q & art | ira hoffecker

i first wrote about the artwork of ira hoffecker in august of 2011. i've always been quite obsessed with resin coated artwork. i briefly met ira in the gallery i was working at during that time. it's always a pleasure to discover that an artist is just as lovely as the pieces they create. it was an honour to chat with ira in her victoria, bc studio and this interview reaffirmed that passion is a key part of the art making process.

q | tell me about the connections between your work and the cities that they portray. do you purposefully include or emphasize buildings and places that are important to you?

ih | my inspiration comes from cities and urban places and spaces. i had the privilege of traveling a lot when i was young. as a student i would save my money and then just go and live in south america for half a year, or go to india, or go up and visit almost all of europe. what is important to me is the memories i have from these places, the experiences…i want to impress in my work the way that a place felt. i lived in paris for a year and a half and i remember walking those streets and found that i either liked paris or i hated it depending on my mood. i try to put all of that atmosphere, or whatever i was feeling on a particular day into my painting. i do not want to paint a topographical map - i like the play between representation and abstraction. it starts as a topographical view, but then i take a day or several days and then i try to make a painting out of it. traveling is such a rich experience that i need to take time and process it. i have to really let it sit for awhile. it’s a very long process for me to complete a painting – i couldn’t do it in an afternoon.


q | does the time you take to let a piece sit for awhile affect how you finish it – or cause you to not want to finish it at all?

ih | yes. one time last year i sent sixteen paintings to a gallery in edmonton. i painted and painted, and sent them away and then felt as if some of them weren’t finished. i asked them to send them back. i hadn’t seen them for maybe two months and then i knew what to do. and it changed almost completely!

q | tell me more about your artistic process. 

ih | the actual act of creation for me comes when i ‘respond.’ i like that. i put that there, and this here, and then i’m able to respond to what i’ve just done. it’s also about responding to the city i went to. 

q | there’s been a great deal of interest in your work and you’ve achieved lots of success in the past year – why do you think this is?

ih | i feel very lucky that people all of a sudden take an interest. i don’t know exactly how it happens but i have a show in [one place, and then another, and then another] and i think it creates an awareness. i think it’s the result of working really hard. i paint every day and i have an interest in selling my work – it’s my job.

q | in light of your aforementioned success, do you feel pressure to paint specific styles of artworks because you know they will sell?

ih | i believe it is my privilege to change my artistic style whenever i feel like it. there’s a lot of different people who say “why don’t you just do this style?” and there are others who celebrate the changes and accept it. certain styles for me are just a phase – i do it for awhile and then i do something different!


q: why do you choose abstraction or modernism as your overall style of choice?

ih | i’m so taken by shapes and colour and composition that i don’t even have the time to paint a landscape or something representational. the shapes and the colour give me more than enough to think about. colour is so exciting! it’s certainly not the most important thing but it adds a very important complement.

q | tell me about the writing within your paintings - what languages do you use? does it connect to the city you’ve portrayed? 

ih | yes, it does connect. my intention is mostly for it to be a pattern. in only a few instances i take the liberty to make little notes about the city but often it’s a thought that i have while i create a painting. i don’t want it to necessarily be readable – it’s so personal that i have to put something over it. i write mostly in german because it is my native language. if i wrote english text in my paintings i wouldn’t even know if it was correct. i don’t want to have to think about that.

q | i heard that you admire franz kline and robert rauschenberg - what other artists inspire you?

ih | i like rauschenberg. i’m very drawn to metal and collage but i don’t like when the materials stick out. that is the reason why i came to use resin. i had paintings with metal pieces but i wanted them to be paintings not a [three-dimensional] collage. the resin allows me to stick things on the painting beneath a layer of resin and you can’t even tell that there are prints and metals and other pieces underneath.
it’s really important to mention the artist that made me want to paint more – nicolas de staël. he is my hero. i discovered him about five years ago in paris at the centre pompidou. when you see his paintings, you will see me. he [passed away] sixty years ago but if he hadn’t i would find a way to be his student. he emphasized the spaces in between shapes and that’s what i really love. the in-between is why i paint. to me that is what my art is all about. i look at his work as if he is my teacher.


q: you use resin a lot. do you worry that people associate your work solely with resin, or that your pieces will begin to look unfinished if you do not cover them with resin?

ih | i don’t worry about it. i know that it may be hard to sell certain pieces that are not in that style. and i do have an interest in selling my work. but i want to be able to say “today, i want to go into my garden, and work with metals and just see what happens.” i know there are certain paintings that if i did that (re-created them), i could sell them. but i can’t do it because i feel like this now (points to a new series of paintings with a different theme than her past work).

