Every art scene should have its own Emily Harper Beard. Since Emily can only be one place at a time I'm sure glad Nashville has her. Her elegant grace and delicate demeanor captivates anyone who meets her. When you look at Emily's work you can see that it's saturated with those very same qualities. Emily's spirit colors every square inch of her art. Though not restricted to any one particular medium; the bulk of her most recent work has been created with a process known as Batik. Batik involves the waxing and dying of material. I sat down with Emily to discuss this process in greater detail and many other topics on a perfect late afternoon at East Nashville's fabulous Eastland Cafe. We weren't alone! In the video you can hear the 17 year Cicada's who were enjoying it as well!!
Watch the video or read the transcript and meet Emily Harper Beard! Nashville Art Makers June Artist 2011!
EHB: Batik! Batik is a process that my mother who is an art teacher taught in her art class and I kind of pursued it further after I graduated college. It is a process of waxing and dying material. A lot of times it is done on silk. I use muslin most of the time mostly because I need a heavier material for the pieces that I create. A lot of times why Batik is done on silk is because it is used for fabrics and clothing. Mine are portraits and landscapes stretched on stretchers like canvas. That is why I choose the heavier fabric. Anyways, I draw the piece out and add the wax, apply the wax and where ever I put the wax on the fabric and then dip it into the dye the wax will resist the dye in the process.
RC: Cool!
EHB: Does that make sense?
RC: Yeah! So it's a constant process of wax here... dye. Take that off, wax here and dye and that allows you to create the...
EHB: Um, yes I keep the wax on there until the final... the black is put on there and as I'm adding the dye over the wax... the dye seeps into where the wax is and that's why it causes the crinkle affect to it. So kind of becomes its own process or artist!
RC: Got it.
EMB: ...on the muslin and when that is all done I lay it between newsprint and iron it off and it becomes fabric again and the wax melts away between the news print.
RC: And you were first exposed to this process how?
EMB: Through my mother I learned to do Batik and then it was just trial and error after that. I get asked a lot of questions... the more people find out I do this, they ask me about fabrics or dyes and I'm still learning what works best for me so I'm not at all a professional. I'd like to think that I'm going to continue to be learning...
RC: To keep growing in that process and learning how to use it. I think that is a definitely a cool thing about being an artist and talking to different artists that work in different mediums because as you use it and use it and use it, it's like you try to master that medium and get better and better at it and your ability to manipulate it just grows leaps and bounds.
EHB: Absolutely, and it's wonderful! Actually a friend of mine... I'm (actually) wearing her piece... this is her clothing.
RC: Alright
EHB: Um, I would love to be able to learn how to get all the wax out of... and there are some places like dry cleaners that will do that for you but to get it to where she can use it for her clothing line and take it back to clothing aspect of Batik.
RC: Yeah, the functionality... to bring the functionality back. Very Neat! In regards to making art work, what subjects grab your attention as an artist?
EHB: Um, I love people because they inspire me the most. I'm very... I'm friends with the people I meet, friends that I make who move me along in my own journey. They are my strongest inspiration, all though my husband and I have taken some trips that have been equally as inspiring which has led me to do more landscapes which normally I shy away from.
RC: Okay, yeah I noticed one of your newer pieces... a couple actaully were landscapes which is really cool to see because I know I've seen a lot of your work and you know your prior work had a lot of people involved so it's neat to see you kind of go in that different direction.
EHB: I'm just trying to tell my story. It's a journal for me and I'm not doing it for anyone I'm doing it to kind of document for myself or for my children and when people like it and wanna buy it, hang it on their wall that's an added plus. It's an honor and helps pay the bills sometimes.
RC: Helps pay the bills? That always helps!
EHB: Yeah that's good, it doesn't hurt so...
RC: We both know and I think a lot of people who are paying attention to the blog know that there are lots of artists in Nashville. What other artist inspire you?
EHB: I do love Julia Martin's work. I love that she has a solid style. That when people see her work they just know... like it could be just the colors it doesn't have to be the piece as a whole. I'm a big fan of Danielle Duer, I think that is how you say her last name! You can check that in the editing! Okay let's see, let's bring a man in here umm... ** cicada sounds **
RC: No guys that inspire Emily!!
