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For my recent zine, “The Inner Eye“ I had to include an interview. Since my zine is an inspirational art zine I, of course,\’a0 chose to interview an artist.
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The only thing with that was that after I came up with the questions I was nosy enough to want to know how other artists would answer these same questions.
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So I came up with a plan and chose to pose the questions to a few artist friends and include all their answers in the zine. Over the next few weeks I will post some of the answers from these individual artists. Since yesterday’s post was about Nancy, I’ll start there.
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Meet Nancy Cook
I’ve known Nancy for a few years and was invited by her this year to join Fiberart Options, a fiber art group. In the last few months I have gotten a better chance to get to know her.
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She is a wonderfully warm, engaging and inspirational artist, who is always willing to answer any questions we might have about our art in order to help us succeed. And…she loves to laugh, which is always good for the soul.
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Her recent work is very much nature inspired. She paints her beautiful art pieces with Tsukineko inks on sumptuous hand dyed fabrics, then expertly enhances them with her quilting stitches.
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Enjoy this insightful look into a wonderful artist, Nancy Cook…
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Inner Eye: What informs your artwork?
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Nancy Cook: My work is informed by the traditions of botanical illustrations and quilting mediums.
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IE: Why fabric/thread/paint as a means of expression?
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NC: I love the textures that result from the quilted line, it is a way that I connect with my past and women from many cultures and across time.
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IE: Who continually inspires you?
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NC: Women artists, especially fiber artists, women politicians and role models like Oprah Winfrey.
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IE: What, if anything, precedes the full blow idea for a piece of art?
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NC: Sometimes I wake up with an idea that is pretty close to full blown and that is a gift from the gods or muse.\’a0 Other times it is looking, really looking, at a tree seed specimen.\’a0 It takes time, perhaps a magnifying glass and, often, sketching the piece multiple times, before the full blown idea emerges.
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IE: What matters most to you about the work that you do?
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NC: That it satisfies me in terms of concept realized, quality of the production.
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IE: What do you ask of yourself in terms of your art in the next 5 yrs?
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NC: Have sufficient recognition that it will not be rapidly consigned to a garage sale upon my death.
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This last question I thought was the best answer an artist can give…
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IE: If you could not pursue your art, what other way would you spend your time?
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NC: I haven’t the slightest idea.
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I loved her answer especially because I believe that in in order to produce the best art we can, whatever medium we choose, our art should consume our souls. Nancy’s answer (to me) shows exactly this. You can find Nancy’s work on her website and more about her on her blog.
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Stay Tuned
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Be on the lookout for upcoming inner-view posts, including nationally known quilt artist and designer Sarah Ann Smith and one of our own local artists, PJ Howard.
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NOTE: **you can purchase a copy of the first issue of my zine “The Inner Eye” in my Etsy shop.**
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See ya next time “In the Hayloft”,
Tags: artful creations, community, defining one's art, FAO, pay it forward by k grace howes
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