We recently connected with Carla Wilson and have shared our conversation below.

Carla, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Do you wish you had started sooner?

I wouldn’t call it a career, but my creative journey began when I was very young, and I was always doing something artistic, whether it was writing, acting, singing, drawing, or painting. I do wish I had started taking my creativity seriously much sooner than I did. Since I grew up before cell phones, the internet, and digital technology, there wasn’t much of an opportunity to learn new skills unless I took a formal class at school, or participated with groups that were already involved in the arts outside of school. I considered the fine arts to be quite lofty and highbrow growing up; at the same time, it was common in my house to have classical music, jazz, or folk music playing, with books scattered all around. My parents were cultured, but we lived simply, so the idea of achieving a mastery of the arts seemed impossible at the time. Today, young artists have more tools at their disposal, between being able to research things quickly online or having the technology to take photos and videos of their work and edit them in minutes. If I had listened to my intuition, I would have realized that being a creative person came naturally to me and I didn’t need to doubt myself or push that calling away.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’m a mixed media artist, which means I create art using a variety of mediums. I draw, paint, collage, and create digital art. I have an MFA degree in creative writing with an emphasis in fiction, but I also write poetry and prose, including micro-poems, prose poems, book reviews and short stories, several of which have been published. I have written and published two books, both focused on artists and filmmakers.

I have always been torn between art and writing, probably because I grew up surrounded by both. The same goes for music. We always had records playing in the house, and my mother was always singing and dancing. In school, I sang in choirs, participated in theatre groups, and enjoyed acting in musicals and other plays. Later, I sang in bands and was a DJ at a college radio station. I loved music and records and sang with various musicians. I always had a sketchbook with me, and I’m a lifelong journal-keeper and avid reader.

Over the years, the thing I always regretted not doing more of was painting, so around 2012 I began a new course of self-study, which included reading Julia Cameron’s “The Artist’s Way,” among other things. This led to my beginning a master’s degree program in art history, and later completing the MFA program I mentioned above. I took my time learning and studying art since I continued working full time in an administrative job, and then, in 2017 I was included in my first group exhibition at UC San Diego with two of my digital paintings.

I eventually made prints of my digital artwork and today continue to offer various products (notebooks, cards, mugs, t-shirts, dresses, etc.) for sale with my artwork on them.

As I continued learning and practicing, taking online and in person courses and honing my skills, I eventually was able to join a group of artists in a studio on 5th Avenue in San Diego where I currently paint and offer my paintings and prints for sale. I work mostly in abstract designs, using acrylic inks and paints, layered with crayon, charcoal, pencil and collage.

My mixed media background allows me to jump around between different substrates and art forms, which I love because I think I become easily bored with doing one thing for too long. You can find my art and more about me on my website (https://www.carlawilsonstudio.com/), and on most social media platforms where I include links to buy my products and get in touch.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

I believe the first thing society can do to better support artists and creatives is to pay them (artists, teachers, musicians, actors, writers, etc.) a decent living wage and make art more accessible to all. Unless they become famous, most artists are putting their own money and extra time into their work with very little return. Society should teach the value of the arts and humanities in more than just aesthetic ways, and encourage the idea that it’s not impossible, rather, it is honorable to take on an artistic profession. Artists are storytellers and problem solvers, and, in many ways, part of the cultural avant-garde, often leading new trends that eventually become society’s mainstream beliefs and behaviors. Surely today’s visionaries are tomorrow’s trend-setters and teachers.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

There are so many kinds of art and so many misconceptions that may follow. I don’t call myself an expert in any area, however my experience has been that non-creative people (or those who haven’t had much exposure to the arts) have very little understanding (or concern) of how much time and effort producing a piece of art takes. Whether it’s a painting or a piece of music, there is so much research and thought that goes into making something that may or may not “please” any given audience. It takes hours of time, and in many cases, lots of money up front, and often an idea may fall flat or fail outright before it sees the light of day. As with any profession, it takes years of practice to become good and just because a piece is not immediately understandable (such as with abstract art or jazz) doesn’t mean that your “five-year-old” or your “dog” could do better. Take some time to do some research about what it is you are criticizing before forming an opinion, or my goodness, ask the artist, or read what they or others have previously written about their work. That said, if you appreciate what they do, please pay them accordingly!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.carlawilsonstudio.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carlawilson.studio/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/studiocgallerie
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdQTT9iXR8NrytcvRB3kXIw
• Other: https://linktr.ee/carlawilson.studio/

Image Credits
photo credit: Carla Wilson