The artist interview this week is with Emily Nachison, a 23 year old former fibers major from San Diego who is currently based in Oakland, CA. Her large scale pieces incorporate multiple mediums and imagery that is both comfortingly familiar and sometimes almost frighteningly strange. I talked with Emily about her process, inspiration and aspirations.
Emily currently has a joint show with Robin Wienert up at Transmissions Gallery in Berkeley, CA (through May 31st) and starting June 9th you'll be able to see her work at August in Oakland, CA.
If you’re interested in contacting Emily or learning more about her work please go to her website.
"White Mega Fauna" screenprinting and hand painting, MX dye, cotton poplin, 5' x 10'
What is your favorite thing about creating art?
When you learn through making. Occasionally when I'm really absorbed in
a project I come up with some of my best ideas and best resolutions.
The best pieces I’ve made have been learning experiences.
Can you talk about the process that went into making a specific piece?
"At The Gates" [below] involved a few different technical processes. I screen
printed it, painted it with dye and then devored it (a process which
eats away all the cotton part of the azeta-poly cotton it’s printed on
but leaves the polyester.) At one point I painted the bottom half of it
dark blue, and it was a completely different piece, and it really [looked bad.] So I erased the bottom half of it (with a bleach like
substance) and then dip dyed the bottom half of it in hot pink. It was
really a last minute resolution that saved the whole piece, and that’s
what I really like, when those spontaneous things really make the piece.
"At the Gates" screenprinting and hand painting, MX dye, devore, azeta-poly cotton, 12' x 11'
What is the most challenging thing for you about making/creating art?
I can get lost in the planning process and never actually make anything. I over think things a lot.
How do you come up with the imagery you use in your work?
A lot of it comes from traditional storybook imagery, particularly
early 20th century illustrations. My work is also very influenced by
girlie 1980s cartoons and Japanese art.
What is it that draws you to this storybook/folkloric imagery?
It's just something that’s always been really interesting to me, that has
been a big element in my imagination since I was a little kid.
I like how overly embellished some of the illustrations and some of the
stories are, while at the same time they're very raw, they just depict
very raw human nature a lot of the time.
"Tribute" sceenprinting and hand painting, MX dye, thiox, china silk, 4' x 6'
What are you inspired by?
I'm actually really inspired by music. It has the power to get inside
of people. People really respond to music and that’s the way I'd like
my art to be. When art gives you that adrenaline rush that good rock n'
roll does I think its really successful. There have also been several women in my life -- teachers, mentors, my mom, who have
showed me that you can have a successful career, family, and artistic
life and that’s truly inspired me.
How has your work changed over the last year?
I think its becoming darker.
Where do you think your work is going next?
I'd like it to start going into a more installation oriented direction,
really incorporating the space that the viewer is in, combining more
sculptural elements with the printed elements. I want to work more with
paper and do some really big printing on paper and do some cutouts with
it. I'm also interested in glass casting and I generally want to get back into
working more sculpturally.
"Yellow Hide" dyed goat hide, woven blanket, squirrel tail, army
surplus inflatable mattress acrylic textile ink, waxed linen thread,
leather burner, 4' x 5'