The Constellation Interview With Karen Pierce Gonzalez
Q:1. & Q.1.1 When and why did you start making artworks? Who introduced you to making artworks?
My first memories are of coloring in a picture and, at age 5, being told that I was NOT staying within the lines. It was downhill from there for quite some time. Later, while living among artists in a Pacific Coast hamlet, I watched as people with pretty solid connections to their art created personally meaningful pieces that included life size wooden cows, hand sculpted clay, mixed-media collages on sneakers and the minutest of abstract assemblage art that included painted toothpicks. I stayed in the background and focused on my life as a journalist and writer, only occasionally dabbing in collage which did not require my staying within the lines.
I will say that as a journalist I had the good fortune to meet with artists of all ilk’s: tanka painters, native ledger artists, costume designers, totem carvers, and the like. I came to understand art as a doorway to conversations with the mythic and the folkloric.
Q:2. What is your daily artworking routine?
Everyday has its own point of view about how it is to be spent. All of my days start with a cup of coffee then meditation (buddhaic or shamanic depending upon what arises) and a reading from the Tao Te Ching. After that, some qi gong or yoga to align my thoughts and feelings with my body.
This is what allows me to follow what catches my attention, literally. A tapping on my shoulder, if you will, that says ‘look at this unexpected angle, unique texture or color’ in the world around me. Spiderwebs on a sculpture are sheer pleasure, as are after-storm bird nest fragments, fallen tree bark, and broken walnut bits, all waiting for a second life.
Q:2.1. What is your favourite material to work with?
Whichever medium, in the moment, leads the way, so to speak. Each —textiles and fibers, rough bark, pliable willow branches, recycled paper, etc. —all express tones and hues that, when followed, become incredible artistic roadmaps.
Q:2.2. What motivates you to make artworks?
The simple joy of it. I am as surprised by the results as I am in the discovery of how materials can work together. For example, strips of fallen eucalyptus bark can become a canvas for chalk pastels.
What’s amazing to me is that I DO NOT have to have pre-conceived expectations about what will happen, what the making will produce. I have learned and am still learning how I can collaborate with materials and methods.
Perhaps the greatest gifts I bring to the processes are 1) a trust in the evolution of what I will make – that it will unfold according to its own timeline and 2) that I am willing to go with the flow of the work so that I can adapt to changes in structure and method as required.
Q:3. How do the artworks you saw when you were young influence your artwork today?
Most of the art I was introduced to (via school, etc.) was standard 2D mainstream which was not replicable because I couldn’t’ draw, didn’t know how to work with paints or other materials, and had no access to art other than pictures in textbooks.
Q:4. Whom of today's artworkers do you admire the most and why?
Jane Ingram (an internationally recognized paper maker) Sha Sha Higby (multi-media spirit costumes for dance). Michael Horse (Apache ledger artist) and Benjamin Shine (free-standing/free-form tulle sculptures).
Q:5. What inspired Watermelon?
This series began with a collage in which I painted black dots on a cut, green bit of paper that reminded me of watermelons. And, in came the memories. In particular, early years of hunger in which I would do exactly as I wrote of in watermelon i: solution. The two hybrids that followed, also based upon memories, also began as collages that the written words followed.
Q:5.1. What did you hope the viewer/listener will leave with after experiencing Watermelon?
When ripe, watermelons are filled with life’s sugar-sweet moments; so like our dreams and hopes.
Q:6. What would you say to someone who asked you "How do you become a artworker?
"Spend time taking in the materials you want to work with. How do they feel? Have a conversations of appreciation: for them and for the opportunity to work with them. Ask how they want to be placed. Explore which colors (mediums) would best suit their natural grains and weaves. Then experiment, giving yourself plenty of time to take in whatever surprises you about any combinations you may want to try. Beyond that, practice in order to become familiar with what your instincts are telling you. And, most importantly, know that anything you make can be altered, reshaped, or adjusted at a later date.
Q:7. Tell me about the artwork projects you have on at the moment.
I am participating in The Wombwell Rainbow’s ekphrastic National Poetry month challenge in which I provide 31 art images for writers to respond to.
On the horizon? A digital hybrid chapbook that includes art, poetry and prose, and a series of art/cherita (poetry) videos.
Absolutely lovely!