We were lucky to catch up with Bonnie Proudfoot recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Bonnie thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your creative career sooner or later?

This is a great question, and certainly something to consider. I began a novel when I was in graduate school finding my way through an MA in creative writing. The novel won two major awards for work in progress at that time, and yet, both because I did not see a clear path forward, and because I measured the worth of the novel against other novels that I read which seemed so different, I set the project aside. Almost twenty years later, after teaching writing classes for two decades, as well as co-editing a literary journal, I began to reconsider the manuscript and see the value of the subject and the merits of the project. Once I recognized that the work had intrinsic value, the way forward became more clear. This project still took about five more years to complete, as I was teaching full time. This manuscript project became my debut novel, Goshen Road, which went on to receive the WCONA book of the year award, and to be Longlisted for the PEN/Hemingway award in 2021 as well as make the Women’s National Book Association Great Group Reads list for 2020. If I could have changed anything about my experience, I would have taken the two awards that the manuscript won as a stronger indication that the project was worth investing the time and energy in.

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

The best way to get to know me is to check out my blog: Crossing Genres, where I have posted stories, poems and essays that have been published as well as images of my artwork and reviews and information about both of my books. As an author, I have published a novel, a book of poems, several short stories and several short essays. Anyone who would like to read my work can find links to publications on the blog. As a glass artist, I have exhibited fused glass, stained glass, and work that combines both aspects of glass. I approach each project as a learning experience, a chance to communicate, and I believe that I work with a community supporting me and with a community of others who encourage me. Both creating art and writing fiction, poetry, essays and reviews takes me deeper into aspects of craft, and I still discover insights about the potential to communicate on a deep level using all these media.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is the ability to see the finished project as it lives in the world, whether it is an art piece that I am able to show in an exhibit or a poem or story or essay that an editor selects for publication. That said, it is also crazy and grueling, because, just as I let go of a piece of writing or artwork, I also am considering what I could have done to revise it, how if I worked with the same materials I would change aspects of it, and how the next piece of writing or art can reflect the awareness that I gained from the piece that I am (at this time) calling complete. I have had to learn that when an editor / gallery accepts a project or a piece of art, I have to let it go, expect that this meets the criteria that others have in mind. Above all, it is most rewarding to hear that my work moves others.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

I have seen that community support which also includes the city government and academic support can help support and encourage thriving creative sectors, and that creative ecosystems can revitalize communities. That said, in my view, craft has not been given the gallery attention traditionally that fine art has been given. That needs to change. Craft materials can express ideas and communicate visually, but investors do not always see the value in those media, as much as say, an oil painting, a print, a watercolor. Sometimes craft is marginalized or labelled folk art or even worse, primitive, and these labels can influence how viewers perceive the work as well as the monetary value of a piece for collectors. Galleries and museums are beginning to value alternative media, mixed media, even re-examine craft as a way to express ideas, but this has not happened in all parts of the country. I am not just speaking about my own work here, but about recognized glass artists, fiber arts, ceramic artists, sculptors and even authors who collaborate with 2-d artists like printmakers.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://bonnieproudfootblog.wordpress.com/
• Instagram: bpfoot
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bonnie.proudfoot.5
• Linkedin: Bonnie Proudfoot
• Twitter: b_proudfoot
• Other: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063539676346

Image Credits
portrait of Bonnie Proudfoot taken by Amanda Muschlitz