Interview with:Michael Ray [michaelray]
ART
 | What do you do? How do you define yourself as an artist? I make objects in glass and other materials I am driven to make I see this as a primal function which I have little or no control over, I would say that at times it is a compulsion bordering on obsession. |
| What is your message? I aim make links with our collective unconscious through images and objects |
| Your biography in four lines. I have always absorbed and reflected aspects of my world through making now I am possibly more present with my creative process which allows me to be more responsive to the evolving work. |
| Do you upload your work to the web? If so, where could we see it? My work is visible at www.glitteringglass.com |
| How is an idea born? For you, what is inspiration? Ideas often begin at a conceptual level, maybe a story or event often with a timeless quality, from this drawings and play lead me to a place where an imaage or object can be made manifest. |
| What role does technology play in your creative process? Technology allows me to build layer apon layer of images, collect material at a moments notice. Move in with a virtual magnifying glass at any subject. Cut with precision maintain constants time after time. |
| What is art? Art is an expression of humanities endless longing. |
| When do you get your best ideas? My best ideas arrive when i am not looking for them, they are gifts from the gods! |
| How do you evaluate whether an idea is good or not? Evaluation is instinctive a gut feeling. |
| Three creative ideas that you would have liked to have created? I find this question assumes to much. I create because I exist not because others have gone before! |
| When and how did you begin to see yourself as an artist? When i trained as an Art Therapist I began to see that I was an Artist who had always used the creative process both as a means of fulfillment and as a tool for understanding and healing. |
| Why do so many artists and creators have such volatile personalities? The Ego is a key factor in the artistic personality. Inevitably Egos need to clash to redefine themselves and assert their authority within the individuals psyche.
With this come volatility. |
| Do you consider yourself postmodern? No. I don't feel very comfortable with labels that try to define a way of working creatively. |
| How should a work of art be evaluated? If a response and resonance can be used as an evaluation tool then that is how a work could be evaluated. |
| Must an artist reinvent him/herself everyday? We are all different and work in different ways, there are no rules which must be adhered to when it comes to art making. |
| Which artists do you admire and how do they influence your work? Bill Viola, the potency of his images and their universality influence my work and methodology. |
| What do you think about public funding for the arts? Patrons have always existed public funding is another form which arguably provides for greater opportunities. So many of the problems associated with patronage are magnified by public funding. |
| Is art necessary? Art has been around as long as we have been sentient beings that suggests it is. |
| Does it pain you to let go of a piece you have sold? Sometimes I have a strong connection with a piece which I am reluctant to part with when it has told me its story I will sell it, not before and sometimes never. |
| Is a work of art purchased, or is it better said, that it is the artist who is bought? The work is purchased the artist releases the work to the world we are conduits for the creative force which cannot be bought. |
| In art, there is no guide. How do you know what the next step is? Feeling ones way, being attuned and continuing to make mistakes is the next step. |
| How do you feel about the fact that the pieces exhibited in contemporary art museums are often of artists already deceased? I feel indifferent about whether an artist is exhibited because they are or are not deceased. |
| What role have the figures of art dealer, gallery owners, representatives, and intermediaries in general played in your career? Doors have opened, if you jump through hoops and sing the right songs you will generally travel further and faster......alas! |
| What types of jobs do you usually do? Commissioned work and exhibitions |
| Which of your jobs or tasks do you most enjoy? Being with an almost finished piece as it reveals its messages to me, this is often the time to springboard into new territory and a pointer for the next work. |
| Do you personally collect any items? I collect different things at differents times in my life, from bakelite radios to sticks and stones. |
| Which websites do you frequently visit? www.wordnic.com
www.warmglass.com
www.ebay.com
www.youtube .com |
| What advice would you give to those just beginning? Have integrity, even if no one else values your work you will if you have been true to yourself. |
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274 visits Whohub
Michael Ray
Ireland
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