thank-you ira!!

q & art | lara scarr

"q & art" is an isavirtue series which features interviews with amazing contemporary artists. today i am featuring the mysterious collage work of lara scarr:

question: when did you begin creating art?

artist lara scarr: when i was a kid – the standard answer! it’s true though, when i was young i was always making art.

q: could you ever make a “vanilla” painting using just paint? how did you end up using such a variety of materials?

ls: before i went to university i only did oil paintings. but in school they push you to go outside your comfort zone. so i then i did everything but oil painting. i had to do a drawing project using anything – so i thought i would try drawing with a sewing machine - using just paint and thread on canvas.
i was also taking photography, and along with drawing and painting i put all of it together to see what came out. people really seemed to like it! so i used to do very traditional oil painting but i don’t think i could ever go back to that. for me i find it very limiting.

q: do the strips of text in your work hold a deeper meaning? are they taken from a specific source or are they arbitrary? do you type them or find them?

ls: i bought a package with two thousand fonts, got rid of the ones i didn’t like and i use the rest to type up sentances. i really like text and font – i’m starting graphic design school in september so as you can see there is a natural progression there. i also have a fascination with the book “walden” by [henry david] thoreau. it’s about him going out into nature, finding himself, and getting away from everything man-made and convenient. so i go back and i pull out quotes from “walden” because it’s good material. i generally break the text up anywhere but sometimes if it’s a really meaningful or beautiful sentence, i’ll try to keep it in one piece so that you can actually read it.

q: in an interview with you on youtube, you state that your inspiration likely comes from a variety of places - or it could just be bullshit. what’s your take on artists whose work is convoluted and wrapped up in methodology?

ls: i think that artists are always trying to validate themselves (though i’m only speaking from my own experience), but i think artists believe people don’t take them as seriously as other professions. they believe their work has to have meaning in order for it to have worth. although they may have a message and it may be true to what they are producing, a lot of the times i think they just fluff it up in order for it to sound meaningful, expensive and worthy of affection or attention. i think 95% of the time it doesn’t necessarily mean anything. for me, sometimes i just put it down, and i like the way it looks. it’s just pretty - and that’s fine.

q: i love your work because of its mecurial nature. it is seemingly charming with soft colours, fluid lines and the use of traditional stitching. but upon closer look, the imagery is really quite eerie and creepy. why do you choose the subject matter you do?

ls: there’s a lot of repetitive images in my work. there’s a lot of skull references, which in my opinion, doesn’t necessarily represent death. skulls mean a lot of different things in different cultures. in a lot of cultures they are a celebration of life. if you are looking for a theme – i definitely have a strong bond with nature….but i do really like it when things are a little bit dark, and creepy and scary – that’s beautiful to me!

q: nowadays so many artists leave the stretched canvas as is. why do you frame most of your works? 

ls: it’s easier for me to frame it. but it also makes it look less kitschy. it lets people see [my work] as actual art versus craft. there’s a really fine line between what i’m doing and craft. i’m not say that in a bad way – i love craft! but people won’t pay for craft. i do want [my work] to be seen as a form of fine art. i think framing really helps to achieve that. and most of the time i pick a frame, refurbish it and then i make a piece of art to go in it. in that way the frame is a large part of the piece. a lot of the frames i find are from home sense and garage sales, but some are much older (like a recent one i gave to view gallery, it was eighty-five years old). there’s history within it and i like that.

q: is art a full time career for you? if not, do you believe it can be?

ls: no, it’s not and for me, i don’t think it can be. i would love it if i could make a living off of art. i’ve tried, and i don’t think i could try any harder than i have. in two years i did almost fifty exhibits. i was out there, emailing every day, having shows. i don’t know what it takes! i realize my art isn’t the most saleable – it’s for a specific crowd. but i’m also going to do graphic design which allows me to make a living doing something creative that i love to do. i’m not going to get some shitty job because that just dampens your creative spirit.



q: do you see yourself as altering what people’s idea of textile art is?

ls: i write about this issue in my cv. i don’t like to say “fabric art” or “textile art” because people have preconceived notions of what that is. you wrote about it on your blog - people have an idea of these lacy, crocheted, ugly tapestries of scenery. i don’t think my art really classifies in that catergory because there’s so many different things going on within it. it’s more collage than textile, but i do like the fact that people say “i’ve never seen textile art like this.” i do like that some people change their opinions of these types of art based on mine. it’s not my goal but if it’s a by-product than that is fabulous.