EHB: No no! lol I like a lot of photographers, I like Jack Spencers as far photography and the moods that he sets with his images. so...
RC: Perfect! Okay, very good, very good! Um, to you what is it like to be a visual artist in Music City?
EHB: I love the challenge of trying to make art important in Music City. To kind of show that it's just as valid as a song that there's art in everything around us from the clothing that we wear or more than a piece on the wall so...
RC: Well that's a really good place to start I think! You know everybody has a different point in their life where it really starts to captive them (the idea of) being an artist. When did you first realize that you wanted to be an artist and that was the direction where you wanted to go?
EHB: Honestly, because my mother... I emphasize that my mom was an art teacher a lot because there are a lot of things that your parents put you into when you're little that you kind of fight. Like you kind of wish... I kinda wish...
RC: Piano lessons...
EHB: Yeah! I was just gonna say... I wish had made me stick with piano. That was actually an example I was thinking of! But as far back as I can remember she had me in some art class. I was either ,um over at Centennial Park taking a pottery class... I mean there was always an art class involved and when I got to where I was in high school I wanted to make my own choices and I wanted to drama... I think I wanted to be an actress, well you can do that but you're still going to take these (art) classes as well. So it kinda wasn't much of a choice but I'm very thankful that she saw something in me, you know? She saw something in me... she pushed me to do it!
RC: Well I recently got married and Emily you recently got married as well, well a little less recent than me but how has marriage affected work or your process?
EHB: I have a husband who is just as passionate about supporting the local art scene as I am. He's a great writer! He has a very unique style to his writing that is very artistic and he and I both are moving in the same direction as far as wanting to lift up these incredible artists that are emerging in Nashville! Of course he is a huge supporter of mine as well so
RC: Sure!
EHB: so it allows me to...
RC: I would hope so!
EHB: Yes!! It allows me to dedicate more time in less of a manic way. A lot before I met him was a very manic process and I think that kinda lends itself to the crazy artist thing you know! I can actually have a studio or have a time that is mine.
RC: Very cool! Well I know your husband and I've always felt he was very supportive so I'm right there with you on that!
RC: Now I know you're currently involved with a new project and this is one of the big reasons I wanted to interview you this month. So go ahead and tell Nashville Art Makers what that project is and what it's all about.
EHB: Well like I said Chuck is a writer and he does a local blog called Nashvilles HeART, with an emphasis on the art part of the heart and where he does weekly updates about events in Nashville and artists that are showing around town. I had approached Channel 9, Music City Arts on Channel 9 on Comcast cable about how to do a slide show of my artwork to just kind of promote my work and when she got wind of the fact that Chuck had this blog she thought it would be a great idea to have a show that was an extension of this blog that sat down and did artist interviews kinda in the studios, hands on about their process so that launched in March and my work is at Channel 9 so you can go to their website and look it up along with Dooby (Tomkins) which you're gonna do an interview with as well and the wonderful crump and...
RC: Which we'll do one for her too!
EHB: Yes!! And you can check out our interviews through the middle of July Sunday evenings at 6:30pm, Wednesday evenings at 5:30pm and hopefully check out our artwork as well!
RC: Awesome! That sounds great. It's a really cool idea. Everybody make sure you check that out.
EHB: Yeah and after that there will be...after our interviews come down... there will be gallery interviews talking about the process of owning a gallery, running a gallery and how that kinda parallels being an artist. There is a similar passion there, a similar sacrifice and drive all for the love of art.
EHB: Same designer of this top, Rhiannon Guillet, she and I ran a gallery called Magpie over off the 12 South area for over 2 years! Loved every minute of it, but it was quite exhausting because we had so many other projects going on as well, but I'm very proud of what we did. We offered an outlet for artists, musicians and local designers. And hopefully one day we'll revisit it.
RC: I definitely think you'll revisit it one day. If I could help I would because I thought it was a really cool idea!
RC: What would you say are the rest of your goals for this year?
EHB: For this year we're going to work on the TV show. I'm going to work on my own work. More commission pieces is what I'm doing. I'm not gonna push myself. I want to do good quality work and take it one step at a time.
