Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Dylan Fitzgibbons. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Dylan, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

Back in 2017 I traveled to Iceland for the first time in my life (writing this now while in Iceland for the second time!!). While in Iceland, I came across lands that filled the deepest parts of my soul with eagerness and excitement, wonder, and a true understanding of beauty.

When learning about the country, I was thankfully exposed to the history and folktales of Iceland, in particular, the idea of elves in Iceland. It is a simple notion; elves live within rocks and boulders across the land. When someone exerts their force or will onto those boulders in a way that is not desired by the elves, they defend themselves and punish the aggressors. Sprained ankles, minor cuts, odd happenings. If people interact with these boulders (homes of the elves) with respect, then nothing out of sorts will occur, and sometimes good things will result. As a result of these folktales, it is not uncommon for the people of Iceland to respect their environments to a higher degree than most places on earth. The folktale is serving as an inspiration for generations later, to respect the environment in all facets and to consider it with great consciousness.

I found this astounding. I of course have heard of folktales before, and come across various stories, but this story was the one that clicked for me, the story that really opened my eyes to the power of stories, words, and beliefs. As a result, six years later I am still thinking about the elves of Iceland, and the influence of folktales, as well as the objects in nature that inspired or play parts in these tales.

Now, my artwork is fully engaging these ideas and concepts. Looking at the world and how things, seen or unseen, influence our navigation through life. I am creating a body of work that explores spirituality, stories, and the natural world, using materials and methods that reference those same themes.

Currently I am at an artist residency in Iceland because of this exact same research. NES residency is in Skagaströnd near the northernmost tip of Iceland. It is a small fishing village, but the land is charged with history in both the known and unknown.

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

I began my journey as an artist in Mankato, Minnesota. I was going to college at Minnesota State University, Mankato at the time as a psychology major, interested in how the human mind worked. Through the program, I had the opportunity to study abroad in Iceland and Scotland. During that time period, I knew that I would be switching my major to the arts upon arrival back in the states. I could not shake my desire to create, play with various materials and give life to the shapes and images in my mind, to answer questions that cannot be answered unless physically formed.

When I switched to a fine arts major, I had the daunting decision of trying to understand my medium of choice. I started as a drawing major, since drawing was always a cherished act, but then later moved to an art installation major, and finally, thankfully, a ceramics major. What I came to realize of course, as most artists eventually do, is that you do not need to be defined by your material. I am no longer a ceramics artist, but just an artist, still taking full advantage of my ceramics training and degree but expanding past the typical practices within ceramics to really develop the work I want to make. Eventually I graduated with a BS in psychology and a BFA in ceramics (I had one credit left in psychology for the degree, so figured it may come in handy).

Now I am a full-time graduate student at Arizona State University, set to graduate this coming December with my MFA in ceramics (despite not being a ceramic centralized artist anymore). My thesis show is set to open on November 3rd, 2023, at Grant Street Studios in downtown Phoenix.

My work focuses primarily on examining the seen and unseen, and the illusions or stories that influence us as we navigate life, for example folktales, mythologies, history, and legends.

The work takes on elements of the natural world, primarily using black sand, and solid sheets of glaze (the glass often found coating ceramic vases and things) and light. All for the purpose of examining the in-between, the thin places that are thresholds where the barrier between two worlds is so thin it’s see-through. Creating places that beguile and inspire, where you catch glimpses of the divine, or transcendent just as the natural world does so often and so easily.

Folktales by nature are stories that act as lessons or cautionary tales, to help the young understand the very complex world and how best to travel through it. Oftentimes there are elements of magic or the supernatural involved in these stories, and for me, I examine those elements as honest interpretations of the world. Nature is magic, and the magic of the world incites curiosity, the desire to understand, the desire to experience, the desire to live. As I have gotten older, I have realized that my connection to this magic has faltered greatly, and I became lost time and time again. Now, as I reconnect with the magic of the world, of nature, of the human stories navigating the unknown, I find a deeper richness in my day-to-day life. My work aims to reignite that magic in others, to allow them to understand the beauty in things beyond our societal expectations and agendas, our productivity and goals.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

Look for us. I don’t just mean on social media; I also mean in your day to day lives. Look for the doodler in the corner of the room, look for the daydreamer laying in the sun in the middle of a peculiar place. I have certainly found that artists and creatively engaged people do the most odd and out of the ordinary things, for some of the most fascinating reasons.

When you see us, speak with us, ask what we are dreaming of, what we are imagining, and how we are materializing these things.

It’s important to remember that often, artists create first and remember to survive later. Most of us did not choose to become an artist for the sake of money, but for the joy of creating, manipulating the world to better engage with our thoughts and passions and the current system makes it difficult to thrive in that way.

We love to talk about our work, but we also hate it because it is always contextualized as “selling ourselves”, trying to seem interesting enough for someone to care and hear more or purchase a piece. At the residency I am currently at, I have the great pleasure to speak with 9 other artists nearly daily, and the conversations are thrilling, mind bending, and heart mending because we know we are not trying to sell, we are purely connecting. Connect with us!

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

To reignite magic in my life. To connect with the world, nature, without a context of “how will this serve me” but rather “what do you want to show me”.

I am trying hard to understand and develop a healthy balance of societal expectation and “me”. Productivity 24/7 is not productive, and not life, nor the sole purpose for my existence. Simplicity is an amazing thing, action for joy is an even greater thing.

I guess the best and most cliche way to summarize all of this, is to enjoy my life, be happy, and stop worrying about being ahead or behind. there will always be someone or something better, there will always be a “new” and an “old” and I am ok with wherever I fall in there so long as I do it honestly and sincerely.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://dylanfitzgibbons.wixsite.com/mysite
• Instagram: dylan.fitzart
• Facebook: Dylan Fitzgibbons