Thinkspace Projects is pleased to present Amy Sol’s solo exhibition, Bird of Flux. The exhibition features new delicately rendered paintings and the artist’s venture into sculpture, which both captures the suspended breath of introspective meditation. In anticipation of the exhibition opening, Saturday, March 3rd, our interview with Amy Sol discusses her new medium, ways of tackling self-doubt, and an inspired cocktail.
SH: In your last exhibition with us, “Garden Gamine” you had experimented with oil paints in order to continue to challenge and push yourself artistically, in this exhibition you’re introducing sculptural work for the first time – what was your journey into sculpture? How long have you known this is a direction you wanted to explore, and what was the learning curve like?
AS: I began casually playing with clay a couple years ago and immediately fell in love it! There is something magical about working in physical space, and co-inhabiting with the thing you are creating. I’m also a very hands on person, I like to craft and tinker and trouble shoot, so this was the perfect project for me. Oil-based clays are my favorite clays to work with right now. I can quickly shape ideas into blocks and later on it is forgiving enough to let me manipulate it without totally erasing the essence of the original sketch. Since oil clays are not permanent, I had to learn how to make molds and cast them. I choose resin as the first material for casting simply because I didn’t have access to a kiln. I then discovered that it is limitlessly versatile and super interesting to work with. It has been a crazy steep learning curve… but I decided to attempt this medium and accept the crunching of hundred of hours and inevitable mistakes as part of the process.
SH: What was one of the most challenging pieces in this show, and why?
AS: The most challenging piece I made for this show was “Ine” the life sized-ish bust. It was the first thing I’ve ever made in this scale. Before this, I’d only made relatively small toy-sized things. I had to overcome some obstacles in relation to physics which I didn’t anticipate due to the scale and the weight of the material itself. I began working on the piece in August last year and after three months of trying and failing, I had to revise my method altogether. I learned so much of what I know now from making this, and difficult as it was at times, it was the most fun and rewarding as well.
SH: What is your favorite aspect about what you do / being an artist and least favorite aspect?
AS: Favorite aspect of being artist is that I get to express myself in the way that comes most naturally to me and which I find the most exciting – through visual mediums. Least favorite is that requires a massive amount of self-discipline and physical demands – extreme single minded focus, being still all day, and repetitive motions.
SH: Do you ever find yourself in a creative dry-spell or burdened by self-doubt? What do you do to pull yourself out of it?
AS: Yes, I do occasionally get hit with the artist block or self-doubt.. It is still something I am trying to figure out but have gotten much better with over time. When I feel a dry spell come about I sometimes find that a simple change of scenery and stepping away can help reset my mind and allow inspiration to come from the external world. Also, talking with others artists and learning from those with have great work ethic helps keep things in perspective.
SH: If “Birds of Flux” inspired a cocktail, what would be the recipe and how would it taste?
AS: wow, haha! love this question!
okay here is my recipe :
gin / or any clear liquor
10 butterfly pea flowers brewed to make 30 ml of tea / cool
Lemon Verbana and sugar
citrus juice
splash of elderberry liquor
muddle the lemon verbana ( bird feathers ) & sugar
shake the gin with ice and pour gin
add butterfly pea tea – butterfly flower from Southeast Asia which produces the bluest edible blue found in nature.
let your mind wander into the blue abyss …
add elderberry and citrus juice last and watch the blue fade into a rich purple!
Opening reception of “Bird of Flux,” Saturday, March 3rd from 6 – 9pm
Thinkspace Projects
6009 Washington Blvd.
Culvery City, CA
