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

Hi Eleanor, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

I have just completed my Art Residency in Grand Rapids. My work focused on clay, fiber, and watercolor. My goal was to weave a complementary work using the EARTH (clay), WATER (watercolor) and LIFE (fiber animals) to demonstrate our reliance on these elements.

Eleanor, 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 am primarily a fiber artist and shepherdess. I raise my fiber animals, including alpaca, sheep and Angora goats. I use their fiber to wet felt wearables like scarves and hats. I also needle-felt the fleece to create landscapes similar to my watercolor work.

My ceramic work is largely a function of creating knitting bowls and other spinning and weaving tools, but I have recently worked on sculptural pieces and really enjoy that.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I had a rather large shift in my journey in 2021. I had a farm store and art studio in Texas prior to moving to Northern Minnesota. I taught classes, hosted other artists during our Trading Days, and had lots of face-to-face interaction with my customers. When I had to close my store in 2020, I decided to pivot and make some drastic changes. We moved our herd to a rather remote area with no possibility of a brick-and-mortar business model, That meant that I had to actively search for my customers. I began showing my work in artist’s markets and craft fairs.
This proved a challenge, but I needed to have the interaction to keep me motivated.

As an Artist in the Attic at the Central High building in Grand Rapids, I found more opportunities to meet fellow artists in the area and share my work with the community.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

A personal challenge created my greatest opportunity for growth recently. I had a rather difficult situation arise and the solitude of my studio space allowed me to dig in and explore my relationships through art. The result was an amazingly healing collection of sculptural work and in the end my first Artist Talk.

In it, I explored the agitation required in my artistic work. Whether in felting fibers, arranging pigments in watercolor, or on the pottery wheel. Water and agitation are required to create my art.

It was a real moment of clarity for me when I realized that my own tears and agitation were creating a depth to my art that I hadn’t thought was possible.  

Contact Info:

• Website: eleanortillmans.com
• Instagram: @eleanortillmans