We recently connected with Emily Elhoffer and have shared our conversation below.
Emily, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.
The processes I use in my craft are largely self-taught; this is where I find most motivation when I’m learning something. I enjoy making problems for myself to solve. I have worked in a handful of crafts, some learned from teachers, others invented by myself, and I can share my story on the one I use most: creative upholstery.
I started my ‘creative upholstery’ technique several years ago, seeking a way to create voluptuous, fatty forms without requiring heavy media like plaster. I came up with stuffing flexible fabric, then stapling it to a hard, wooden substrate. Although the technique is historically used in upholstery processes, I ended up learning how to create my work largely through trial and error.
Going back in time, I might have taken some furniture upholstery classes- or even watched a Youtube video on the process! However, I think the process of self-teaching has lent me more creative freedom from the binds of this traditional craft.
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 create art that explores ideas about embodiment. I’m inspired by an intersection of many thought disciplines: medicine, feminism, Zen ideas around mind/body connection, animation, and more. I’m best-known for my textile work, which may include brightly colored stretch velvet stuffed into fatty, belly-like forms. The volumes fold over and into themselves as on-the-wall or in-the-round sculptures.
We’d love to hear your thoughts on NFTs. (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)
I love to hate them. They are a fascinating solution to the issue of creative ownership in a capitalist, digital era. They are also gobbled up by get-rich-quick Wall Street bros, generating an entire economy of shitty art for the sake of digital gambling. Capitalism at its finest, capitalism at its worst.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
Lately, the most rewarding part of my practice is my studio solitude. It seems to be in limited supply since I’ve started a graduate program at the Sam Fox School of Art & Design. I’m beginning to cherish the days that I can spend 4 uninterrupted hours in my studio, exploring a new concept or finishing a work for critique.
Contact Info:
- Website: emilyelhoffer.com
- Instagram: @emilyelhoffer
- Other: email: [email protected]
Image Credits
Emily Elhoffer