3 Artists and a Conversation

Just getting set up for the event. Anne M. Bray's work can be seen in
the center background and Betty Sheinbaum's just glimpsed to the right.

We had a lovely audience for Saturday's Art Spoken Here event at TAG Gallery, and so many attended that we ran out of chairs. Here's a recap.

Gallery director Laura Korman began by announcing the exhibition’s three parts: Echo – representing Ann M. Bray’s revisiting of her work from the ‘70s, Eco, for my Murmuration series, and Econ, Betty Sheinbaum’s paintings about local people and our economy.

Laura asked why we choose to work in specific media? For us it boiled down to the benefits or drawbacks of oil versus acrylic, and digital versus hand drawn. I find it really interesting that there are a variety of opinions among us.

We were asked about our creative process in general and whether how or where we grew up had an influence on our becoming artists. And, what is an important turning point in our career? 

We were asked what other professions we've had and how that has impacted our work. Anne works in textile design, Betty was a sculptor, using car parts as material. I feel that my background in visual effects helped bolster my creativity, sharpen my eye and keep my hand skilled.

I got a chance to explain that Spooky Action at a Distance and Quantum Entanglement are both names for the same theory in Quantum Physics, that describes the way things that are physically apart from each other influence each other’s actions even though there is no visible or known connection.

I learned a lot about the other artists, that Betty went back to school in her sixties when she could no longer do sculpture due to physical impediments, that Anne is inspired by the Hudson River Valley school of painters, among others, that Betty’s favorite contemporary painter is Diebenkorn.

Our biggest fear as artists? The pressures of time, for Anne the hours of daylight and productivity versus down time, for me, not having enough time to get it all done, and for Betty, the fear of showing work.

Betty also spoke about the experience of being a founding member of TAG.

Finally, there were some great questions from the audience, with one gentleman asking how artists can deal with the discouragement that can come from frustration. We advocated patience and fortitude, putting the work away and coming back later with a fresh eye, and taking a nap.

More photos here on TAG's Facebook album.