish the detailed drawings. The largest silverpoint drawings (50"square) can take up to 2 or 3 months from planning stage through final drawing.

Be Careful What You Wish For

MBS:   You often refer to your love of drawing as "obsessive" and that it is a very important component to your work.  Has that always been the case, or did that passion for drawing grow more intense as you got older?  Have you figured out why?

Lori:  Drawing has always been a passion. Obsessive artwork has always been my favorite, the more obsessive the better. I think it is connected to the subconscious somehow, an underlying passion that goes unrecognized unless you tap into it , and then there's no stopping it. I go into a trance when I'm drawing, especially with silverpoint because you can't really erase. It lends itself to obsessive detail and to letting your mind take you places while you render the center of a protea flower or the lace jabot on a dandy's ensemble. A lot of outsider art that I admire is obsessive, and the obsession is almost the point with those artists, rather than the art making itself. It is not meant as artmaking, but as a purging of the mind almost. While I am conscious of art making, I am also indulging myself with mark making to get out feelings, to express inner thoughts, to tell a story, an obsessive narrative. The act of drawing becomes a surprising necessity. The compulsive, accumulative quality of much of my drawing work is deeply satisfying.

I'm Just Wild About Saffron

MBS:  Yes, obsession is definitely a huge component of outsider art particularly because the artists
are so totally taken over with transcendent states of consciousness when they create (and often when they don't create) - which is much different then just being in a creative "zone" that most artists (hope) they get into when they make art. Your drawings, the characters you create and their worlds are probably really a form of automatic writing. Any thoughts about that?

Lori:  Yes, I guess it is a form of 'automatic writing' in a sense, or stream of consciousness drawing. First, before I ever start to draw I sift through piles and piles of references I've gathered for years. These consist of heads, bodies, hats, flowers, tattoo books, medical illustrations, poems and quotations, animal imagery, antique acupuncture manuals, lives of the saints (with pictures), Hindu paintings, etc. etc. etc. Only after I've done a very intuitive process of separating out the imagery that is speaking to me for that piece do I then begin to compose a figure that will be what I draw. So, that is a process of using my subconscious as the medium in a spiritual, deeply connected way. 

Homeward Bound

MBS:  Years ago I saw you finishing up a painting titled "Mother From Another Planet".  I had an immediate connection to it and knew at that moment that there was a much, much deeper element to your work then just the application of encaustic medium and drawing "really cool looking" characters.  As your work has progressed, I feel that this component has only become stronger.  How does spirituality play a role in your artwork and for you as an artist?

Lori:  Spirituality plays an enormous part in my art practice. Drawing is my drug of choice and as I've said, when really in the drawing state of mind I go into a trance. I listen to the news, and podcasts covering world events all day while I work, plus some podcasts about psychology, stand up comedians, science, art etc. I am constantly processing the world in my head and experiencing a reaction to the things I hear. Often a piece will be about something story that has struck me in a very deep, elemental, human way - I respond with the imagery. My work is primarily symbolism, the symbols being my own glossary of images that stand in for human feelings, foibles and relationships to the unknown. Drawing this way is the closest I come to spirituality, it is my spirituality.

Mr. Softee

MBS:  Of the work you create - the characters, figures, highly imaginative landscaped worlds - is there a common core theme or idea that runs through everything?   If so, what is it?  In addition, do you have one image or character in particular that you feel a special connection to?

Lori:  The common themes that run through my work are probably the idea of giving a symbolic voice to the 'other' in our society and expressing the concept of the vulnerability of the human condition. I have an affinity for all of my characters, in fact, they are a recurring cast of characters. Sometimes you will see the same head on a different body, or one character reappear in a different landscape or be realized in a different medium. I am sort of inventing my own mythology of little gods and goddesses, lesser beings, sidekicks, and supporting characters. There is one little guy who I call Mr. Softee, who has appeared about a dozen times in various pieces, from collage to drawing to encaustic. I am going to redraw him in silverpoint very soon.
 
MBS:   What is a typical work day like for you?

