 Sharmagne Leland-St. John, a 2007 Pushcart Prize nominee, is a Native American poet, concert performer, lyricist, artist, and film maker. Sharmagne spends time between her home in the Hollywood Hills, in Southern California and her fishing lodge on the Stillaguamish River in the Pacific Northwest. She tours the United States, Canada, and England, as a performance poet, either solo or with her band of poets "Poetry in Motion." She has published 2 books of poetry Unsung Songs (2003), Silver Tears and Time (2005), and co-authored a book on film production design. Designing Movies: Portrait of a Hollywood Artist (Greenwood/Praeger, 2006) her third collection of poetry Contingencies is scheduled for publishing February 2008. To Purchase Sharmagne's Books: Read some of Ms. Sharmgne Leland-St. John's poetry.
The following is a conversation with this month's cover artist Mary Michael Shelley.
Interview With Folk Artist
Mary Michael Shelley
You have stated that you are self taught and that your father influenced you; however, what provides inspiration for your art? My artwork has a number of layers of meaning. It can be inspired by places I've been, feelings and struggles I've had. In a way, it's like a picture diary. Take my diner series…. my waitress and diner pieces are about diners I've been to, but there's another layer there as well. My first job was as a waitress. As an artist, a mother and a woman, I see myself as serving others, much like the waitress. She's a symbol that I build lots of my feelings around. As an artist my feet hurt at the end of a day of standing up, I struggle with patience, hunger and waiting. You'd think that as a carver I'd be patient. But no, I have to struggle with my patience, and thinking of myself as a sort of waitress is one way that I do so.
Your art seems to mirror rural and the arcadia life. Do you consider yourself a folk artist? Yep, most people seem to agree that I'm a folk artist, or at least that my style is naïve and primitive. I just make the best artwork I know how, and I've been doing this since 1974. There is lots of dialogue and confusion as to terms to describe artists within the self-taught or untaught field, from visionary to outsider to naïve to folk. I think that comes in the way of people just knowing what they like and going for it. I've had no training as an artist, although I went to Cornell and wanted to be a writer. My pictures tell stories, stories of my life, my time and my world. I think of myself as a recorder of life in my community. Someday I'll be gone and my pictures will be left to tell the tale. I'll just let the chips fall where they may, let other people define what my work is and what to call it. I just try to have fun doing what I do. You state that you work mainly in pine stock but that your most recent works also contain elements of copper sheeting. Do you see yourself moving into work with other mediums? Not really. I've done a few woodcut prints, but mostly I stick with my painted and carved pictures. I've thought for years of working in clay, but I don't seem to be getting anywhere fast in getting to that interest. I've only got so much time.
What do you look for in a work of art? I look for colors and feeling and mood.
Who is your favorite artist and why? I really like Windslow Homer and Thomas Hart Benton. Both of them are focused on portraying American themes, something I also try to do. Like Benton I try to portray pictures of working people, get a sense of movement, physicality and shapes. Homer never really fit in during his lifetime with the artistic trends, was a private person, lived far from the art scene. I identify with him on that level.
Where do you see yourself and your art in five, ten, and twenty years? I'm hoping my body will hold up to carving for the next 20 years. It's vigorous work. What I want to do is to continue to make pictures that help me organize the meaning of my life and document the life of my community.
Is there anything you would like to add? I use my artwork to make sense of the events of my life, just as dreams help me to process the events of my day. My goal is to make a beautiful, well crafted and arresting piece of artwork that brings enjoyment now ant will survive long past my lifetime. For more art or information about Mary M. Shelley please visit her internet site at: http://www.maryshelleyfolkart.com
December's featured artist was Miss Sam Duffy. For more art by Miss Sam Duffy please check out her blog at: http://samstuffandstuff.blogspot.com/
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