We recently connected with Lisa Lee Freeman and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Lisa Lee, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

One of my most meaningful projects is an expansive, 15-foot artwork called This is the River This is the Sea, which I’m creating for a fall art exhibition called Meltdown. The piece is about the Hudson River’s vulnerability to climate change as well as its status as the largest Superfund site in the country. What makes the work especially poignant is that it’s an NEA grant-funded project about global warming at a time when the arts and environmental advocacy are under attack. The environment is a major focus of my art practice.

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

I am an abstract artist based in New York’s Hudson Valley. I became a full-time artist in my 50s after earning a Master of Fine Arts degree at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. Although I’ve always been an artist, it’s been a major transition. I spent my whole career working as a journalist. My last full-time job was editor-in-chief of a national women’s magazine called ShopSmart, which was published by Consumer Reports. After that, I worked a variety of media jobs, including freelance gigs as a TV correspondent, podcaster, and brand spokesperson.
I’m still freelancing part-time (I write a column for AARP), and journalism inspires my art practice. My background sets me apart in the art world because it shapes how I think and work. I’m constantly researching my subject matter, gathering facts and visuals that inform my artwork, and I use a lot of chart and text imagery. Also, I’m obsessed with ink on paper as an artistic medium.
My art has appeared in many exhibitions and is featured in an award-winning documentary film called Wayfinding. I’m excited about ways of expanding my art practice to larger public spaces. My artworks are large and colorful map-like creations. They’re about navigating uncertainty in our chaotic world. We live in extremely turbulent times, and I tend to catastrophize about things, especially the environment. My art is a way to engage with the mayhem, and try to make sense of what is happening and what might happen. It speaks to the ability we have to move through states of uncertainty and find a way forward even when we’re feeling hopelessly lost. Sometimes, there is no way to find our way without losing it first.

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

Society can support art and artists by supporting non-profit art institutions and government programs that fund the arts, and of course by buying art. We live at a time when art has been devalued and defunded by politicians. But we all benefit from a free and flourishing art ecosystem. Art—whether it’s a painting, poem, song, movie, book, play, or dance performance—not only makes life better but also stands as a reminder of the value of freedom of expression, which Americans should never take for granted. It’s easy to forget that this kind of freedom doesn’t exist in many other parts of the world, and it’s what our country was built on.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

A lesson I had to unlearn as an artist was to stop obsessing about results and outcomes and focus instead on the process. You have to trust the process!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.lisaleefreemanart.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/studiolisalee/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisaleefreeman/

Image Credits

Lisa Lee Freeman