02/02/2022
Our next featured artists is Meredith Gould !
Feel free to share & interact with the artist ~
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Getting to know your local artists in 10-15 questions :
Basic info -
Meredith Gould
Age: 70, which seems staggeringly old when written out; emotionally hover between ages 7-12 most days.
Years creating art: Since age eleven minus a 40+-year hiatus.
Social media:
IG: http://www.instagram.com/themeredithgould.arts
FB: http://www.facebook.com/Meredith.Gould.Arts
Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/shop/MeredithGouldArts
Currently showing:
Zia Series at Ricochet Gallery at 1102 Mountain Road, NW, ABQ
1. When did you first realize you wanted to become an artist?
Wanting to become an artist was probably an in-utero thing because my mother was an art major at University of New Mexico during the 1940s. All not kidding aside, being an artist was more like core identity rather than an aspiration. I began formal art lessons at age 11; placed in juried art shows for teens; attended a pre-college art program at Carnegie Tech; learned art, design, and typography at Rochester Institute of Technology; had an epic meltdown; dropped out of art school. Final gig as a working artist in 1973 and, 42 years later, took a mosaics course. Long journey. Many pit stops. Longer story.
2. What inspires your art?
These days, I’m inspired when exterior stimuli converge with interior realizations. I credit Instagram with regenerating my artist’s gaze. I credit spiritual disciplines, yogic practices beyond hatha, psychotherapy, and a couple of 20th century self-discovery programs for cultivating interior awareness.
3. Which artists have influenced or impacted your style?
I’ve always been enthralled by Impressionists and Surrealists because those artists seem to capture liminal spaces and dream worlds. More recently, I’ve been learning more about artists censured as “degenerate” by the N***s. I’m currently working my way through Matthew Baigell’s hefty book, Jewish Identity in American Art: A Golden Age since the 1970s.
4. Can you talk about the creative process behind your art?
My creative process varies from piece-to-piece. Sometimes, I get and stay in the process zone (aka, intuitive art) beginning with a color, shape, or object and am both artist and audience. Sometimes, I’ll do a pencil sketch or paint a small canvas (e.g., 2.5x2.5”) to experiment with composition and color. I love dreaming parts of or an entire piece. Thankfully, I’m a lucid dreamer, so I can futz around within the dream and able to sketch it when I wake up. I’ll let the work determine whether I’ll listen to music or stay in silence. I’ll binge watch crap during routinized work like prepping substrates and canvases.
5. What do you want collectors and enthusiasts to take away from your art?
I hope my work has visual durability. I tend to tuck a lot of visual and thematic elements into even my small pieces so there’s always more to discover.
6. What would life be like WITHOUT art?
Well, I already had that life! College professor, PR agency executive, magazine editor, healthcare communications consultant, interim director of marketing, website content and design developer, published author. Everything had its season I’m happily back where I started. I can’t imagine writing another book and, earlier today, told a former client that I was no longer dealing with websites. Freedom!
7. What words of advice would you share with a budding artist?
Short list, not necessarily in order:
• Be (or become) forever willing to learn and grow.
• Explore a range of media, especially ones you would “never ever” consider.
• Develop a thick(er) skin, strong(er) stomach, and patience.
• Seek out rigorous, detailed critique from experienced artists.
• Take a drawing course that includes basics (e.g., draped fabric, live n**e figure) with an instructor.
• If you don’t keep a sketchbook, keep a written list of ideas for future projects.
• Store your early work (i.e., first 3-5 years) to look at in 5-10 year increments.
• Be assured that your best work lies ahead.
8. How do you seek out opportunities?
I spent my first couple of years in Albuquerque getting to know the art scene. Where would my art and how would I, as an artist, best fit in? Also, because I’d only recently returned to artwork, I needed to re-learn materials and techniques, rediscover my style, discover new approaches, and explore new-to-me themes. For example, my preferred color palette changed completely by 2020. I only now feel comfortable answering open calls from galleries I find via local newsletters and FB groups. I use Instagram and Twitter to see what other artists are creating and if/where they’re offering their work.
9. How do you plan to expand your skillset?
I’m not sure I ever plan which skills to expand, the skills I need to improve become obvious. For example, I learned Procreate after drawing and painting a pile of book illustrations. I learned more about polymer clay techniques after seeing what could be created. I want to get better at digital art for a future project, so if bazillion YouTube videos don’t help, I plan to ask an established digital artist to teach me—not for free.
10. What are your hopes and future goals?
I’m hoping the refocus of my Etsy Shop endures for at least a year. Future goals include creating a cartoon or book thereof; a series of paintings about the Hebrew calendar and the letters aligned with them (very mystical); and doing another book with my BFF since kindergarten.