RC: Now shooting forward, what are your goals for 5 years from now?
EHB: 5 years from now? That's too broad at this point! No I say that because...
RC: lol! It could be anything!
EHB: No that is a question I love asking my interns because I thought I had big ideas when I was in my early twenties and none of them panned out and actually it panned out way better than I could of expected so I'm looking forward to that!
RC: To the unexpected...
EHB: Well, it will be a fun ride!
RC: Yeah, absolutely
EHB: No doubt as far as that goes!!
*** End of Interview ***
ARTIST STATEMENT
Emily Frances Harper Beard
Before I was a Beard...I was a Harper and working to establish myself in Nashville as artist e.f.harper.
Whatever these hands can create, will create... or at least I will try. I am a very diverse artist who is skilled in painting, batik, graphic design, as well as sculpting. Over the years I have studied different types of art both formally and informally, and have worked very hard to merge all of my knowledge into comprehensible pieces. In terms of what I enjoy most, it would have to be batik, a wax-resist dyeing technique. The process is rather unpredictable and gives back as much as you put into it... I really enjoy that. I find oil painting to be relaxing and meditative, it allows me to produce beautiful works of art as well.
I often joke that communication is not a very strong point of mine when the truth of the matter is that I am a very open individual. It may not come through in the simple things that I say but I manage to give my own self away canvas after canvas. A common question I hear is "why not just paint portraits? Or landscapes?" My goal is not to achieve a high turn-over or mass-produce what has been done time and time again. My goal is to tell my own story, my journey, through the works I create.
ARTIST BIO
RESUME
Various Community Artshows, benefits, and recognitions | |
· magpie etc., a gallery of sort 2008–2010 Owner/Resident Artist/Creative Director magpie etc. was conceived as a warm and welcoming gallery space for fellow artists, designers, and musicians to share their talents. The gallery presented art openings for local and regional artists, trunk shows, live music performances and workshops. Ø Provide opportunities to artists to showcase and sell artworks, and to the community to appreciate and purchase artworks. Ø Organized community artisan events Ø Design of branding and advertising. · Lovebirds Collaborative art show and book signing with author Chuck Beard Memphis Marsha’s-Bowling Green, KY June 2009 · Happily Ever After Collaborative Installation-3 Little Pigs Cheekwood Botanical Garden & Museum of Art May-September 2008 · Evolution of the Human Spirit, Solo batik exhibition Martin Center's Frist Gallery of the Nashville Ballet January 20–March 20, 2008 · Group Art Show Martin Center's Frist Gallery of the Nashville Ballet September 16-December 16, 2007 · Evolution Group Art Show Urban Décor August 18, 2007 · Fourth Annual Tomato Art Fest Art & Invention Gallery August 11, 2007 · Fusion 7 An urban mixture or fusion of culinary, fashion, video, visual, and musical artists collectively expressing their talents to help fight cancer. July 14, 2007 · The Sounds of Creation A night of music and art hosted by the Nashville Craft Apocalypse. February 25, 2007 · Black n’ Blue Ball Benefit for the Muscular Dystrophy Association November 11, 2006 · Artstock at the LivestockBenefit for the Dickson County Humane Society October 27, 2006 · Third Annual Tomato Art Festival Art & Invention Gallery August 12, 2006 *Honorable Mention · Fusion 6 An urban fusion of culinary, fashion, visual, and musical artists collectively expressing their talents to help fight cancer March 2006 · Style Network’s “The Look for Less” 15 Minute of national fame. Running through a mall in search of the perfect new out-fit for a collaborative art show featured on the nationally televised Style Network J January 2006http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdAnCmekAkk · Gotham Night in White Local artists supporting AIDS awareness Nashville Cares June 2005 · Passport to Art Group of artists teaching elementary students their craft (in this case batik) to compile an art show raising money for art education · Solo Show Family Wash March 2005 · Glow Show Nashville’s Untitled artists group July 2004 · The Art of Collaboration Nashville’ Untitled artists group June 2004 · Solo Show Open House Hosted by Tom and Donna Risch April 2002 | |