Lori:  Typical work day involves office hours, correspondence, searching for references, preparing backgrounds, making enlargements and reductions and planning out actually drawings in the morning say from 9-12 noon. Then drawing straight through until dinner time, break for dinner, then back in the studio. This varies depending on family stuff, but since two of my kids are off at school and my remaining child is in high school, not a lot of 'mom' duties to break up the day like there used to be. When I'm getting ready for a show or shows, as I am now, my day is longer, and I work well past midnight (sometimes to 3 or 4 am) in the studio. I like to percolate ideas and plan new drawings between 2 and 3 am. Whenever I do go to sleep, I always read a bit before turning off the light and finally closing my eyes.

Teeny Tiny and The Witch Woman

MBS:  I've noticed you've had an online presence for quite a long time, and that's something that
 until recently a lot artists have been very hesitant to do.  How has your online experience
 benefited you as an artist?

Lori:   An online presence is absolutely essential these days. My daughter is graduating from Pratt next month and the school actually requires you to establish a website as part of the curriculum and graduation requirements. My website has helped me immensely in being able to approach galleries and collectors both. I don't update it as much as I should but aside from that little bit of procrastination on my part, it's an invaluable tool. I even have a link on the front page to my NYC gallery for anyone perusing who wants to inquire about a work.

Paradise Lost

MBS: Where is your work available and can you share more details with us about your upcoming shows?

Lori:   My work is available through my primary dealer in New York City, Claire Oliver Gallery. I also have had exhibitions and have a working project relationship with Cumberland Gallery in Nashville, TN in Berlin, Germany with Janine Bean Gallery, and in Brussels, Belgium with Galerie d'YS .

I am working on a couple of exhibitions now that are coming up this fall. In September in Nashville, I will have an exhibition of new encaustic work at Cumberland Gallery and In October in NYC I will have an exhibition of my silverpoint drawings at Claire Oliver Gallery.

MBS: What advice do you have to anyone who wishes to (seriously) pursue an 
artistic path?  (besides not 
waiting until you are 40!  lol)
 
Lori:  My advice, short, sweet, and sincere (and somewhat corny but true)....Do what you love and the rest will follow. It is never too late to explore your creative self and pursue a career in the arts (one aspect of my life did indeed begin at 40), it becomes harder as you get older to gain a foothold, but it's not impossible. Don't be an art snob, seek out and be open to and inspired by a variety of other people's art.

Thank you Lori!

Lori's work can be found online at her website
Photo courtesy of the artist and Claire Oliver Gallery, NYC



Lori also did a series of YouTube videos showing part of process she uses in her artwork.
There are 3 parts.  Below is part 1.  Enjoy!




Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxTbIMUB3As

Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxX2L-J7qpw




Links to other interviews in the Mind Body Spirit Artist Series.


Follow the daily updates of the Mind Body Spirit Marketplace on Facebook and Tumblr.

Mind Body Spirit Artist Series: Adam Fergurson

Some theorists maintain that as people grow older, they really don't change that much.  That they retain and emulate the initial characteristics and qualities that they had as a young child.  Through writing this interview series I've come across many artists who have said that they have "always made art" or that they "knew that they were an artist from an early age".  In my son Adam Fergurson's case, I can honestly say that by observing him literally through his entire life, that really is what happened.  Intelligent, engaging, confident and always inspiring those around him by pushing the envelope just a little further, Adam is a grown man now, an artist in his own right - blazing a unique trail down the path of life.  Always a pleasure to discuss art with, I hope you will enjoy this lively interview with him as much as I did.
                                                                                                                     ~ diane fergurson

Bloom

MBS:  Can you tell us a little bit about your background?  How you got started in art?

Adam:  As far as I can remember I have always made art, and can distinctly remember wanting to always "be an artist."  I can even recall being in elementary school in suburban Missouri, and aside from yearning to be the man to discover Bigfoot, I told all my teachers that I was going to art school for college, no doubts about it.  Having open minded and artistic parents I was always encouraged to make art, express myself, and the idea that being different was not only OK, but was very cool, was ground into my brain regularly.  As a result while the other kids played soccer at recess I was often making pictures of what I now know were mini comics about The Blob, Dracula, and Wolfman.  My mother, also an artist, was teaching classes at a community arts center in downtown St. Louis while I was growing up and instead of hiring a babysitter would often bring me along to sit in her classes or signed me up for other programs happening in the building.  This gave me my introduction to "real artists" and the cultural plethora of things happening in the city.

