artiste d'mon >>> valeri rose

It's All on How You Mix It
Interview by: silverio pantalla

"Self Portrait "

How long have you been an artist and what made you decide to become one?
I have always enjoyed being creative and making art. I never really made a conscious decision to be an artist I just am. I created a book, "The Day the Pilgrims Came" at age six, another book "George the Giraffe" at nine, I won two local art contests by age ten, and I haven't stopped since.

On my way to college I made a decision to pursue art as a full-time career. After a Bachelor's degree and a brief attempt at full-time artistry, I realized that my life was not meant to go that direction. The market is not ready for me yet, and I'm not prepared to cater to it.

What is the World Festival of Art on Paper and how did you get involved?
The World Festival of Art on Paper is an annual international juried art show held in Bled Slovenia. Around 400 artists were involved from 75 different countries. Even though I couldn't attend the opening, this was a great opportunity to share my work with an international audience and represent the US (I was one of 21 US artists). My artwork was in the catalog and on the website at http://www.wf-a.si.

I got involved in this exhibition by answering a call for artists I received in the mail. I sent my slides and jury fee, and within a month I was notified of my acceptance in the show. I enjoy entering my work for juried exhibitions because it is an easy way to get my work out and seen by people I would normally not meet.

How is it like to be you as artist?
Being an artist is difficult but very rewarding. I am a wife, a daughter, a sister, a friend, an elementary school art teacher, a studio and homeowner in the Bradenton, Village of the Arts (our business/residential neighborhood 30+ artists strong), as well as an artist. When I do get time for myself, more then half of it is spent organizing the business side of being an artist; planning performances and exhibitions, researching galleries, or updating my website for example.

When I get deeply inspired, however, the rest of my life is put on hold. I've been known to work late into the night or wake up with the sun to complete a project. I work with all types of materials; it depends on the content of the piece. My work is almost always socially critical. Sometimes it is dark, sometimes funny or cynical. I use my artwork as an outlet for those emotions I don't like carrying around with me. I vent on paper, canvas, fabric, or steel. Making art keeps me healthy.

" Compact"

What is your most important goal in life as an artist?
At the very least, I hope my artwork inspires people to think. If they can associate with the message maybe knowing a like mind is out there will help them on their life's journey. If they hate it, even better. I hope they critically tear it to shreds. Then maybe they can take that critical perspective and focus it on the world around them, and began seeing things as they really are rather than as they are designed to be presented.

Wishful thinking: I aim to make my artwork famous. As I said earlier, the market isn't ready for me yet. People are more interested in buying art that matches the drapes than art that actually says something. So getting my work seen is more important to me than getting it sold. I am interested in exhibiting in various places, but most galleries won't accept work that won't sell. Ho hum. Fortune is not in my future I'm afraid, so I'll have to settle for fame (he, he, he).

If you could meet anyone, living or dead, who would you meet and why?
I would like to do a collaborative work of art with Marcel Duchamp and Keith Harring. Hopefully we'd do something about the absurdity of our own boundaries and personal biases. It would be so funny, and easily understandable that the whole world could laugh with us.

What is the biggest misunderstanding about yourself?
I think the biggest misconception about me is that I am so free spirited that I do what I want without caring what other people think. This is so not true- in fact this is one of my weird hang-ups. I'm very aware of how I am presenting myself and I often manipulate my appearance and behavior to get a certain response from others. I try to present myself as a whole person and not a stereotype. I'm never acting or fake; it's just different hues of the spectrum that is Valeri Rose.

Most times it is fun playtime for me- but it gets old and tiresome because I can't turn off that self-aware thing. Although this misconception isn't directly art related, it does affect the content of my work. The sculpture "The Compact" (aka the 'ole ball and chain) is specifically about this.

" Iron Maiden"

Who have been some of your main influences as an artist and a person?
Personally, my biggest influences are the people I interact with everyday. I read quite a bit, but for me words on a page don't compare with real experiences, although they do often times support and bolster them.

Artistically my style and technique comes natural to me, and my content is influenced most by what is happening to me or going on around me. When studying art history, however, I found kindred spirits in quite a few artists.

I admire Joseph Beuys for his concern with the social impact of art, and his devotion to our duty as artists to make a difference. My favorite quote of Beuys: "Sculpture is an evolutionary process, everyone is an artist." I enjoy Claes Oldenburg for his commentaries on contemporary life through surreal adaptations of common placed objects.

I admire Keith Haring for his use of art as a voice, self-made fame, and successful mass communication through his own personal iconography. I like Edward Kienholz's style: satirist with empathy, his social commentary themes, and his use of unusual materials particularly the soft sculptures.

I enjoy Marcel Duchamp's ideas about the absurdity of the art world, art itself, and life in general. I am also inspired by his use of found objects. I am somewhat surprised and saddened that there isn't a female artist among my favorites, but I'm still looking and learning.

Tell me about your upcoming projects, activities and or events
My studio showroom is open the first Friday of every month during the Village of the Arts art walk and by appointment. The Village of the Arts is a residential and business neighborhood here in Bradenton created, designed, and maintained by 30+ artists. Most of us live, work, and exhibit here; either in our studios, galleries, or our living room walls. I've been showing all of my own work lately, but I'd like to start including the work of other artists I admire.

I will be exhibiting a few pieces in a group show at the Positive Expressions Gallery in Gulfport, FL in March. I have a soft sculpture in the "Out of the Closet" wearable art exhibition at the Patriot Hall Gallery in Sumter, South Carolina from March to April. I might also have the opportunity to perform a fashion show of my wearable art and fashion designs at the opening on Friday March 29th.

I'll be in New Orleans March 24-28 on vacation scoping out some possible gallery spaces. Artistically, I plan to organize some site specific photo shoots for my fashion designs. As a teacher my summers are free to work on art- and I plan to do a lot of creating! Check out my website for more information. The main site is my professional presentation. Click on the "ArtMall" link for some interactive fun- Valeri Rose style.