We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Carolyn Mason a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Carolyn, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I feel like my creative journey did not follow a traditional path. I was in my 30’s working in fundraising at the San Francisco Opera. My favorite thing to do at work was to visit the costume shop and see all the lush and gorgeous materials and watch how they hand-dyed their fabrics. I was like a kid in the candy store. It didn’t take long to realize that I wanted to be on the creative side of things.

Since childhood I’ve always leaned towards craft and textile projects. I decided to expand my skills and starting taking various art classes. At this point I knew it was serious and I applied and was accepted to the MFA program at Mills College. Now looking back, I am glad I followed my artistic instincts and I’m proud to be a late bloomer.

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 visual artist with a studio in downtown LA working in sculpture, fiber art and performance. I see my studio practice as a laboratory where I experiment with materials that have personal history. Inspiration for my work comes from the marvels of biological life both aesthetically and metaphorically: patterns of flowers, vines, and fungus; the magic and regeneration of underwater plants; the mesmerizing serpentine movement of snakes.

I have a natural affinity for textiles and they regularly show up in my work, particularly wool. My mother was born on a Colorado sheep ranch, as was her mother. I grew up in a house full of weaving and craft projects with wool often spread throughout the house. My father managed a textile factory and was always tinkering with machines and building things in our garage. These legacies show up in my work through my explorations of the world through texture.

Creating individual works of art is one part of my practice: the other part is curating exhibitions and creating opportunities and community for artists. For example, last year I curated a show at the Torrance Art Museum where the artists approached their work with the intention of embodying the nature of mycelium, the expansive underground patterns of mushrooms. The artists collaborated, shared materials, and found inspiration from one another’s projects.

My latest curatorial project, “Forage | Gather” opens in October at The Fellows of Contemporary Art (FOCA) in Los Angeles. For those interested in connecting, I encourage you to reach out to me on Instagram or my website.

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

Getting to hang out with other artists, visit their studios and hear about what they’re working on! Being part of a community is truly one of the best aspects of being an artist. I feel fortunate to be a member of the artist collective Durden and Ray, which is committed to fostering artistic exchange with international partners. As part of this, I’m co-curating an exhibition in 2024 with a gallery in Mexico City and I’m excited about this opportunity for cultural exchange.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

Many of us (or probably most of us!) who are fine artists have another source of income, i.e. a day job. In a way, most artists are operating in a manner that is subversive to a culture run by money and commodities. We devote our practice to something that we may or may not be paid for.

“The Gift: How the Creative Spirit Transforms the World” by the poet and critic Lewis Hyde helped me to appreciate the value that my artistic practice has in society, even if the value is not measurable by traditional means.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.carolynmason.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carolynmasonart

Image Credits
I’ve indicated the photo credit in each photo’s title. There are three different credits depending on the photo: Moe Wakai Robert Wedemeyer Tufenkian Fine Arts