Into the Artist's world with Nancy Gruskin

This month we have US based artist, Nancy Gruskin.

Are you a podcast/music listener whilst you work? Or perhaps
you prefer silence? Anything you’ve loved listening to recently?

 Maybe it’s the solitary nature of the studio, but I like to hear other people talking while I’m working.  I listen to podcasts (mostly interview shows (Louis Theroux, A brush with…, Fashion Neurosis with Bella Freud, Ruthie’s Table, ARTMATTERS)) and, funnily enough, cooking shows.  I have a subscription service that streams PBS and BBC cooking programs.  The screen is out of sight, but I like to hear what’s being made.

 

 

Tell us 5 of your favourite artists/designers/makers.

 My first love was/is Henri Matisse.  If I have to narrow down the list of favorites to four more entries, I’ll go with Janice Biala, Elizabeth Blackadder, Elisabeth Cummings, and the textile designers of Marimekko.

 

 

How does your environment – whether it’s the landscape, the
city you live in or your studio – influence the art you make?

 My studio is in my house, a fact that has always guided my work.  When my son was young and home a lot, my work had a lot to do with him and family life.  As he got older and more independent, the focus of my work shifted.  I became very interested in the objects in our house; everything from the mundane (grocery
bags and dishwashing soap bottles) to the collected (ceramics and textiles).

 

 

Can you walk me through your creative process? Where do your
ideas typically begin and how do they evolve into a finished piece?

 On the macro level, I like to work in series and with some limitations.  So, for example, I might set a goal of making 100 ink drawings; or a series of collages based on the plates from a book of botanical illustrations.  But on the micro level, it’s a lot more improvisational.  I rarely plan out individual works in totality before starting them.  I’m much more likely to just have one move
planned out and then see where that leads.  

 

 

When do you know that an artwork is actually finished?

It’s an emotional test.  If I walk into the studio the next day and
the work makes me happy or excited, it’s done.

 

 

How do you overcome creative blocks or periods of
self-doubt? 

Honestly, I don’t think you have too much control over that.  Creative blocks and self-doubt are always present or lurking around the corner.  But once you realize that, they seem less catastrophic.  I don’t always feel like I have to be making.  Sometimes it’s enough or better to thumb through art books, visit a gallery or museum, or do something altogether unrelated to art. 

 

 

How do you define your personal artistic style, and how has
it changed over time?

 This is a difficult one, because I find the notion of style even trickier than creative blocks.  I don’t want to keep making the same work and I like to experiment with new materials and processes.  Sometimes I crave minimalist abstraction and sometimes I want to depict recognizable things in great detail.  I watched a short video
on Instagram in which the painter Katherine Bradford was asked to describe herwork in three words.  I’m still trying to settle on my own three words, but I don’t think they have much to do with
traditional stylistic terms.