Each year I volunteer to mentor a fellow SAQA member, and recently my mentee mentioned a fibre artist she’d discovered while attending an exhibition in her own city. She was impressed, so I visited that artist’s website to learn more about her art. In her bio Lizz Freeman described herself as “an under-educated, community-taught artist based in New Orleans, LA.” Her art itself is interesting enough, but that particular comment really set me thinking about how textile and fibre artists learn to put inspiration into some form using the manual and intellectual skills we’ve acquired during our lives so far, and I’ve concluded that to some degree we are all “self taught”.
Throughout my husband Mike’s exploration geology career, mining companies frequently required us to move between towns, across the country or around the world. I never seriously considered signing on for a formal tertiary fine arts course knowing I’d probably have to abandon it part way through. Now he’s retired, and there’s nothing stopping me: it’s never too late, they say, but as the world has changed, these days there are excellent online in-depth courses available. I feel I’ve been well suited by taking a multi-day symposium kind of masterclass every few years, followed by several years during which I absorb what I learned. Frequent relocations shaped my fairly low-tech art practice, too, as my main equipment is a basic domestic sewing machine, a cutting table, plus an iron and folding ironing board – all highly portable. I don’t have the space for a long arm machine, or facilities for fabric dyeing, and for photography, I’ve always invested in a good working relationship with a photographer wherever I am. Tertiary courses offer opportunities to use art departments’ wide range of facilities and expensive equipment, and students experience regular critiques and guidance, networking and possible career opportunities. On the other hand, I’ve seen how within such a group of students working under particular professor/artists, inevitably at least some of them become influenced by their teacher’s distinctive style elements, which begin to appear in their own work, and the issue of derivative art comes into play. However an artist learns, though, really depends on their own individual drive to learn and refine the skills needed to produce their art.
I identify as self-educated, because as an adult I’ve continued to add to my childhood education by taking workshops from prominent practitioners in their fields. I’ve only ever signed on to workshops I really wanted to take, and either I’ve been lucky in those choices, or perhaps I’ve soaked up everything they offered me because I was ready for the treat of an in-depth workshop. The most significant teachers I studied with have been Cynthia Sparks, Constance Howard, Meg Douglas, Nancy Crow, Arturo Sandoval, Dorothy Caldwell, Ann Johnson, and the StitchClub workshops of Debbie Lyddon, Clarissa Callesen and Jessica Grady during that first difficult year of the pandemic.
I remember our son Ivan telling me in 1992, that as a visual artist I needed my own website, which he then set up for me. I knew very few people then who had their own websites; but now anyone can have one, either paying someone to set it up and run it or by using one of the many free templates available. At least once a week I visit an artist’s website to read their bios and artist statements because of something interesting I saw in their work.
Today, I believe that in addition to our own website, an artist needs to be on several major social media sites which is where a lot happens as people interact with others out there. Youngsters tell me Facebook is mainly for older people now, but most artists, galleries and businesses seem to be there and on other prominent ones, too, so for the moment anyway I have two FB sites – one strictly related to my fabric art, the other more general . Instagram is more visual than wordy and I love it for that. On Pinterest the images on most of my particular pin boards are textile and fibre art related. There are plenty of other platforms, but I just don’t have time for maintaining more, because besides sleeping, eating, walking, and spending time with hubby Mike, I love writing, and updating the ones I have… and making my art takes time, too 😉 Our offsprings and other family are scattered around the world, in Australia, USA and NZ and they need regular attention. I love to read and belong to a book club, and also play mahjong.
All my adult life, part of my ongoing self-education has been within the many sewing circles, quilting bees, embroidery and quilting guilds and associations I’ve belonged to. I joined StitchClub when it started 2020, the first year of the Covid pandemic. It was welcomed by literally thousands of stitchers around the world, ranging from beginner to advanced, all stuck at home during the pandemic, with time to spend and an interest in learning something more in embroidery – lots of self education going on there! I let my membership lapse last year because I realised I was no longer doing many of the fortnightly workshops. However I’m still a member of a small group of SitchClub embroiderers who met through the club. Calling ourselves PINKS, apart from myself in Uruguay, all the others are located across N. America and the UK. In fortnightly Zoom calls over the past 3-4 years we’ve stitched as we talked over stitch and textile art related things, and usually something about the current StitchClub workshop. We’ve become good friends, and everyone’s managed at least one in-person meet-up over time. I stayed with Barbara of Atlanta last time I was in USA, and hope to see her or someone else down this way, sometime. We share a lot of what we’re currently doing or learning, pass on information about artists, exhibitions and resources, and give opinions and critiques when asked. This group is a vital part of my ongoing self-education, as have been all the embroiderers groups, quilting bees, craft guilds and artist associations I’ve belonged to down the years.
(I provide direct links in my text where I think readers might like further information, and always welcome readers questions and comments in reply)