Teresa Stanley
Arcata, California
Website
www.teresastanley.com
Social Media
Instagram
How would you describe your work?
The short answer would be that my work is abstract, based on botanical forms and created using acrylic, collage and other mixed media materials. I love puzzling out the structure of my work, tipping the composition to the edge of chaos and then finding unexpected ways to create harmony. However, even though my work is abstract and draws heavily from formalism, I am equally interested in exploring narratives drawn from my daily experience of the world. I enjoy the interplay between these two seemingly contradictory impulses, the abstract and observable reality.
I have been drawn to images of the natural world for a long time. When I moved to the rural north coast to take a teaching job, I came as a dedicated urban city dweller who saw nature in a romantic and idealized manner. I remember reading Annie Dillard’s Pilgrim at Tinker Creek when I first arrived, which showed me that my interest in nature was not based on observation or true connection, but on assumptions. As my work evolved, the idea of the seasonal cycle of nature became a way to process personal grief and loss and to accept that change was an inevitable and necessary experience in life. Still later, this idea enlarged to embrace a concern for the fragility of the natural world transformed by climate change.
My most recent paintings use images of dried plant forms, that are gathered in what seems to be formal arrangements. Unlike traditional flower imagery, these are largely black and white and take their inspiration from my garden in late fall and winter. The colorful elements that are added, are manmade and seem designed to prop up these plant forms, decorate and protect them. We are anxious to preserve what we may be losing and perhaps not sure yet what to do.
What inspires you?
I am inspired by the landscape and the shifting seasons, my family, travel, books I’m reading, music I listen to, artists I look at, movies I watch. I am retired now but my students were a huge influence on me and they helped so much to broaden my horizons. I am also a mother, a role I embraced wholeheartedly and am so grateful for. But I would have to say that I am particularly inspired by concerns about the environment, our connection to nature, our tendency to impose our will on the natural order of things.
Can you speak about your process?
I work intuitively without a sketched out plan which is not always the easiest or most peaceful way of working! My work tends to happen in phases. There is a long phase where I spend time simply making monotypes as well as patterns and textures on sheets of paper for the purposes of utilizing them for collage. I also collect ephemera that catches my eye - I love old flash cards, maps, interesting pieces of text, scientific data. Once I have a good stash (and organizing the chaos in my studio that these pieces create is a bit of a process) I start to make finished pieces. I start by cutting my papers up and taping them to a surface until I find something that hooks me and gives me an “in” to the painting. I really like to surprise myself with solutions that don’t seem obvious. I like to work on a number of panels at the same time so that I can move in between pieces when I get stuck. In this way, a body of work comes together in a united conversation.
How did you become interested in art?
I don’t think that there was a time in my life when I wasn’t interested in making things. I have memories from early childhood of being so happy cutting, pasting, drawing and coloring. When I finally went to school, I discovered tempera paint and could have spent the whole day painting. However, the idea of actually BEING an artist was something that eluded me. I had no role model for that and no idea that that could even be a career choice one could make. I didn’t touch artist’s paint until my freshman year of college and once I did, I was completely hooked. I was so inspired by my professors who were actual working artists and whose work was ambitious and bold. Being in that environment, surrounded by great artist mentors and peers, gave me the courage to pursue this path.
Do you have any favorite artists, movies, books or quotes?
It’s really hard for me to narrow this down because there are so many wonderful artists and I am so inspired not only by painters, but by artists working in other media, including figurative, conceptual and abstract artists. I can say that my earliest influences, aside from my teachers, were Phillip Guston, Diebenkorn, Matisse, Cezanne. I was really influenced by women artists working with narrative content such as Joan Brown, Elizabeth Murray, Susan Rothenberg. I also love Charles Garabedian and have been so influenced more recently by painters such as Amy Sillman. But I’m leaving so many, many artists out.
I consider movies to be an important part of my life - my whole family is actually pretty obsessed with them! If I had to chose a couple that I would watch over and over, it would probably have to be Fellini’s Nights of Cabiria or Agnes Varda’s Cleo from 5 to 7. But again, I’m doing a disservice because I’m leaving so many out.
I read a lot and there are great books being written all the time. Some of my recent favorite authors are Zadie Smith, Abraham Verghese, Ann Pachett, Rachel Cusk, Deborah Levy, Elena Ferrante, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Chimamane Ngozi Adichie. Right now I’m reading Great Expectations by Charles Dickens and I find it very relevant to our time.
What advice do you have for younger artists?
This dovetails with the questions above, because I’m going to start with a quote that comes from Goethe “Do not hurry; do not rest”. In other words, slow down, pay attention and absorb everything like a sponge. At the same time, you need to make a lot of work, develop your craft and accept that much of what you make at the early stage will end in failure before you arrive at your true authentic expression. You can’t wait for inspiration to happen, you have to show up to work even when you don’t want to. It is at this point that a lot of artists quit because they become discouraged. I always say that art is 10 percent talent and 90 percent effort and resilience. It takes a long time to be an artist and there is no expiration on your creative life.
Any more thoughts about art, creativity, or anything else you want to add?
I would say that humans have been making things since the dawn of human civilization and that it is obviously an impulse that is deeply ingrained in our DNA. I think art (and in this sense, I use this term broadly to encompass all forms of making) reminds us that humans are capable of making profoundly moving and powerful things/experiences and that, in and of itself, is enough to justify the existence of art. It may not always have a monetary value or a practical application, but it is completely necessary.
