Do you want to know what our artist members love to do when they aren’t creating art? So did I, so I asked them! This presentation “Artist Members Share Their Passions Besides Creating Art” takes us further into the lives of special artists and reveals how fascinating and multi-faceted they are.
The artists’ names will take you to their pages. Please visit their websites and contact them directly to purchase their artwork. Visit our online art gallery to see art by all of our members.
This article was published in 2020.
Banner image: Painting by Mary Mirabal
Mary Mirabal
“My passion, besides painting, is Native American arts and culture. We’ve collected Native American art for decades. Our home is lovingly curated with our favorite southwest artists and include Pueblo pottery, Native American basketry, beadwork, Navajo rugs, paintings and more. What started with one small Hopi pot has now grown to fill every room of our home. Santa Fe and the Northern New Mexico region provide the inspiration for my artwork, and Santa Fe is my ‘happy place’. What better way to decorate our home than with the many treasures we’ve found over the years?”
Barbara Brown
“Aside from painting, writing and, increasingly, photography, I absolutely love to sing, especially with others. I sing weekly with two small groups singing harmonies with a guitar accompaniment, and I’m in our community choir, of average twenty members. As well, my husband and I come together, sometimes with friends, most Fridays for music night, amplified, with him on electric guitar and me on mic –it’s a hoot, we call ourselves ‘Legends In Our Own Minds’! There is nothing more uplifting than making music. Good for body, mind and spirit!”
Leanne Fink
“When I am not pursuing my passion for oil painting, other creative interests include the study of Flying Star feng shui as it relates to the home. The annual Chinese New Year is like starting a blank canvas. I move furniture, swap out art, change colors. But what I am most passionate about other than art is swimming. I cannot call it a creative pursuit; it is more like a meditation. I swim in a salt pool 5 months of the year and miss it terribly when the weather is cold. It keeps me in shape physically, mentally and spiritually.”
Lisa Freidus
“I hear friends and clients say ‘You have many talents’! I smile graciously, but it is my belief these interests are a single gift. My love of art, interior design, cooking, baking and singing are joyfully wrapped in a box I title ‘Creativity.’ They complete my days with serenity and purpose during personal challenges. And when we apply our talents, hopefully others will become a recipient of this wondrous gift of creativity.”
Ruth Soller
“Besides creating paintings, I’m passionate about designing and sewing quilts, home décor, dresses and outfits for my toddler granddaughter and for her baby doll. I love to search through my fabric stash as well as dig into the remnants which are priced by the pound at Colorado Fabrics in Aurora, CO. Even as a teen I remember creating hand sewn garments and gifts for my family for Christmas. While expecting my first baby I bought an entire bolt of green with cream hearts cotton calico and sewed matching nursery décor including bedding, wall hanging, quilt, and rocking chair cushions.”
Andrea Robinson
“What a great question! I enjoy working on my website – photographing my artwork “insitu”, playing with fonts, layout and colors, writing up content for social media, my blog, and for galleries. I also love playing with textile design, which I put on merchandise. Here I use photographs of my original artworks and place them on merchandise templates. I also manipulate my images in photoshop, playing with slicing, cutting, pasting, repetition, layering and color – it’s so much fun.”
Peter N. Van Giesen
“On occasion I am asked to make suggestions on new buildings or renovations. I love applying creativity to interior design as well as garden scapes.”
Nancy Staub Laughlin
“An example of how creativity continues in my life is garden design.” (Her gardens are in the archives at the Smithsonian, Gardens of America.) “Gardening is my therapeutic outlet. The pruning, weeding, adding more plant material is the perfect balance to my creative life. Needlepoint that I design and stitch is another outlet for my creativity. It is a great medium to work with when traveling, stuck in airports… When I look at my finished works that may take years to complete, I have the memories of where I was when I did them. They are so permanent and will be passed on for generations.”
What wonderful interviews with highly creative women. It really started me thinking about my relationship to my own art.You have given me much to think about.
It’s so interesting to learn what other artists enjoy doing when they’re not busy creating. Thank you for including me in this lovely article Renee.