We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Dewy. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Dewy below.

Hi Dewy, thanks for joining us today. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your creative career sooner or later?

My real pursuit of becoming an artist came much later in life at the age of 45. I was a single mother of three and finding the time to create was limited. If I had the funds and space while raising my kids, I would definitely have started sooner. I have learned during the past 8 years of obtaining art degrees that being an artist means you learn by creating and critiquing. You need time to understand your work fully and have the feedback to continuously improve on what you are making. I am still exploring my own voice and since I started on this path I am taking my time.

Dewy, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My art has always been a reflection of my memories– how they change, morph and bend the truth.

In my paintings and sculptures, I use cardboard as a starting layer based on the premise of packing mementos into boxes and reflecting the many moves I have made over my lifetime. Packing everything I own and trusting that layers of paper will protect what is my physical life.

I use paper to create imbedded texture on the surface and tear parts away to create friction and tension. Memories surface from underneath the tears, revealing hidden layers of mark making that mimic clarity.

I have introduced resin in some pieces to compensate for the thick muck of life. I am trapping metaphors, fixing them into place, and thinking about holding the future steady.

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Have you ever had to pivot?

I have to say that Covid really put a dent in the start of my career as an emerging artist. I graduated from Pratt Institute in 2020, and due to lockdown and quarantine I was unable to have my thesis show. This show was meant to be an accumulation of all my hard work and education in art and would have been my introduction to the art world. When that did not happen I had to change my entire practice from a large studio to my small living quarters. I started using resin as a material I could work with in small pieces, and I decided to return to school for an additional degree in art therapy. The choice to work with resin extended my expression of mental health by representing how life felt trapped by the chaos of the pandemic. During quarantine I learned more about resin and how it intersected with daily mundane life objects. Covid slowed down my practice and sent me into a profession that utilized my art education for the betterment of others. It was a pivot that I had to make and I don’t regret.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is the absolute love I have for making something from nothing. When I am working in my studio, everything else in life drifts away. I get into the flow and I believe everyone can relate to this feeling, no matter what level of artist they are. I never have negative feelings associated with making art, only positive. I have an extensive reserve of creative ideas I want to explore, that should last me a lifetime, and I plan to make as much art as possible to share with the world.

Contact Info:

• Website:  art-by-dewy.com
• Instagram: art_by_dewy