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

Eva , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

My husband and I struggled for 5 years trying to have a baby. During that time I went through numerous infertility treatments and heart breaking losses. One day when I had received a box with needles, syringes and medical supplies for another cycle I looked at the materials and knew I had to try to make something beautiful and meaningful from our painful experiences. Driving to a blood draw during one of the cycles, the idea came to me: Madonna and Child. I spent the next few month making three 7’ tall collages from not only my own medical supplies, but women from my support group contributed too. The tryptic art piece is now part of a book called “Infertilities, A Curation” and is available from Wayne State University Press in September. It was edited by Elizabeth Horn, Maria Novotny, and Robin Silbergleid

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I graduated in 1995 with a BaFA from Ray College of Design in Chicago, and have since then built a business based mostly on hand made hats, original skirts and hand printed shirts. A lot of my customers have found me at an outdoor art show in the Midwest, but I have also traveled as far south as Texas, as far east as Pennsylvania and as far west as California to display my wearables. During the pandemic I started working more with 2-D art where I collected postage stamps, chocolate wrappers and other colorful papers in order to make collage work. This year I have participated in 4 outdoor art events selling my 2-D work so you might say I’m at a fork of sorts figuring out what my next creative steps will be.

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

The way I work as an artist is often turning inward, finding my voice and letting whatever inspiration push me forward in my work. Often I have no idea of how my creations will be perceived, but digging deep beyond doubts and some fears of potential rejections I let go of my own judgment and let the flow take over. The best part is showing my work and connecting with the public. Hearing that they love that shirt/skirt/hat or 2-D art they purchased. I somehow through finding creativity within myself reached an individual person and brought them joy.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

From being a little girl afraid of staying over night at a friend’s house to someone who moved by herself from Sweden to the USA at the age of 21… somewhere along the way I acquired resilience. Unfortunately to find our own strength we often have to experience hardship first to realize how strong we actually are. In 2020 I was fortunate enough to go to my annual mammogram despite it being in the middle of the pandemic. It saved my life. I was diagnosed with Triple Negative Breast Cancer and had to start 6 months of treatments which included chemo, surgery and radiation. Even during this difficult time I found ways of documenting my journey by making self portraits of my bald head and writing poetry in order to spread awareness of breast cancer on social media. I believe we all have resilience that can be tapped into when needed. Thankfully being an artist I could use my creativity as a healing tool.

Contact Info:

• Website: Currently Swedeeva on Etsy but best to follow Instagram
• Instagram: Swedeeva Nyeseyes Hejhejnamaste
• Facebook: Swedeeva

Image Credits
Eva Nye