I then moved to the northern New Jersey/ New York Metropolitan area around the age of twelve.  Suddenly I wasn't the only kid who was good at drawing and this drove me to be the best in my class.  I don't believe art should be competitive but I think its important to be around other artists in order to be inspired and driven to work harder.
I moved to Philadelphia in 2004 to attend The University of the Arts and have been in Philadelphia ever since.

MBS:  You mentioned having an introduction to "real artists" when you were at the 
community arts center.  What did you mean by "real artists"?

Adam:  I think my view of what "real artists" were as a child had a lot to do with admiring people who seemed to do their own thing, and made artwork because they liked doing it - regardless of what others may have thought.  As a kid I thought nothing was cooler or more admirable than being a rebel.  Along with my monster drawings, anything I ever drew that had a human in it involved Mohawks, tattoos, guitars, etc..  I still think one of the most rebellious acts one can do is to be an artist.  To have the gall to think you can bring something into the world in the face of all that has ever been, and then to think its valid and deserves to command attention is very rebellious.  I always felt any "real artist," if you will, blazes their own trail and is always one step ahead while the rest of the world follows the trail of candy they leave in their path.  I must note though that this statement does not imply that if you are not pushing the envelope that your work is not valid.  Art serves millions of purposes in millions of lives, but innovation and new ideas have to come from somewhere and I call that place the mind of the "real artist."

Six of Swords

MBS:  You're a sculptor, but also a painter and musician too.  Do you favor one medium over another?  Also, which comes first in the creative process for you when you are working?
The idea or the materials you use?

Adam:  I had a friend say to me once, "It's not what you do, but that you do." I think this holds up well with my own working practices.  I feel like so many artists I know get so hung up on an idea that they inhibit themselves from actually making the work.  I try and do the opposite when working on paintings. I often lay down several pieces next to one another and pour and splash mediums on all the surfaces until I feel as if something magical is taking place. At this point I separate the pieces from one another and deal with the consequences of my actions artistically by becoming more considerate of aesthetic formalities and composition as a whole.  I often go back and forth between these processes umpteen times on a single painting till I feel I have captured something.

As far as sculpture is concerned I apply this philosophy most often in my use of materials.  Living in an urban environment I am consistently confronted with waste and trash.  The same openness I bring to abstract expressionist chance practices in my 2D work, I bring to the discovery of materials from the street in my 3D work. I see something interesting, I take it, and then I look at it and let the inspiration flow.  The big difference between my 2D and 3D work has to do with the intensity of the battle which takes place between me and the work mentally. With 2D its more playful, where as with 3D and bringing objects from the mind into space I do much more racking of the brain.

Drumming has always served as a great place for collaboration and therapy for me.  As a teen, drums helped me release a lot of angst and stay out of (some) trouble by always playing music with friends. Currently staying active with three bands and teaching drums to addicts, I use drums as an excuse to connect the ideas of many - into a single.  Also to vent my frustrations, and to be with and collaborate with friends.  This gives me a calmness and piece of mind which I can then bring back into the studio to work on visual undertakings.

I have also used playing drums and being in bands as another outlet for my visual work.  With each project I am involved with I try to have a heavy hand in developing the visual aesthetic of the band, whether it's posters, logos, album covers, or even costume and face paint.  The thing that really strikes me about being a musician, is that music cannot be avoided.  You can have an art opening and have people be there but can't guarantee they are actually experiencing the work, meaning they don't HAVE to look at it.  With music its inescapable.  I am also working towards using drumming as a tool to reach transitory states of consciousness which I try to tap into when I create my visual work.

Phone It In

MBS: Spirituality combined with street art is reflected so strongly in your work, and in a manner 
that is much more then just style and content.  Could you discuss that a little bit?  Also, what are you referring
 to by the "transitory states of consciousness which I try to tap into when I create my visual work"?

