By Roxanne Phillips
We
are pleased to present to you our third in a series of interviews with
artists whose works are featured in our new juried exhibit at Art Saint Louis, "Ordinary Lives."
This exhibit presents works by 42 St. Louis regional artists from
Missouri, Illinois and Iowa. This exhibition is on view July
31-Septemember 9, 2021 in our Gallery at 1223 Pine
Street in downtown St. Louis, Missouri. Learn more about the exhibit in this piece by HEC-TV Produced by Paul Langdon.
We are proud to introduce you to artists Sole Van Emden, Deby Gilley, and Martha Iler.
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SOLE VAN EMDEN
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| Featured in “Ordinary Lives” at Art Saint Louis: Soledad Van Emden, St. Louis, MO. ”Comedor.” 2021. Oil on Canvas, 36”x48”. $1,600. Artist’s statement: "This body of work focuses on my father’s house. I have been painting interiors for several years and actively search for source material. One day I visited my father’s when he was not there. As usual, I scanned the spaces for views of raking light or moody atmosphere, anything of interest for a painting. Being alone in his house it hit me that, one day, I would be in this same space and experience his house intact without him in it, feeling him in his house, the smell of his coffee, the blinds angled to keep out the sun the way he likes, dust accumulating in the corners, plants straining towards the window, books stacked high on every surface. I set out to explore the spaces that reflect the life he has lived and is living, spaces that hold the person who he is. As I worked, I found that I wanted to impart more about my memories and other information and so began working with inkjet transfers, overlaying images onto the drawing/painting. ‘Listerine and Disney Cup’ is an example of this approach. |
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| Featured in “Ordinary Lives”: Soledad Van Emden, St. Louis, MO. ”Listerine and Disney Cup.” 2021. Inkjet Transfer, Soft Pastel, Colored Pencil, Sharpie, Ink on Paper, 16”x21”. $260. |
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| Featured in “Ordinary Lives”: Soledad Van Emden, St. Louis, MO. ”Dormitorio.” 2021. Oil on Paper, 11”x21”. $350. |
Roxanne Phillips: In these extraordinary times what is it about the theme "Ordinary Lives" that spoke to you or your art?
Sole Van Emden: I had already started working on the series of interior paintings of my dad’s house when I came across the passage below in the novel Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli.
"Impossible to know why items like these can reveal such important things about a person; and difficult to understand the sudden melancholy they produce in that person’s absence. Perhaps it’s just that belongings often outlive their owners, so our minds can easily place those belongings in a future in which their owner is no longer present. We anticipate our loved ones’ future absence through the material presence of all their random stuff."
The passage captures exactly what I had been thinking about - that ordinary things reveal so much about a person but also that one’s memories and feelings about a person are so tied to these ordinary things, the things that are the backdrop and props of our lives."
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| Soledad Van Emden. ”Untitled.”. 2019. Soft Pastel on Cardboard, 24”x36”. $350. |
Roxanne Phillips: What was it that first prompted your career/activity as an artist?
SVE: I started drawing when I was about 18 months old. By two years old I made drawings of myself and my mom and dad. They were like blobs with dots for eyes and long lines for legs. Drawing and painting have just been a part of my life, it’s who I am.
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| Soledad Van Emden. ”Rosati.” 2016. Acrylic on Panel, 8 1/2”x12 1/2”. NFS. |
RP: What surprised you when recently working on a piece?
SVE: I prepare my watercolor paper by soaking it in water and then stapling it to a piece of plywood. I got the stupid idea to brush acrylic medium on the plywood so that the wood wouldn’t absorb the water. The paper looked great and I spent weeks working on a mixed media painting. When it was finished I attempted to take it off of the wood but the acrylic medium had acted as a glue and had fully adhered the paper to the wood. I totally ruined the painting in trying to remove it. I thought I would feel so upset having wasted so much time but it actually felt a liberating. I think I get a little too precious with my process. This happened very recently so I’m not sure how this will affect my work moving forward but I’m hoping it will loosen me up a bit.
