We recently connected with Emily Mueller and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Emily, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

I studied drawing and painting in college, but have a multimedia and kind of scrappy approach to art making. I’ve bounced around with different materials and techniques so sometimes a project will require me to learn something entirely new.
I work primarily with handmade paper now, and before the pandemic had never made any paper myself. Because everything was closed during this time, I did not have any access to professional paper making materials like a hollander beater or real paper making screens. I was too impatient to wait for or try to get any access to these materials, so I decided to work with what I had in my house. After a lot of reading and video watching, I used a kitchen blender to beat torn pieces of recycled paper and pulled sheets of paper on picture frames covered with window screen. I ended up with a makeshift approach to making sheets of paper that became integral to my practice. When you use a blender instead of a professional hollander beater, the fibers of paper don’t break down as much and you get thicker and chunkier paper. The combination of colored pencils that I use on top of this paper created indentations and a texture to the top of my drawings that I fell in love with.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a multimedia artist and curator in St. Louis. I primarily make abstract, patterned-based colored pencil drawings on handmade paper, but also enjoy playing with clay and making books. My conceptual interests lie in the meditative practice of mark making and the investigation of intuitive form and color.

I grew up drawing and painting and was very interested in film photography as I got older. I still make photographs every once and a while, and I document exhibitions in St. Louis when I am able to.

I am the Gallery Director of Kodner Gallery and also teach photography, design, and fine art classes at universities around the city. I have exhibited work in both online and physical publications as well as galleries in California and across the Midwest. I received my MFA from Washington University in Saint Louis and studied drawing, painting, and English at the University of San Diego. I am a former member of the artist-run space Monaco, where I curated exhibitions an helped manage the gallery. Currently, I operate a micro gallery in my kitchen called The Nook that hosts small scale exhibitions.

Outside of art making, I love to read fiction, hang out with my cat Ferris, and watch horror movies.

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

I think for me, the freedom of wandering and stumbling upon ideas and images is the most fun and exciting for me. I think it’s also a great and rewarding feeling to feel like I’ve communicated something visually, like I said what I needed to say.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I have been making some kind of artwork for my entire life, it is my life, and sometimes is more like a religion for me. I see drawing kind of like prayer, where the process is meditative and comforting. I’m always seeking to quiet my mind by making marks and making compositions work together.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://emilymuellerart.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ferris_muellerz/