Adam:  After moving from the suburbs in Missouri to the New York area I began to experience graffiti for the first time and I found it to be so alive and captivating.  I've had tags in the past and meddled with "getting up" but in reality I've always been more of a fan than participant. In my own work I think the graffiti aesthetic fits well, especially in my 2D work.  I work very fast and try to milk out as much expression as I can as quickly as I can.

Living in the city I don't know how an artist couldn't be inspired by graffiti. I see graffiti as energy manifested quickly and unfiltered.  When I say I try to achieve transitory states of consciousness while working, this is what I meant.  I am a clairvoyant, and am sensitive to different energies including those coming from the other side. When I'm working on my art my goal is to be so open that I don't even think about what I'm doing.  This way I can be the clearest channel possible, the work stays uncontrived, and the spiritual experience of creation can be felt by the viewer.  I often prepare my studio for this activity by regularly sageing and burning specific candles.

Tune in Every Sunday, #1 Magician

 MBS:  It's been my finding that mainstream art literature normally doesn't approach the 
subject of energetic connections in artwork.  It may be brought up in interviews with individual artists or it is often veiled in "inspirational quotes" from the old Masters, but not openly discussed.  Of course the opposite is true in non-mainstream art literature.  I know that often times artists who practice Reiki, for example, will automatically infuse their work with healing energy.  I also know that there is artwork that is created with purposeful non-positive intentions.  That, unfortunately, also comes through in the work.  As you mentioned, there is a real vibrancy and spontaneity in graffiti and street art.  What are some of your thoughts about energy and vibrations in artwork?
 

The Chariot

Adam:  Well let me first say that at this point in our culture I believe that spiritually based work has become taboo.  Attending art school and making spiritually based work was difficult for me because concepts which I would think endlessly about were quickly dismissed as too weird.  I was labeled a "stoner artist" by some of my peers, and there were professors I had who didn't know how to engage the work aside from formal aesthetics. That being said, and this interview aside, I have had to learn how to only hint and tiptoe around the themes of my work for the purposes of show proposals and artist statements with out making people think I'm nuts.

As far as energy imprinting I think you imprint energy in anything you make but it becomes stronger based on the amount of time and effort you put into the piece.  I am a level 2 Reiki healer and can't say I have consciously imprinted any of my work with energy, but I know its there.
 I look at the experience of creation more in the realm of riding the energy of the universe instead of creating it and putting into the work.  If the viewer has an energetic reaction to my work I want it to be because they feel a connection with the work organically, not because I have in some way willed it to happen or cast a spell on the work.  That is manipulation and against my spiritual morals.

As I was coming into my own spirituality I was very exited and told everyone about all kinds of things I was experiencing and learning, now I'm getting to the point where if someone wants to engage in that topic I am more than willing to have the conversation, but I'm not going shove it down peoples throats. I also think that since spiritual art is so taboo that sometimes the greater understanding can be achieved through the artist who doesn't put all his chips on the table.  By this I mean if you let the viewer figure out the spiritual correlations between the work and their own lives, they are more willing to expand their field of vision.  Most people simply do not want to be force fed anything, especially something as personal as spirituality.  This is the reason why I feel so many well known artists have had spiritual intentions, but don't necessarily make that known to their audience. They want them to figure it out themselves.

MBS: Video has also played center roll in many of your sculptures and installations.
  What is it about video as a medium that you find so compelling?

Adam: I am a very big fan of Nam June Paik (RIP) and his retrospective at the Guggenhiem was very inspirational to me.  What he did is that he has taken the big box we stare at in our living rooms and brought it into the gallery.  Instead of being something to "watch," the TV becomes a compositional element or an atmospheric meditation within a greater context.

I respond to this idea because much of my sculptural work and satirical work has to do with regurgitating the trash the media pumps out, which implies you should think and be a certain way.  In a society which makes its chapel the living room, it makes sense that the brainwash weapon of choice is the television. I think that it only fits that I use it to fight back to help others realize that this is what's happening.




   

Many times with my film work the narrative and story aren't the main focus. I try to create beauty foremost in order to get the viewer to understand the greater meaning of the piece.  In this way I look at the shooting process itself as very mystical and ritualistic, and the editing process similar to painting. It's a hard task to include video with other elements in a work because people are so trained to solely focus on the screen and anticipate a narrative.  This is why I admire Paik and his ability to make film and TV elements within in a larger concept.