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| Soledad Van Emden. ”Abby.” 2021. Oil on Cradled Wood Panel, 18”x24”. NFS. |
RP: What motivates you to continue making art?
SVE: Sometimes I do question why I make art, what’s the point. In some ways it’s a compulsion, I just feel the need. I’m not trying to achieve something in particular, I just have to do it.
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| Soledad Van Emden. ”Broadway and Hickory (looking west).” 2013. Acrylic on Paper, 8”x30”. NFS. |
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| Soledad Van Emden. ”Under Highway 40 @ Clayton Avenue (2).” 2013. Acrylic on Paper, 23”x40”. NFS |
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| Soledad Van Emden. ”Under Interstate 55 @ Convent Street.” 2013. Acrylic on Paper, 22.5”x30”. $400. |
RP: Do you prefer to make one specific piece or a series of pieces/body of work?
SVE: I like to work in a series. I find I learn the most by developing a cohesive body of work. Sometimes this takes discipline because I have a lot of ideas popping up. But exploring one body of work helps me focus and really delve into something. It’s also satisfying because as the body grows it really feels like an accomplishment, like I’ve followed a question through filling in the answers more fully.
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| Soledad Van Emden. ”Fourteen (2).” 2016. Acrylic on Panel, 8”x20”. NFS. |
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| Soledad Van Emden. ”Nestor’s Dining Room.” 2018. Oil on Cradled Wood Panel, 5”x7”. NFS. |
RP: While working on an artwork, when is it most enjoyable: the beginning, in the middle, or the final moment?
SVE: The most enjoyable moment is usually at the end, when the whole thing is in place and all the elements have been fleshed out to some degree and I’m working the whole painting at once. The state of flow gets going and I can make decisions quickly.
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| Soledad Van Emden. ”Fourteen (1).” 2016. Acrylic on Panel, 7 ½”x11”. NFS. |
Learn more about Sole Van Emden: www.solevanemden.com and www.instagram.com/sole_van_emden/
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DEBY GILLEY
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| Featured in Art Saint Louis’ “Ordinary Lives”: Deby Gilley, Mountain Grove, MO. “Warsh Day.” 2020. Linocut on Paper, 11”x14”. SOLD. Artist’s statement: “The intrusive R in the word warsh is commonly associated with the dialect of the midland of the USA. Before the days of automatic washing machines, it took nearly an entire day to do the laundry, so one day each week was set aside to complete the task.” |
Roxanne Phillips: In these extraordinary times, what is it about the theme "Ordinary Lives" that spoke to you or your art?
Deby Gilley: “Ordinary Lives” as a theme for an art show jumped out at me because I feel that most of my art reflects the simple or ordinary way of life.
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| Featured in “Ordinary Lives”: Deby Gilley, Mountain Grove, MO. “Blest Be the Tie That Binds.” 2020. Linocut on Paper, 18”x14”. $125. Artist’s statement: “The title of this linocut is also the title to a hymn that was written in 1772 by John Fawcett. The significance of the image represents the love of a mother to her children...hence the expression "tied to her apron strings." It also represents hard work that is associated with wearing an apron.” |
RP: How has COVID changed what would otherwise be ordinary in/about your artistic life?
DG: Even though Covid closed all of the art festivals during 2020 in which I normally participate, it did give me the opportunity to finish the linocuts needed to publish the book I had started in 2019. This book, "The ABC's of Folklore and Slang," definitely represents images of ordinary life. However, the research and explanation of the origin of these common phrases that make up the titles of the images makes them extraordinary.
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| Deby Gilley. “Blackbird Has Spoken.” 2021. Seven-Color Reduction Linocut on Strathmore Paper, 4”x6". $25. |
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| Deby Gilley. “I know HE watches me.” 2020. Seven-Color Reduction Linocut on Rives Paper, 6”x7". $35. |
RP: In this pre- and post- COVID life, what does returning to an ordinary life mean to your art practice?
DG: I'm thankful for the art festivals that have opened back up in 2021, because I love to demonstrate the art of relief printmaking while exhibiting and selling my linocut and woodcut prints.
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| Deby Gilley carving a linocut block at an art festival. |
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| Deby Gilley. “We're All Crooked Sticks.” 2013. Five-Color Reduction Linocut on Rives Paper, 10”x14". $60. |
RP: How often do you have to explain what an Artist does, or do people understand what's involved?
DG: Very often, the demonstration of my art making sparks a person's memory of their time in the art classroom when they used lino-cutting tools and inks and made prints...most even remember the image they created. Children are fascinated by what I am doing and parents who understand my process take the time to explain it to them. But if a visitor to my booth has never seen my type of art, I'm happy to educate through the demonstration and explanation.
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| Deby Gilley. “No Looking Back.” 2021. Linocut on Rives Paper, 12”x 12". $45. |
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| Deby Gilley. “How Beautiful Are the Feet.” 2011. Woodcut on Rives Paper, 7”x10". $15. |
RP: What are you most eager to convey through your art?
DG: Through my images, I am most eager to somehow give my Creator and Savior glory and honor. I do this many times through the titles given to my work.
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| Deby Gilley. “The Ear of the Wise Seeketh Knowledge.” 2021. Linocut on Unryu Paper, 7”x10". $40. |
RP: What do you wish someone would ask you about you or your art?
DG: The meaning behind the title or image is what I truly hope for a viewer to ask about.
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| Deby Gilley. “How Now Brown Cow.” 2020. Three-Color Reduction Woodcut on Rives Paper, 8”x10". $45. |
RP: What motivates you to continue making art.
DG: God has given every human being a talent that is to be used for His glory. It is my mission to tell the Good News through my art... for as long as God grants me the health to do so or He calls me home.
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| Artist Deby Gilley in her Mountain Grove, Missouri studio. |
Learn more about Deby Gilley: www.facebook.com/Linocut-Prints-and-Woodcut-Prints-by-Deby-Gilley-at-the-Lone-Starr-Studio-103048971395263
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MARTHA ILER
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| Featured in Art Saint Louis’ “Ordinary Lives” exhibit: Martha Iler, Greenville, IL. “Quandary.” 2021. Oil on Canvas, 24”x36”. $1,500. Artist’s statement: "This year has been a year of quandaries. Some are self imposed, some come from outside. The solitary nature of 2020 and the cultural unrest around us, has caused me to rethink relationships on many levels. What is my responsibility? Where am I blind? How do I navigate this? This piece comes out of the swirling depth of those questions." |
Martha Iler: In these extraordinary times we forget that we are all humans, that we are all in the same boat, that we are all linked by the commonalities of our lives. It seems we are not making the ordinary connections right now because we are so focused on our differences. Most people have had similar traumatic or unusual experiences in their lives to which we are blind. We think others have things easy, or have never been challenged on an emotional level the way we have, but nobody makes it through life unscathed. It is the difficult times that should make us empathetic with each other.
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| Martha Iler. “Courage” 2018. Oil on Aluminum Panel, 20”x24”. NFS. |
RP: How has COVID changed what would otherwise be ordinary in/about your artistic life?
MI: Since Covid made life more solitary and the political situation was so emotionally difficult, I wanted to make the transition from painting outward reality to painting inward/emotional paintings that show people struggling with or thinking through some problem. I have something specific in mind for what I want my painting to say, but I have found that other people see it through their own life experience, thereby seeing a totally different interpretation. I like that.
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| Martha Iler. “Lost in Thought.” 2021. Oil on Canvas, 16”x20” $1,500. |
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| Greenville, IL-based artist Martha Iler's studio with "Lost in Thought" on the easel. |
RP: When you're facing challenges during the creative process, what do you do?
