Recently in Artist Q&A Category
Q. What inspires you to paint landscapes?
A. Landscapes in general, especially our local pastures, wetlands and river ways have this amazing serene beauty that I find irresistible to paint. My imagination completes many details when I (purposely) put away my photo reference. That's when the real fun begins! I often do not have a specific idea of how the piece is going to turn out. My oil painting technique utilizes many, many glazes built up over a period of days, weeks, or months, and with each successive layer comes many more decisions to be made. It is often very difficult for me to see when a
painting is finished. That's when I rely on my other fine inspirations, my husband and 2 children to say "leave it alone!"
Q. How did you start your career as an artist?
A. I've just about always been in the art field, in one way or another most of my working life. Working with abundant black and white pen & ink detail as a medical illustrator, it feels natural including the color
and freedom of oil painting. I also paint sky and wall murals for builders and homeowners, which is also a very fun and rewarding part of my work. Simultaneously working in many facets of art is very satisfying to me, and I look forward to other interests that will no doubt come my way...
Q. What's next?
A. We have recently built my studio on our property, so we have the room now to make dressing screens, pillows, etc., and paint them with my landscapes. I've also been thinking about painting plein aire - - - I've got my eye on a few areas around town , such as the new profile of Mill Pond since they removed the dam. I'm very much looking forward to painting that area one fine day.
A. Hmm, artist. I'd like to lay claim to that title. But I am not sure that I'm ready. Writer, yes certainly. Photographer, yes, based on a whole lot of published photos. But artist, I am not so sure. It feels like too grand a title for me.
Q. Okay then, how did you get into photography?
A. Despite some lapses that sometimes went on for years, it seems like I have always been shooting pictures. As a kid in Scarsdale, N.Y., I had a Brownie. Not a Hawkeye, which was bigger. But a Brownie which was tiny, about the size of a coffee mug. Through my eight-year-old eyes, I thought it took fine black-and-white pictures. Then after college, a two-year stint in the Peace Corps in Colombia and graduate school, I got a job handling public information for a 13-state education agency based in Boulder, Colorado. For that, I began shooting seriously with a single-lens reflex Pentax Spotmatic with (to my joy) three fixed lenses. The addition of photos to the agency publications proved popular. And because I got unlimited free film, I learned by shooting, shooting and more shooting. Mostly in black and white. Soon my photos were showing up not only in agency publications, but in books, magazines, newspapers and even graced a couple of album covers. For the younger crowd, long ago – only somewhat later than the Pleistocene Age – music came on round, skinny, flat black things with a hole in the middle. They were called records. Records with more than two songs were called albums. And their covers usually had a name (like say, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band or In the Wee Small Hours), a list of the songs and some sort of picture on the front. The album cover as an art medium has pretty much disappeared
In 1976, I left Colorado for Michigan. I know, I know, it sounds crazy. But I wanted to be a big city newspaper reporter. I joined the Detroit Free Press and over next 27 years was a street reporter, the science editor, Canada correspondent, roving national correspondent, an editor of national and foreign news and lastly, for seven years, the travel writer bopping about much of the world.
Especially in my incarnation as a travel writer, the photo editors kept saying, "Shoot more. Don't come back with a few shots, come back with scores, even hundreds. So I did. But ow I had upgraded to Nikons – F100s and F5. (I still shoot film) And the photo editors were delighted. And so was I.
Q. So during your newspaper career you were mostly a writer and editor, and in addition a photographer?
A.True.
Q. Did shooting for a newspaper affect your sense of photography?
A. You bet. I have been told that I "see pictures." That's a high compliment and may trace back to my art studies as a teenager. I thought I might be a painter. I was wrong. At any rate, I make pictures of all kinds of things. Some of them just pretty postcard shots which was good for travel stories. Although for the sake of candor, I confess that I hate sunset pictures. But for the most part, I look for photos that tell a story, or part of a story – photos more journalistic in character.
This display of framed photos at The Side Door Gallery focuses on scenic shots connected to islands of the Great Lakes. Of course, I like them. But take a look at the smaller, matted photos from around the world – Nepal, Vietnam, Thailand, Italy. These tend to be more journalistic. In essence that often means they have people in them.
People in photos is not bad. But in truth, buyers typically are not very interested in them. It's understandable. After all, most of us best like pictures of ourselves, not of someone we don't even know. But frankly, these shots are among my personal favorites.
Q. Since you left the Free Press in 2002, have you continued to write?
A. Yes. I have done freelance magazine pieces and written two books – "Islands: Great Lakes Stories" and "Shipwreck Hunter: Deep, Dark and Deadly in the Great Lakes." As the promotional flack goes, the books are on sale now at major bookstores, on line and at fine gas stations everywhere.
