April 14, 2006

Edibeth Farrington - Interview with an artist

















I love Edibeth! I love her encaustic paintings! Here is her work entitled "Apex" it is 12 inches by 12 inches and on display in our gallery right now.
We have some things in common Edibeth and I. We both are teachers, we both admire our same mentor, we both went to the same school and we are about the same age. Yet we didn't meet until about two years ago! How sad! I have admired her work since then and will direct you to her site to view it more fully than here. Edibeth and I spoke about doing an interview here while her amazing encaustic works were still up at the gallery and this is what we came up with. I hope you enjoy this today!

1. What are your favorite mediums to work with?

I'm loving working with wax! I love surface and a wax surface is so expandable and tempting! If I'm out of wax, I'm drawn to paint, pumice, marble dust and modeling paste, all mixed together in some ethereal plane.

2. When did you realize that art was your path?
I loved art as a kid and was forever savoring my crayola crayons and my paint by number kits. Afte
r a horrendous art teacher in 6th-9th grade killed my artistic spirit, I was drawn back in by the fabulous and eccentric Mrs. Deikman in 10th grade. I've never looked back.

3. Who are your mentors and why?
Terry Downs, Harel Kedem and Wilfriedo Chiesa have all been very significant people for me at different times along my creative path. My mind set, my work, and my creative path were all positively impacted by these three artists. Terry taught me to draw, Harel gave me permission to paint freely without restriction, primarily self imposed, and Wilfriedo introduced me to squares.

4. What inspires you to create?

Hiking, doing construction/renovations around the house, my children, my students, my dog, my friends, looking at art....my mind's eye is always capturing ideas. Finding the time to work out those ideas is the challenge.

5.What purpose do you feel art can play in your immediate world and the larger world?
My immediate world is a more serene, joyful and inspiration place. I cannot imagine nav
igating the intensity and stress of the current state of the world without it. I get real time understanding of the importance of art in our lives through my students. Watching them discover, and relish, the satisfaction of being totally immersed in the creative process, as opposed to being passive participants, gives me hope. Art making is universal and I have no doubt the world would be a better place if more right-brained., creative people were in charge!

6.Who are your favorite contemporary artists?

Andy Goldsworthy, Alan Magee, Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, Doris Salcedo, Catherine Widgery, Fred Ploeger, Angelika Pilz....

7. Who is your favorite historical artist?
Egad...1 favorite? Can't do it. Jackson Pollock, John Singer Sargent, Richard Diebenkorn

8. What three art supplies would you take to a desert island?
A tin of 84 Caran D'Ache watercolor crayons, a set of Derwent colored pencils and a ream of Rives BFK.

9. Where do you think art is going to take you?
I hope my art continues to point me in new directions where I'll meet wonderful and inspirational people, experience new places that become beacons, and most importantly, keeps me sane.

10. What would be your dream job as an artist?
To be a full-time artist with 2 amazing spaces in which to work....a summer studio and a winter studio (sans snow and cold)

These are photographs looking out of Edibeth's studio and into. Above Edibeth is working in her studio on an encaustic piece.

Edibeth's work can be found at our gallery extended through April 8th. For more information don't hesitate to contact me! She also has a great site here!

The word for the day is ... springboard ... like diving from a plank, a way to jettison your ideas and something to help you over a hurdle. All photos by Edibeth Farrington, copyright

8 comments:

angela said...

i can't wait to discover more of her work. i remember when i saw the flyer for the exhibit, i was already so intrigued.

there's a minimalism that she captures. and that of course, always captures me.

amd springboard is a beautiful word for today as well.

oxo

Anonymous said...

Edibeth's works are great ! Love how she uses texture in combination with the wax.I love encaustic ! :)Best wishes to Edibeth !

andrea said...

I've always wanted to learn encaustic and as she is a teacher and artist of talent, I wish Edibeth could teach me! If you check out my blog post from this morning you will see an artist I went to high school with (she was a couple of years older than me), but only met a few years ago, both of us now living at the other end of the region from where we started. Aren't synchronicities like this interesting?

sugar mama said...

Great interview, I love being introduced to new artists (and getting a peek into their studios!) The minimalism and the rich textures are a lovely combo. Love that she uses small square canvases.

Numinarious said...

I've been following this artist for some time now (about 32). My favorite thing about her work is that it changes and evolves. She's doesn't stay with one particular style or type of work longer than it inspires her. Once she feels the calling to try something new, she doesn't hesitate to go for it... and usually with great results. She's guided by her instincts and emotions, not by trends. She's also a great mother.

Susan Schwake said...

Big J,
Glad to hear your voice here! I love her work too and am sure that she is a great mom too!

dreamhome said...

Not sure why it took me this amount of time to find this particular interview. I love this artist she lets her mind easily decide where she is going to go with her art and if she doesn't feel it on that day she moves on with another piece of artwork that maybe has been waiting for her. She's also a pretty amazing mom!

dreamhome said...

Not sure why it took me this amount of time to find this interview. I love this artist I've been following her for a while now (about 37). My favorite thing about this artist is how she allows her mind to help her evolve when it comes to her art. She's guided by her mind, and emotions not by trends. She's also a wonderful mother.