MI: I sometimes find a model, set up poses that I think I might like and take a variety of pictures. Then I go through my photos until I find one or several that I can combine into a composition. It is during the process of moving things around and trying out ideas that I find something that speaks to me, though I am usually still uncertain how to proceed or what exactly I want to say. At that point, I turn to the internet and start searching for threads of thought or images that might help me clarify the emotion I want to portray. I may have a feeling, but not a word or phrase that succinctly expresses the emotion. Often I start with the thesaurus and follow threads of words ’til I find one that hits the spot or I look for images that I can bounce off and reference. If it is a technical challenge, such as, "how do I get that effect?" Or "What am I not seeing here?" Then I call a friend and ask for a critique.
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| Artist Martha Iler's studio with a work-in-progress on the easel. |
RP: What is the most challenging technique you've mastered or wish to master?
MI: I have been working on figures, value, and shading. I hope to work on getting bolder with my brushstrokes to become more impressionistic. I am not sure even how to begin that process, but that is something I would like to master.
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| Martha Iler. “Destiny.” 2020. Oil on Canvas. 22”x17”. $1,500. |
RP: What surprised you when recently working on a piece?
MI: The thing that surprised me while working on my most recent pieces was that the idea that I started with morphed into something totally different. They began as socially conscious pieces and then became more personal and more immediate to my life. Now I see more in them and they have added more relevance and moved deeper into my own way of seeing the world and my relationships in it.
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| Martha Iler. “Unemployed.” 2020. Oil on Canvas, 20”x28”. $1,500. |
RP: Why do some artists stop creating and have you ever come close to that point?
MI: I often ponder why I am doing this. Sometimes it seems quite pointless and certainly has very little in the way of outward rewards. I wonder what it would be like to just live, to have time to garden and cook, maybe shop a little, make a quilt. Instead I spend a lot of time circling around ideas and problem solving, trying to figure out either what to do next, or how to do it, how to get the idea across, where to find a model and if I do, what kind of pose do I want.
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| Martha Iler. “Unbreakable.” 2018. Oil on Canvas, 20”x24”. NFS. |
RP: How has your art evolved through the years? Describe the different stages of creating.
MI: I grew up doing art, but then I got discouraged and stopped for quite a long time. Then I took a pencil portrait class and realized that it was something that I could actually do. After a while I started becoming more aware of how faces all had the same types of shadows and lines, how important the little details are to create a likeness and how easily the eye determines that there is something wrong with the face even if you cannot determine what it is you have missed. Then I took an acrylic painting class and realized how fabulous it was to paint. I enjoyed using bright colors and making things pop off the canvas. I dabbled in abstract, but I haven't really felt that I understand it as yet. Since then, I started using oil paints and studying the figure. My work has gotten darker, perhaps that is a function of becoming more aware.
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| Martha Iler. “PTSD” 2021. Oil on Canvas, 23.5"x18"x1.5”. NFS. |
RP: How do you want the viewer to receive or interpret your art?
MI: I want the viewer to see themselves in my artwork. I want them to feel the emotion that I am portraying, not necessarily because they have been in the same situation, but because they recognize that they have been in the same emotional state, regardless of the situation. I have always had trouble putting my emotions into words, so I want to put these emotions into images that don't need words.
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| Illinois artist Martha Iler in the studio. |
Learn more about Martha Iler: www.facebook.com/martha.iler and www.instagram.com/ilermartha/ and https://marthailerfineart.blogspot.com
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Roxanne Phillips is an artist and art educator based in St. Louis since 2001. She earned a MFA in Printmaking & Drawing from Washington University in St. Louis and BFA in Painting & Drawing from University of North Texas. Roxanne is an adjunct art instructor at Washington University in St. Louis and has worked with Art Saint Louis since 2017 as Administrative Assistant and Installer. From 2018-2020 she was Master Printer for Pele Prints. Her works have been featured in numerous exhibitions throughout the St. Louis region including at Art Saint Louis, Crossroads Art Studio & Gallery, and St. Louis Artists’ Guild. Her work is currently available at Union Studio in St. Louis. She has served as exhibit Juror for several regional exhibits & art fairs. Roxanne is past Board member of St. Louis Women’s Caucus for Art.
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