We were lucky to catch up with David Sweeney recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, David thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

It seems to be the received opinion that one does not grow without taking risks. It certainly is the case with me – and the older I get the more I find that the risks are worth taking, and the less I care about the consequences.

Mind you – I’m not suggesting people take financial or personal risks that edge on ruin. Our society isn’t quite supportive of that, and there sure is no safety net should one fail. So a million caveats about the fact that what I’m talking about are creative risks, artistic risks – professional risks to break through a duller habit, perhaps, or upend a conventional “This is how we do it, because this is how we’ve done it, so this is how it’s done” mentality.

Recently, I have altered the way I work. Well, I’ve also had it altered for me. Professionally, I was laid off in March along with 2,199 others – whole offices were closed, whole teams eliminated. Once the shock wore off and the celebratory drinking subsided, I found myself with a ton of time. I had executed a massive artistic project over the course of the lockdown, but with that boxed up, it was time for something new.

I have long used mixed-media in my art, but seldom have I worked in pure collage. It appealed to me, but it really would be a risk. Where would I find my visual language without paint? Without the random marks of pen and ink? More to the point, what will make my images mine, when they are made from photographs, patterns, words? Is the risk worthwhile? Will it work? Has it?

I’ve learned something, so I suppose the answer is yes.

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’ve always been an artist as I’ve always been a facilitator. I’ve had 25 years of experience in community organizing, volunteer management, fundraising, event planning and management and now strategic planning, executive meetings, coordinated campaigns to maximize the communication strategies between organizations in and between businesses…

Anyone hiring?

…but with that on pause, my entire goal is to strip down the process of my own creation and come up with something new. To me.

I’ll go back to paint and pencils soon enough. But for now, I’m slicing paper and learning how to use something other than Elmer’s glue.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

So many good – great – possible answers, but they are idiosyncratic.

Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard – it will change the way you look at the world. Dillard’s non-fiction narratives about her observations of the life at Tinker Creek have a magical quality about them. Her writing seems so effortless and her points of view so clear it will make you wonder if there are more scales to claw from your eyes.

bone black by bell hooks – it will change the reason you look where you do. By that, I mean at society, history, justice – I think any book by hooks is worth the read, but this one is my favorite. She lays history naked on an exam room table and flays it by degrees. Elegant, painful and beautiful.

Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott – it will change the way you look at obstacles. A book about writing is a book about living – how do you organize your thoughts, how do you plan and execute. I won’t spoil the ending.

Alright – so here’s a fun one. What do you think about NFTs?

NFTs are something I try very hard not to think about at all.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.davidsweeneyart.com
• Instagram: @davidsweeneyart
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidsweeneyart/