Monday, April 23, 2012

Artist Profile: Sue Bleiweiss

Sue Bleiweiss
Upton, MA

1. What other ideas for this theme "rituals" did you have? I actually had several different ideas for this theme.  My first idea was to do something with a coffee and newspaper theme since that's a Sunday morning ritual for me but I had just finished creating a coffee cup themed piece and didn't really want to do another one.  My other idea was to do something related to the ritual of the changing seasons here where I live in Massachusetts.  I wanted to do something representational of the changing of the leaves and I did in fact create a piece using the leaves as the theme but ended up not using it as my submission for the call.

2.  Are you involved in any community or group projects where you donate your work?  if yes, what project or projects?  n/a
3.  Do you belong to a small group of like-minded artists?  yes/no  name/where  what is the best part of being part of an art group?  I belong to two terrific groups: The Sketchbook Challenge group and the 8 That Create Group.   These groups give me a comfortable encouraging environment to share new ideas and resources and get feedback on my work.  For me, art making is a solitary process and these groups keep me connected to the world of art making going on outside of my own studio.


4.  Are you a member of a professional art organization, such as SAQA?  Have you ever held a volunteer position in the organization, and if so, what? I am a member of SAQA and I formerly served as a support person for the WIKI site.  I am also a member of the Surface Design Association (SDA) and served as a co-rep for the Mass/RI region.

5.  What is your favorite palette of colors that you use in your work?  name 5 and your least favorite colors?  name 5?  I have two very distinct styles of working and each style has it's own color palette.  My textured silk pieces are inspired by weathered aged metal and rusty surfaces so I typically work in muted colors of made up of black brown, rust, copper and bronze.  I also have a body of work created with hand dyed sandwashed cotton and these pieces are made with rich jewel tone colors.  I can't really say that I have a least favorite color since they all show up in my work at one point or another but I don't usually care for working with lighter pastel shades.

6.  Describe your creative work space in 20 words or less.  are you messy or tidy? Definitely tidy!  For me, a chaotic messy studio is too stressful to work in and definitely inhibits my creative flow.

7.  What is your creative process?  think, draw, design, make or right to the design?  I am definitely a planner and usually I'll spend a good amount of time brainstorming and researching an idea on paper first.  Sometimes though I'll just have a glimmer of a direction that I want to go in and I just jump in and go for it.
8.   Is there a particular object or shape that shows up repeatedly in your work?  Why? Geometric or stylized images definitely show up a lot in my work.  I definitely feel more comfortable working in an abstract style and texture is another recurring theme in my work.

9.   If you had to choose a favorite artist from another media, who would it be, and why?  Well a non living artist would be Kandinsky.  I love his work and find a lot of inspiration for my own in his.  I am also a huge fan of Dale Chihuly.  Last year there was an exhibit of his work at the Museum of Fine Arts here in Boston and I went back and walked through it three times while it was here because I couldn't get enough of it.  He is a master of not only combining color and shape but the way he presents and displays his work is brilliant.


10.  Have you written a book related to Art Quilts and Quilting or have an instructional DVD?  If so, can you tell us the title or titles?  The Sketchbook Challenge: Techniques, prompts and inspiration for achieving your creative goals.

11.  Do you make art full time?   If you have another career, would you describe what you do? and how you incorporate art into your life?  I am a full time artist

12.  What is your most thrilling news to date in relation to your art quilt life?  Having my work juried into the Dinner @ 8 Rituals exhibit of course!

http://www.suebleiweiss.com
http://www.suebleiweis.com/blog

1 comment:

  1. Sue, I went searching on your website, hoping to get a sneak peek at your Rituals submission. Is "Transitions" the one you decided not to use? I love it, and can't wait to see what you DID decide to submit!

    ReplyDelete

Please leave us a comment, as we enjoy hearing from you!

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...