>Beaded Artist Statement

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Yesterday, I delivered my bead-painting to the Cambridge Art Association for the upcoming North East Prize Show. Since I am still new to the whole art 'thing', I was a little nervous, but everything was fine. I am getting used to seeing my paintings leave, then come back months later, but it still kind of makes me sad to see them go! Now, I have a 4-ft. bare wall to look at for the next 6 weeks! :(

Regardless, this is a great experience because it forced me to sit down and write an Artist Statement. Artist statements give an insight into the artist's world and their body of work by sharing their techniques, inspirations, and goals. Art administrators, curators, and gallery owners generally need a statement in order to do their work. It is also good for artists to support their work verbally and/or textually because it provides them with a greater understanding of their own work. Written statements can be either long or short and are often revised throughout the artist's career. This is good because I have already edited mine since yesterday! Here's what I wrote:

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I am a self-taught bead embroidery artist who loves to stitch tiny glass seed beads to felt. My beaded subjects are often combined with collage and acrylics in way which really pops out of the canvas. My work may appear to be carefully planned, but I am actually quite spontaneous in my creative methods. As I construct each element of beadwork, I begin to envision the finished piece, as well as the ideas it should convey to the viewer. This process can take 2 -3 months depending on the size and complexity of the piece.

I feel that I am on a journey toward a beaded reality. My beadwork began by featuring birds and animals, but quickly evolved into a style of realistic relief paintings inspired by popular culture and history. These inspirations play well together mainly because history does repeat itself, yet it looks quite different when beaded. And, there is an interesting juxtaposition within the work. It takes quite a bit of time to bead subjects which typically move quickly in reality, such as cars & other vehicles. Beading also represents the fact that a certain amount of craftsmanship is required to build a vehicle from start to finish.

My current works feature city scenes, classic automobiles, and dogs. I am inspired by vehicles most because they take us to new places, but dogs keep us company when we arrive. I have also begun a self portrait series which will combine childhood dreams as they would exist in the future.

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I am learning that there are actually a lot of ideas behind my beadwork, and reasons why I bead what I bead, but it is difficult to put them into words. I have a feeling this statement will be ammended at some point in time... Have you written an Artist Statement yet? If so, what did you learn about your art and yourself?