We recently connected with Alyce Gottesman and have shared our conversation below.

Alyce, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

While traveling in India in 2017 I became enamored with the vibrancy and spirit of the culture, which I saw reflected in the brightly colored textiles and abundance of marigolds in bright oranges and yellows. As I traveled throughout the country, I absorbed all of this and later channeled it into a series of lively, highly saturated paintings with new colors added to my palette. My exposure to the beautifully colored and embellished saris worn by the women piqued my interest in textiles. Over time, the inspiration to sew and work with fabrics emerged and became part of my art practice, with a focus on patterns and physical and visual textures.

I recently returned from traveling around Japan and found it to be quite different in comparison to India in almost every way. The feeling there was more subdued, as were the customs, traditions, colors, and textiles. I am still processing all the information from this trip and I believe my next project will reflect the relative quiet there, with more attention paid to the meditative aspects of the culture and a palette that reflects the same.

Alyce, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I studied fine arts and earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh with a major in metal smithing and minor in drawing, and a Master of Fine Arts in Painting from School of Visual Arts in New York City. As a professional artist for all of my life, my art practice has evolved over the years to encompass oil and acrylic painting, charcoal drawing, encaustic painting, fabric collage, and currently, mixed media paintings using fabric, paint, and drawing media. Over time, I have also found outlets in gardening and cooking, activities that allow me to create in other ways. I am proud of having sustained my artistic career throughout my life while also raising children, caregiving, and teaching. It has required a high degree of focus, determination, and some organization to keep everything going!

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

Throughout my life I have been drawn to nature. I grew up beside a lake in a rural part of New Jersey and spent as much time outdoors as the weather would allow. My consciousness became attuned to the rhythms of the seasons and the energy of nature. As a child, I recall thinking about the Native Americans and their way of life living outside, being connected to the spirit world and the visceral experience of their day to day lives. Endless hours spent exploring the lake and the woods generated in me a desire to create that feeling of wonder, spirit, and freedom that I felt during that time.

My art reflects my connection to the spiritual and natural worlds, and, while nature is the underlying influence in my work, my life experiences and love of music infuse into the work as well. I create richly colored abstract naturalistic environments inhabited with lyrical, gestural forms, and geometric shapes. Working in the abstract allows me to experiment without the constraints of representation and has taken me down countless avenues of exploration. I strive to create atmospheres that are imbued with a sense of emotional and spiritual depth while also displaying a playful quality, exploring color uninhibitedly, moving lines and shapes around, and utilizing multi media such as paint, fabric, charcoal, crayons, and pencils. More recently I have been incorporating textiles into my paintings. Each piece of fabric becomes part of the geography of each painting, creating a tactile surface with various textures, patterns, and colors. As I work on each painting I think about how it appears far away and
close up, with painted and drawn clusters of shapes and intricate lines coordinating with whatever the piece of fabric looks like, weaving both together visually to create a natural coherence between fabric and paint.
In my work, I want the viewer to be immersed in the ambience of each painting, to experience the rich color and movement of the patterns, and to peer into a place they have not been before.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

There are multiple rewarding aspects of being an artist. For one, it has provided me with the opportunity to create on a daily basis, which makes me feel fulfilled and happy. I am always learning something new in myself and in my practice, expanding my skills and knowledge with each new body of work.The action of working out an idea that materializes into a tangible object is the very essence of creating. The formal and intuitive processes are enlivening to my spirit, utilizing various problem-solving skills to bring to life an idea into 2 or 3-dimensional existence.
Engaging with other artists is another aspect that is very valuable. Having an artist community is its own reward, with people in my life who understand the life of an artist, which can be both frustrating and exhilarating, and who show up to support my successes.

In addition, teaching art has been a very expansive and rewarding experience for me. Over the years I have taught people of all ages and learned a great deal from my students. It is a wonderful thing to witness people in their own creativity, learning and engaging in the process, and the discovery within themselves of their own artistic abilities.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.alycegottesman.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alycegottesman/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alycegottesmanART/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alyce-gottesman-74b44918/

Image Credits

Peter Jacobs Fine Art Photography
Roz Akin