Q. Do you have another book in the works?
A. Yes. It's an historical novel set in the Civil War, an adventure story with – as you might guess – some strong connections to the Great Lakes.
Q. Tell us a little about yourself, personally.
A. I live in Ann Arbor in a small house which seemed big enough when I moved in 15 years ago, but now cannot hold my increasingly large collection of books. I may be forced to build an addition or move. I definitely am not getting rid of the books.
I'd rather ride my bike or paddle my kayak than drive my car – or any car. I crave wilderness. As some sage once said, "I'd rather wake up in the middle of nowhere than in any city in the world."
I have two grown children of whom I am immensely proud. My daughter, Teresa, is an actress working toward her big break in Hollywood and making actual money as a personal fitness trainer. My son, Christopher, a one-time world-class athlete and now a fanatic skier, is married to the world's sweetest woman, lives and has a career in business in Denver.
Q. One last question about art. What do you think of the future of art photography?
A. It's dead, or at least in its final throes.
I think digital cameras have pretty much killed it. Not limited by having to pay for film, people can now take thousands of shots and go home to rework them with Photoshop. Often they get good results. You remember the story of a million monkeys with a million typewriters.
And what's more, they can get lots of the pictures of the thing they love most – themselves.
To learn even more about Gerry visit his website, www.penandcompass.com.
Q. How did you come to be an artist in Michigan?
A. Well, I went to grad school at Michigan State - started an MFA in painting, wound up getting it in sculpture - fell in love with Michigan and with a plastic-recycler named Karl from Alpena and settled in Saline. I grew up on a farm, so the small community with farming roots, a 24-hour grocery store, a good hardware store and a good coffee shop, not to mention creative art framers, suited me.
Q. So, this "Fortunes" thing, this "installation" piece of art, what is an installation and how did this come about?
A. Let me start with installation. An installation is a piece of art that the viewer can be a part of, generally. For instance, you can walk around, in and between the pieces in this sculpture, you can handle it with the archival gloves provided and, essentially, be a part of the space this piece inhabits. Usually, installation changes your perception of the space in which it is installed. This piece can change your perceptions of a lot of things. For example, if you know me, you might say, "Yeah, that Val can be a thinker and a bit too serious, but she's also got a goofy, irreverent side that is quick to laugh and make fun of herself." And if you know me, you might see more of the goofy, irreverent side. So this piece could take you by surprise and change your perception of me and my thought and art-making process.
The piece came about from my "day job" - when I started work on it, I was home-schooling my kids, being a mom and artist. I was thinking about how my kids, myself and everyone I know were all born into situations beyond our control. And about how, at some point, we gain consciousness about our situations - if the situation is good or bad. At that point we can realize we have a choice - it's not always clear or good vs. bad. Sometimes it is bad vs. less bad. And sometimes the only thing we can change is our own perception or attitude. But it's at least something we have control over.
Q. Have you always wanted to be an artist?
A. Pretty much - except for the period in high school when I was spending a lot of time riding bikes and thought I might be the first woman to win the Tour de France - then I discovered painting and drawing seriously and never looked back, except when I was sharing the road with cars.
Q. How long have you been making art?
A. Well, I've been studying art seriously since high school - I had a great teacher in junior high and another in high school who just made it a lot of fun, while also getting students to take it seriously. Then, my mom took me to extra Saturday classes at Purdue, which was about 25 miles from us and I had a great teacher there. I got a portfolio scholarship to University of Illinois, where I had a lot of great instructors, as well, and a good group of students surrounding me - we all challenged each other in such a positive way. So I guess that's about 27 years now. Let me just say this, I couldn't drive myself to Purdue when I started taking those classes!
Q. So, is sewing on vintage baby gowns an art form? Or what made you decide on this technique for expressing your ideas?
A. Ha, Ha! I learned to sew when I was about 7. I drove my mom crazy because I always wanted to do something - learn something. So she signed me up for 4-H as early as she could, taught me to sew, got a friend to help me when I passed her knowledge zone and I sewed all my prom dresses! Fortunately, I control all surviving photos of this era. However, I decided to embroider on the vintage baby dresses for a few reasons. The baby dresses have this gossamer, dream-like quality, especially hung like they are in the gallery, and when a breeze catches them. I sewed the words on them in red, because I have had some fortune cookies with red fortunes printed on the paper, and it caught my eye. Red is such a nice color and can carry some important weight with it. I chose to sew some of the fortunes in cursive, some in print because at different stages of development in our lives, we relate with different methods of writing. The words and actions/inactions of grown-ups have such a huge effect on the kids around us. I think we underestimate that so often. The red embroidery floss against the vintage fabric carries the sometimes heavy messages with some grace.
