Outsider Studio Visits

Last Friday I brought my friend Alexa to my studio and introduced her to my work. Alexa does not have an art background and has never seen my work before, so my challenge was to have a discussion with her about my work in a way that was straight to the point. It was meant to be practice for senior orals. All in all, I think it went really well. She seemed to understand what I was trying to do and asked really good questions.

Meet Alexa!

I talked with Alexa about how I was creating a visual experience inspired by my memories and that my layering process was a way to play with the levels on the surface creating movements throughout the support. She talked about how the different patterning made her stay "in" the paintings longer. The more time she spent looking at a piece the more excited she got and the more she talked about the physical aspect of the paint. She appreciated the text as telling a story for the artist but acting as a visual component for the viewer. She understood that the actual stories of the pieces only go as far as influencing the piece or acting as a visual stimulant. The finished product is meant to let the viewer have their own visual experience without any preconceived notions. 

After we talked for about an hour I took Alexa to a couple different studios and she was very generous and talked with other artists in their studios. For someone with a non-art background I think Alexa could hold her own here.