A peek inside the creative mind of
artist Ivy Miller. Ivy's paintings are part of the Maiden, Mother, and Crone Exhibition at Artful : The Gallery, through September 18th.
What is your favourite quote?
"Feet, what do I need you for when I have wings to fly?”
Frida Kahlo
image: Ivy Miller, 'Derecho', 2020, tempura on canvas
What is your idea of perfect happiness? Drinking a cup of Matcha everyday.
What is your greatest fear? Running out of Matcha.
What is your biggest indulgence as an artist? Art supplies and art documentaries.
What feels important to you right now as an artist? Connection.
Which artist - past or present - do you most admire? Paula Modersohn-Becker, Hilma af Klint, and Frida Kahlo.
Do you think any aspect of being an artist is romanticized or stereotyped? If so, why? The depressed or troubled artist is often romanticized. I have noticed that some people tend to fantasize about an artist’s mental health instead of the artwork itself.
How are you currently approaching your art? I am currently approaching my art through a new lens. I am taking the time to focus more on my imagination; furthermore, I am limiting myself from using references. My goal is to discover new ideas, techniques, and broaden my artistic practice.
What do you struggle most with in creating art? Accepting my mistakes.
What themes or symbols are the most important to you as an artist? Why? My current theme is focused on my experience as a young woman. I want to share my story with others and hopefully connect with the viewer.
What do you most love about your art? The expressionistic qualities.
Which words, colours or themes do you most overuse? Babies and the colour pink.
When and where in your life have you been the most content? Now.
When and where have you produced your best artwork? Why do you think that is?
My current work reflects my greatest progression thus far. University has inspired me to be more prolific.
What sort of art, that you have never created, would you like to try making?
Non-objective art.
If you could change one thing about your art, what would it be? More control over
my techniques.
What is your greatest artistic achievement? Why, or why not, is this important to you?
Drawing in my sketch book everyday. Sketching is important to me because I can
visualize my ideas without worrying about the outcome.
If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be?
Humboldt squid.
What is your most treasured possession? My cheap paintbrush.
What quality do you most value in your friends? Trust.
Which historical figure do you most identify with? I want to say Frida Kahlo, but she is more adventurous than me.
When did you first call yourself an artist? Was there a particular milestone or threshold? I have always called myself an artist, but it took me a long time to believe I was good enough as one.
The Proust Questionnaire is a confessional of sorts, popularized by French writer Marcel Proust during the Victorian era. Versions of this questionnaire have been used by interviewers since; notably the back page of Vanity Fair and the Canadian radio program The Last Chapter.
"The private lives of geniuses are not a fault to be tolerated, as the young Proust supposed, but a resource to be extracted and packaged for public consumption." *