q & art | jen mann

today i am very excited to introduce a new series on the isavirtue blog! entitled "q & art," the series will feature interviews with amazing contemporary artists. today i am featuring jen mann. jen has created beautiful series of paintings portraying an interconnectedness between women and nature. jen is also currently being featured in the lowercase gallery - i encourage you to go check it out! then tell me your thoughts on her work in the comments below!

q | when did you first begin creating artwork? (not as a child, but with the intention that it could act as a career) 

artist jen mann: i don't entirely know. i remember at an early age wanting to become an artist, but i don't really know when my work went from studying art, to that of a career as an artist. i studied art at a high school which was specialized for art, and then proceeded to university, with the same intent of becoming an artist... i would definitely say that i would pinpoint my production of art after university, as a full fledged decision of my art being my main focus and career, but i cant say when i first began creating work with the intention of being a professional artist.. the lines are blurred. my fera collection of paintings however (2009-after graduating with a bfa), are my first works that i felt truly captured my intent.

q | while completing your bachelor of fine arts, you concentrated on printmaking. you now create oil paintings - what led to the the change in media? do you anticipate experimenting with other forms of art-making in the future?
jm | i think after making multiples for a certain length of time... and also in a school environment, one full of criticism and expectations... i was quite ready to do something more immediate, more passionate and expressive. i felt the time intensive, and laborious process of printmaking was, in short, under appreciated, not understood, and overwhelming for me after graduation. i did not have a print shop readily available and no presses at my disposal either, and after graduating i was home sick for the familiar feel of drawing directly onto a surface. i had never painted in oil before, but from my experience with printmaking, i loved the texture of oil based inks, and i found the medium familiar and friendly. i have experimented with so many different mediums, and enjoyed them all. i am currently planning some sculptures which i have planned for my gathering of the psyche collection.

q | why did you choose a traditional and difficult medium such as oil paints? in what ways does this medium work for you and your artwork?
jm: i probably chose it for its honesty and authenticity. i love the realness of a painted canvas, there is no questioning what it is. oil painting just fit, and as i continue with it, i learn a lot about my own style and techniques.

q | each of your series are so concise and focused in both theme and mood. how important is it to you to have a well curated and complimentary collection?
jm | i like organization. maybe because i am a virgo, who knows, but organizing my thoughts and visions into thematic and concise collections is natural for me, and beneficial in creating a body of work that flows - like a train of thought. it keeps my mind free and uncluttered. people can visually sink into the collection, like a world created for them to slowly unravel ideas, and work out meanings, whether they are my meanings, or their own.

q | tell me more about the connections you make between humans and nature, and humans and animals. why do these themes hold importance for you?
jm | humans are animals, and as animals we are born of nature. "the wild" is like a nostalgic past i never knew. i love fantastical stories of feral children raised by wolves, and the magic of the woods. i am enchanted by this idea. there are so many things we truly don't understand, and that is beautiful. i love the subconscious mind - how it reveals things about ourselves. for me my youth was full of forest adventures with my brother, climbing trees, catching bugs, toads, and crayfish... watching deer pass through my backyard, foxes, coyotes, and rabbits. something about youth is defining, and has, certainly for me, created this longing for a connection with the wilder side of myself. someone free. my subconscious plays out this imagery, as i work through things in my own life.

q | have you received any skepticism about showings of your work because of the nudity and/or eerie imagery? (don't get me wrong - those are some of my favourite aspects!)
jm | i think nudity, and eerie-ness or oddity, is fairly accepted in the art world, though maybe not so much by elderly relatives hahah.

q | where do you find your inspiration?
jm | dreams, life, and the forest i find myself so often watching or traversing through. i think mostly from myself, and my own wanderings and explorations into life.

q | it seems you have completed a number works in the past year - any particular reason for the heightened output?
jm | about a year ago i re-did my studio, creating a space that is more conducive to working. i think this has helped me a lot. i think i have also been just really inspired and excited about what i am doing.

q | how are your own opinions about feminism and the female body expressed within your work?
jm | there are a lot of feminine issues woven into my work, probably because naturally as a female i deal with these issues personally, and the deep rooted ideas about what is beautiful and feminine are so rooted in our culture we don't even notice it as strange or against nature. my "toxic love" series probably deals with these issues the most, looking at our 'toxic love' of beauty, and its crippling effect on our self confidence, and sense of self, as someone more than just our outward appearance.