Interview by Tara Sasiadek:
The Buffalo Expat Network, the Emerging Leaders in the Arts and HandsOn Greater Buffalo are pleased to present the echo:
Art Fair which connects experienced collectors and first-time buyers
with emerging local, regional and international artists in a centralized
and creative environment; the Buffalo Central Terminal. echo:
Art Fair will showcase a broad scope of fine art disciplines, including
painting, photography, sculpture, print, works on paper, video and
combined-media. echo will commence with a VIP Reception on July 8th, 2011. On July 9th, the echo:
Art Fair will run from 9:30am until 5:30pm. The After-echo party, also
to be held in the Terminal, will take place shortly after the ending of
the fair featuring live music from The Albrights, Alex Kelly, and will
wrap up with a dance party featuring DJ Cutler and AVDJ PROJEX. Here is the next in a series of Buffalo Rising interviews with one of our featured artists, Amy Greenan:
Who are you, and what do you do?
My name is Amy Greenan, and I am an artist, designer, teacher, art collector, life enthusiast.
What are the most essential elements of your work?
I am inspired by the world around me; there is always something new to see or experience, and I relish in that. Perhaps most important is my willingness to challenge myself, and move outside what feels comfortable for me. Making lists and setting goals keeps me moving in the studio and beyond.
If you had to choose only 5 materials or tools to work with, what would they be?
A mechanical pencil, a bottle of india ink and a flat brush or two, an X-acto knife, and a glue stick.
Would you describe your artistic education as a guided or self guided journey?
Both. I have an MFA but spent a long time in between my bachelor’s and my master’s trying to live and work creatively on my own terms. Even within a structured academic environment it is important to chart a course for yourself and seek out the people and things that can make the experience that much better. I consider myself a lifelong active learner, guided, self-guided, whatever. I like to watch and learn from other artists, especially those who work in a media that I don’t know as much about as the stuff I do on a regular basis.
Do you have a connection to Buffalo?
Yes. I grew up in Alden, a small farm town 20 miles east of Buffalo, and have lived in the area for most of my life.
How do you define success as an artist?
I am living it. I look forward to each day, I don’t dread Mondays. It’s because I enjoy what I am doing as a professional artist, whether it is teaching, or working in my studio making work, or doing research and making contacts to find new opportunities. Success for me is self-defined, not something that society dictates for me. I still sort of buy into that whole New York City art thing that I picked up in college in the late 80s and early 90s, though – I may not really consider myself wholly successful until I am showing there regularly, I don’t know. New York is not the center of the universe anymore, but it is still important.
Do you have a set schedule for studio time? How do you structure your creative life?
I do not have a set schedule. That is one of the reasons why I escaped the 9 to 5 working world, so that I could have flexibility. I seek out exhibitions so that I have an obligation to answer to with my work, and I like to have deadlines. It seems to fuel my creativity and ability to produce.
Can you tell us about where you find resources or inspiration for your work?
Inspiration is literally everywhere for me. I carry a small digital point and shoot camera with me at all times so that I can take visual notes. It can be the way the clouds fill the sky, an abandoned house in the countryside, a joke someone tells, a movie, song lyrics, friends, animals, memories, comic books. Certainly other art and artists, yes, but I try not to rely on that too much. I want to be informed by my own experiences first and foremost.
What quote or mantra or words of wisdom do you have for other creative types?
“Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.” Mark Twain
“I think in terms of the day’s resolutions, not the year’s.” Henry Moore
Where can we find more of your work?
You can visit my website, www.amygreenan.com.
I’ve also just been added to the inaugural roster of artists at a New York City-based art collector’s club called Uprise Art (www.upriseart.com).
This summer I will be exhibiting in Buffalo at the Western New York Book Arts Center and Studio Hart, as well as in Corning, NY at 171 Houghton Gallery.
In October, I’ll have my first solo show abroad, at Bath Spa Gallery of Weston College in England. Each exhibition will include almost exclusively new work.
For full details on echo: Art Fair, visit the site at www.echoArtFair.com, or find us on Facebook.