Interview with:Beth Wicker [bethwicker]
ART
 | What do you do? How do you define yourself as an artist? I am an artist who has worked in a variety of media through the years. I currently work primarily in metals - making jewelry. I also do fiber painting, including a technique I developed myself; printmaking, again with a technique I developed myself; painting; mixed media; papermaking. Whatever will best express the idea in my head!
I love exploring pattern and texture in whatever media I am using, and the concept of layers and how things meet and join. |
| What is your message? I don't know that I have a "message". I am striving to take simple materials and transform them into something more complex and intriguing, that is visually interesting again and again. |
| Your biography in four lines. Born in Chapel Hill, NC. BA in Art from Meredith College. MFA studies at Cranbrook Academy of Art, with the MFA from USC-Columbia. Multiple workshops. On the SC Approved Artist Roster; member of the juried Artisans of the SC Cotton Trail. Have taught numerous residencies and workshops. |
| Do you upload your work to the web? If so, where could we see it? My web page is www.bethwicker.com. By blog is hosted by Ganoksin, and can be reached by a link on my website. |
| How is an idea born? For you, what is inspiration? This varies widely. Sometimes it is something I see - the way light hits beach sand, or wild grasses, or the line of a cat's back, or the patterns of farm fields from an airplane window. Sometimes it is a material - a specific stone or piece of fabric. Sometimes it is an idea - "I wonder what would happen if...." |
| What role does technology play in your creative process? I suppose that depends both on how you define technology, and how you define "creative process". I don't use computers to actually create, but as supporting elements. I use lots of "technology" if you include the best in hammers, flex shafts, rolling mills, printing presses, hydraulic presses, etc. So technology is important in the execution of the idea, but generally not in the formation of the idea. |
| What is art? Laugh - not going there! Art is definitely in the eye of the beholder, and what it is to me is most assuredly not what it is to someone else! |
| When do you get your best ideas? Hmmm.... don't know that there is "one" answer to this... I do lots of thinking while I'm driving. I do lots of driving - generally over 30,000 miles a year, so lots of thinking time. I mentally move materials around, play with ideas and concepts, shift things. Then when I get studio time what comes out often has bits and pieces of these thoughts in it, but only rarely is fully from this kind of thinking. In terms of time of day, I am definitely a morning person, and tend to prefer to get in the studio in the morning. |
| How do you evaluate whether an idea is good or not? If it works. |
| Three creative ideas that you would have liked to have created? Velcro, sticky notes, duct tape. Can't live or create without them! |
| When and how did you begin to see yourself as an artist? I've always seen myself as an artist. I had wonderfully supportive parents, who saw that I always had some kind of art materials available; who took "classes" with me in front of public television way back when; who enrolled me in adult art classes when I was a kid; who made sure I had the support and encouragement I needed all the way through my schooling, and still support me to this day with love and pride. My husband has been a wonderful support, as has my daughter - who is an artist in her own right. |
| Why do so many artists and creators have such volatile personalities? I'm not a psychologist - could not begin to answer that one! |
| Do you consider yourself postmodern? I don't consider myself as fitting into any specific area. |
| How should a work of art be evaluated? Form and function. Does it speak to the viewer? Does it work as it is supposed to? Is the level of craftsmanship high? |
| Must an artist reinvent him/herself everyday? Absolutely not. That said, most people grow over time, and their work grows with them. References to earlier work in current work are quite common. Sometimes an artist does make an abrupt shift in direction, but I think this is fairly uncommon. Generally an artist's life work is more of a continuum. |
| Which artists do you admire and how do they influence your work? Georgia O'Keefe - I just love her use of light, color, shape. The way she distills the essence of things.
Ansel Adams - again the use of light and shape. Very tight compositions.
Michael David Sturlin - fabulous metal artist, doing truly wonderful fabric like things with metal. Great shapes, textures, patterns.
Loren Damewood - another metal artist using metals in a textile way. Very delicate.
Pat Pruitt - metal artist using stainless steel in truly fabulous shapes, very crisp and great compositions. |
| What do you think about public funding for the arts? It is absolutely crucial both for artists and for the general public. I do residencies in public schools, especially in very under-performing rural schools. Art is often a path to success for these students, one that allows them to build confidence which can then transfer to other academic endeavors. Skills and terms learned in art also transfer into academic classes. |
| Is art necessary? Absolutely. Humans have been creating as far back as we go. I think the desire and actual need to create and express is inherent in us. |
| Does it pain you to let go of a piece you have sold? Absolutely not. I love seeing pieces go to loving homes! I create for myself, but with the hope that others will see something in the work that speaks to them. When they purchase a piece, then I know I have successfully achieved that. |
| Is a work of art purchased, or is it better said, that it is the artist who is bought? I'm not really sure where you are going with this. I certainly don't sell myself! So from that standpoint, it is most certainly the work of art. On the other hand, people do establish relationships with artists, and part of what they are buying is the "story" - the story of the artist behind the piece of art, the connection to something handmade. I don't consider that to be "buying the artist" though. |
| In art, there is no guide. How do you know what the next step is? This may sound strange, but the materials and the piece tell me what they want to do/be next. Where I should be going with them. I have stones I have had for years, and I'll take them out periodically and look at them, and they don't tell me anything, so I put them back up. Then one day I'll take one out and it will tell me it wants to be a pendant in silver, or earrings in gold, or part of a complex necklace, or whatever. And the idea just comes. If I try to force one into being something it doesn't want to be it never works. Really. |
| How do you feel about the fact that the pieces exhibited in contemporary art museums are often of artists already deceased? I think it is sad that we seem to need that amount of distance from the artist to validate the art. I don't understand why we do, but it is a common thing.
That said, I do think there is an increasing movement away from that, towards showing more art by living artist.
The ideal would be a balance between both. |
| What role have the figures of art dealer, gallery owners, representatives, and intermediaries in general played in your career? I have worked with a very few galleries; all but one were great experiences, but not major influences. I had an representative for a while, and that worked well. The best support I have had has been from local and state arts councils - back to that public funding thing! |
| What types of jobs do you usually do? I work in my studio; I teach residencies in schools; I teach workshops in communities; I used to work on SC Arts Commission sponsored craft studio trucks when they had them (great things!). I also work with local and regional non-profits. |
| Which of your jobs or tasks do you most enjoy? I love creating and teaching. Making things, and helping others find the joy in making things. |
| Do you personally collect any items? Yes, I collect family memorabilia; handmade pottery, primarily American Indian; a bit of handmade glass art; some paintings; plants. |
| Which websites do you frequently visit? |
| What advice would you give to those just beginning? Persevere. Don't give up. Keep trying. Be creative in your approach to making a living, and don't think things are "beneath you". Practice acts of random kindness daily. Give more than you take. |
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978 visits Whohub
Beth Wicker
Cheraw, SC, USA
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