First a story…
My car broke down last month. Luckily, recent art sales covered the cost of the repairs. My frustration, however, was more with the loss of time — MY time — now diverted to this repair.
I had JUST given myself a gift of time—one complete year, beginning January 2021, to focus solely (for the first time ever) on my creative practice. I called it a mini-retirement, and I had a backlog of ideas to put into motion before my funds ran out.
Time is literally my currency now.
Sitting on a wobbly plastic chair, waiting at the auto shop, I reminded myself (again) that LIFE is the essential raw material for creativity, and everything is fodder. I allowed myself to touch into the feelings below the surface of my frustration and I found fear, vulnerability, even despair.
Paying attention, sensing into my feelings, maintaining an opening between my inner and outer world, and allowing intuition to lead the way to artistic expression — is the underpinning of my work.
Much goes on underground in all of us. We cannot always verbalize it. Art speaks this underground language. If in my art I have been authentic, “speak” a collective truth, and do it skillfully enough, it engages the viewer. I love this Ram Dass quote: “We’re all just walking each other home.” That is my goal of my work. To engage and walk with other human beings to help move us all along through life’s labyrinth. I have long been an activist for the power of art to enlighten and heal.
My work is mixed media experimental collage. Mixed media gives me the greatest latitude to experiment with techniques, media, and materials. I add new options to the repertoire for my collages on a regular basis. My Café work samples are the tip of the iceberg. Behind each is a full body of work, 20-60 pieces, made up of countless experiments, discoveries, failures, and successes. I am nothing if not persistent and prolific!
2020 was a significant year in my evolution as an artist. In 2020 I crossed a line into confidence.
I am confident in my skill. I am confident I can solve artistic challenges. I am confident I can bring my vision to life and create art that satisfies me and has meaning for my viewers. I am confident that my work is worthy and has value. I am confident enough to begin working larger and engaging with more challenging themes.
I am not a beginner anymore – not quite yet a master – but on my way.
Isolation, fear, and loss were also the hallmarks of 2020. On top of Covid-19, in September I survived a devastating fire which destroyed much of my town, Talent, OR. My new pieces, titled “Dark Gardens” and “Ghost Trees” are growing out of this collective/personal trauma and are defining my work in 2021.
How can the Hallie Ford Fellowship enhance my art practice? My answer of course is TIME! January 2022, my time will be up financially. Receiving this fellowship could add a year or more of freedom to make further strides forward in my art career. What a gift that would be!
I applied for this year’s fellowship. For more information, visit: https://www.tfff.org/program-areas/visual-arts/hallie-ford-fellowships