Q. Where did you get all the vintage baby gowns?
A. Well, I like antique shopping and have found many at antique shops around the Midwest. My kids are on a mission for me when we stop at an antique store. I remember when we went to the Monroe County Historical Museum and George Custer's baby gown was on display. My son said, "What? You mean Custer wore a dress?" It was a great teachable moment to say, "Yeah, all babies wore gowns back then and into the 20th century." Many people don't realize that. When I find a gown with blue details on it, I snatch it up, because the "Fortunes" pieces apply to men and women alike, and I want to make that point more obvious, in light of the "dresses". Some of them are actually slips. A couple are wool. Can you imagine putting that thing on your kid??? I love how they are all different - all have special details put on them by the hand of someone in that child's life. Some are made from flour sacks, some from pillow cases. Some have several repairs, some are quite ornate. I wonder, "Who made this? How many different children wore this?"
Q. So, I can understand why someone would put a dress on their baby that says, " You will be cherished by many people." , but why would someone put one on their child that says, "You will be taught to hate people who are different from you." ?
A. Exactly. You wouldn't. So why do we continue to teach such things to the next generations, either through our actions or inactions - our tolerance of such things in our society. The piece asks more questions than it answers, which, I think, is important, because we are all going to have to answer the questions or solve the problems on an individual basis, anyway.
Q. Who would buy something like this for their house?
A. Well, it's meant more to be something that a collector would buy, or a museum. I recognize that it is difficult to dedicate space in our day-to-day lives/homes for an installation piece. That's why I made collagraphs and lino-cut prints to go with it - companion prints, I'm calling them. They're much easier to own! Some of the prints have a bit of collage on the paper under the prints and the lino-cuts have chine-colle, which is a form of collage in print-making. The hand-pulled prints only have the positive fortunes! Some are framed and ready to go and some are just matted ready for the art collector to frame it as they like.
Q. What artists do you admire?
A. First of all, we have so many unbelievable artists in Michigan who make seriously great work. I'm fortunate enough to be a part of the WSG Gallery on Main St. downtown Ann Arbor and all of the artists there are people I've admired for a long time. Martha Keller is just about the coolest and her paintings could smack down anyone in New York. Bruce Thayer and Ilene Curts of Mason, MI make top-notch prints and paintings, respectively. And Ken Thompson of Flatlanders kicks it out, when it comes to sculpture. Also, Tyree Guyton of Detroit has done some pretty awesome stuff. Outside of Michigan, I'd have to say Deborah Butterfield, Anish Kapoor, John Singer Sargent, Ursula Von Rydingsvard, Leslie Dill, Alexander Calder, Andy Goldsworthy, Stan Herd and so many more people who are making or have made art in their lives just fill me up.
Q. What are you reading now?
A. I'm reading "The Tao of Parenting" - the best parenting book I've read to date, and I've read a lot! I'm slugging through "Pioneers of Modern Design", looking at the pictures in "Louise Nevelson" and perusing "The Sculpture Techniques Bible".
Q. Wolverine? That's an unusual last name for an Atlanta artist. Is there a Michigan connection?
Yes, I was born in Cadillac and grew up in the woods and graduated from the University of Michigan at the end of the sixties. As a child, besides an Indian, I always wanted to be an artist when I grew up, like my mother's sister, who is still a fine painter. After ninth grade, in the era of Sputnick and then VietNam I studied the sciences and only after college while living on the Big Island of Hawaii did I again begin to hear my call to painting. I studied art at the Hilo Art Workshop Center in Hawaii and the York Academy of Arts in Pennsylvania where I also completed a formal apprenticeship in the stained glass trade and entered my Andrew Wyeth period. I returned to live in the Petoskey area for many years where my daughter was born and grew up. I taught art classes at North Central Michigan College and the McCune Arts Center and cut lots of firewood. I moved to Atlanta in 1988 and have been active in the art scene there ever since. Thrown into the Deep South, I was so homesick that I adopted the name Wolverine as a way of paying homage to my native land. I am now married to a native of Georgia and am stuck living where they don't have winter! I return to Michigan and points north as often as I can. My parents live in Jackson and among my siblings, my younger brother, Dave Kendall is the reigning senior golf champion of the state and current President of the Michigan P.G.A.
Q. Are flowers your usual subject matter?
A. Although most of my life's work has been in landscapes, I have always painted flowers, especially in Spring. I think of them as ethereal beings which are the harbingers of new birth and possibility. I am especially interested in wildflowers and have worked for several years on a series of illuminated etchings which treat them as icons.
Q. How long have you been painting?
A. As most everyone, I started painting as a kid in school, but consider my serious painting to have begun in 1976
Q. What can you tell us about your technique?
I have explored most two dimensional media and am most drawn to acrylic on canvas, pastel, watercolor, etching, and drawing media. The watercolors in this show are painted wet-in-wet with strong pigment on Arches Cover, an absorbant printmaking paper which allows me to achieve the soft edges which I love. I started to work this way to emulate the small watercolor flower paintings of the German expressionist Emil Nolde. I first saw them in a monograph I bought in Hawaii and later saw a collection of them at the Detroit Institute of Arts.