MBS:  What is a typical work day like for you?

Adam:  I really enjoy and thrive on working with multiple pieces at once, so a typical day in the studio usually begins once I've decided which pieces I'm going to jump into first.  I will burn some sage, light a candle or two, put on some music and sit for as long as I need to with the work, until I feel drawn to a specific piece.  Music is also very important for me while I work.  It disconnects me from my own internal dialogue and allows me to tap into the creative source more easily and with less distraction.  I love listening to all kinds of music while I work but some favorites are Fela Kuti, Lee Scratch Perry, The Four Tops, Dungeon, and really cheesy commercial hip hop mixes.

My process isn't that far off from Paul McCarthy's "Painter," a favorite video piece of mine - but not really but really, ha ha. Since I tend to work quickly I often attack the work briefly and then either sit and contemplate the next move or continue to move around the room using the same paints, pigments, concoctions, or technique on another piece in the space. I also share studio space with friends so when I need a break there is someone usually around to get feedback from/ chew the fat with, which is important to me.  I don't try to limit myself to time frames either because I know my process well enough that when I force myself to work it doesn't come out how I'd like and I end up re-working it later.

MBS:  Ah, yes, McCarthy satirizing and ridiculing the "tortured artist" - pretty funny.  You mention saging and candle burning in your studio. What is the importance of ritual for you in your process?

Adam: I have a small alter in my space which holds various things. I often begin the creation session by saging because I want to clear the space of any negative energies which may be lingering around me or the space. Along with this I often light a white candle to further enhance purity of thought and intention, strengthen a connection to the divine, and to create ambiance.

Brain Rain

MBS:  What are you currently working on?

Adam:  I just recently finished a large installation at The University of the Arts Sculpture Gallery in Philadelphia called "Tune In Every Sunday."  The piece encompasses 2D, 3D, on site, and video work. I re-contextualized the language of tarot to an American Midwestern language, and created shrines empowering sports deities to portray the ritualistic and consumer culture of watching sports every Sunday in contrast to going to church.

Since the show has been up I have more space to spread out in my studio and have started to do more  painting again.  I feel like I'm the most at play when I'm painting.  Whether I have a show deadline or am finishing a specific body of work, or not, I always try to keep working all the time even if its just chipping away at the same pieces for months. Not only does this keep me happy, but it makes me a better artist because I am always experimenting and furthering my own techniques.  I like to make make make so that the work doesn't become a precious thing to me.  In this mindset when I do get a show I can choose the best work for it out of many, not just the one thing I made for that specific purpose.

MBS:  Do you sell your work online?  What has your online experience been like?

Adam:  I don't sell my work online in the sense that I don't have a webstore and a Paypal account, although many times I have directed people to my website and my Facebook fan page which have resulted in shows and sales.  The thing that I find most fascinating about the internet is that no one really knows where its going at any given time, or how big its going to get, or what it will encompass next. When I was in fifth grade and I got an AOL account, that was all you needed.  Now I have a mobile me account, a gmail account, a website, a personal Facebook, a Facebook fan art page, a twitter account, a tumblr, a stumble upon account, etc etc. The internet is great for exposure and meeting like minded communities, but I know with my own work that no image on a screen can do justice to actual size, the energy of the pieces, and other witnessed aesthetics such as motion, reflection, lighting, and iridescence.

MBS:  What advice do you have to anyone who wishes to (seriously) pursue an 
artistic path?

Adam:  My biggest piece of advice is to keep working and thinking creatively.  The biggest key to making art is to make art. Keep yourself inspired by being around creative people and don't be afraid to let the world know what your doing.  Some people will get it, many may not, but at least you tried.



Thank you Adam!

To see more of Adam's work, you can visit his website, also his Facebook Fan Page.
You can contact him at adamfergurson@me.com

Animation gif of the video instillation "#1 Magician"  was created by Thomas Puleo.


To read additional interviews in our Artist Series, you can visit this page.


Follow the daily updates of the Mind Body Spirit Marketplace on Facebook and Tumblr.