Q. What's your day job?
When art earnings run out, I switch to a routine of just painting in the morning and about noon I go out and look for a job in the building trades doing small renovations, home repair, and, yes, housepainting.
Q. What current artist(s) do you admire?
I have studied and enjoy all the eras of art history, especially Impressionism and Post-Impressionism. I love the craft of traditional painting. My art goals are spiritual rather than political, on the path toward One-ness! Right now I am looking at Degas and Klimt and Gauguin and Bonnard, thinking of putting people in my world. My contemporary landscape hero is Wolf Kahn.
Q. What are you reading now?
I read a ton of topical media including the New York Times, the Atlanta Journal Constitution, the Boundary Waters Journal and several art magazines. I enjoyed the Harry Potter series, which my wife, Trisha, read to me out loud ( she is now reading me John Gierach's trout fishing stories). I recently read Thirteen Moons, byCharles Frazier, a novel about the Cherokee culture and its' peoples' sad removeal from the area near where I live. I really enjoy the work of Jim Harrison, whose boyhood was spent within 20 miles of my own, and am currently traveling with a collection of his poetry, The Shape of the Journey.
We've been framing Susan Amstutz's work for a number of years - in fact both Sara and Mary have purchased pieces from her. We are excited about her current show both because we get to see a large body of her work and to find out more about her as an artist. Susan is modest about her art but we managed to corner her when she was at the gallery helping to set up the show and were able to ask her some questions.
Q: Susan, your landscapes are so evocative, are they real places?
A: Some of them are real locations, whether painted on site or from photos. I carry a camera with me so I can record places and color. Some of the landscapes are imaginary and some a combination of both
Q: What's your favorite medium to work in?
A:My favorite medium to work in is oil, including the encaustic work. I also enjoy water based paints, batik, cold water dyes, etc...
Q: What can you tell us about your technique?
A:About the abstracts -" I layer alot of color and textures. I use a lot of "found" objects to push and scrap the paint. Cardboard works well because its easy to adjust the size easily.On "Straw" I used wood glue and strips of wood to build up the surface, painted it, let it dry and them pulled off the a significant amount of the wood to create more texture. On "Control" I layered a significant amount of acrylic paint, then oil paint of a lot of different colors and shapes. Next,. I painted it all red (oil). Once dry, I covered it with furniture remover and let it bubble up and almost completely dry. Next, I used a putty knife to cut and scrape a random kinetic pattern. All the abstracts are mixed mediums, a combination of acrylic and oil, with, of course, the acrylic used first, to prevent peeling. I also use combinations of gold leaf, oil pastel, oil sticks, tissue, etc.
About oil encaustic -This is a highly toxic technique. You need lots of ventilation. I don't use pre-mix waxes. I make my own. On top of an electric griddle, I place a cake pan with an inch or two of water in it. Inside the cake pan I place a cupcake tin. Each of the wells in the cup cake tin holds a combination of beeswax, paraffin, damarr varnish, and oil paint. Before the oil paint is added to the mix, I let the excess oil leech out of it by squeezing it out on cold press board and letting it set for a few hours. It works like a double boiler. The painting is done with palate knives and brushes in one had and a hairdryer/heat gun in the other. The paint has to be applied, quickly and remain hot.
Q: When did you start painting?
A:My mother and aunt painted. She taught me about line and color at an earlier age. She also taught me how to use oils when I was in elementary school, around age 10 or so.Later she gave me her oil paints, pastels, everything she had. It created a very supportive atmosphere.
Q: Do You do commissions? How much?
A:Yes, I'm happy to do commissions. Pricing depends on size and complexity.
Q: You've been a generous contributor to Circle of Art. What are your thoughts about the event?
A:The COA is a wonderful event. Its makes a difference in people's lives. It benefits people in need and it enables others to help people in need. Both are gifts to those of us participating. Also, along with honor of being able to help others the COA allows artists to meet fellow artists.
Q: What's your day job?
A:I'm a Graphic Designer for the Sprinkler Fitters located in the Great Lakes Building at Washtenaw Community College. I have also been a teacher in the Visual Arts and Technology Dept, Graphic Design at Washtenaw Community College for ten years. I teach Design History, during which, I show the students gold leafing, paper making, calligraphy, wood block relief, silkscreen and more. I also have taught other design and application courses as well.
Susan Amstutz: Abridgement
February 1st -March 22nd
Opening Reception February 29th 5-8pm
Pictured above, from top left, "Straw", "Hendershot Highway", "Michigan Fence Row I", "Azure"
