We were lucky to catch up with Lucinda Luvaas recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Lucinda, thanks for joining us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I knew from a very early age that I wanted to be a creator.

Lucinda, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

From early childhood I’ve always felt more comfortable living in a world of my own creation rather than the actual world around me. When I was four years old I used to make up short skits for my family and perform in the living room. I had a lonely childhood. In retrospect I think it gave me time to explore my imagination, making up stories, creating little stages for my dinosaurs and other creatures. I’ve always regarded the imagination as my life blood. My first love was theater and then film. I studied acting in Manhattan and worked on short films with friends. I lived in Europe for two years when I was in my twenties and that’s when I started drawing and painting seriously.

Art for me isn’t an industry it’s a way of life. It’s a way of seeing the world and then interpreting it for others to see. What I give people is a certain way of looking and interpreting our times. It’s a priceless thing although every work of art has a price.

Being a creative is not always an easy thing. The creative muse is very demanding. One has to sacrifice much to go down this road, but the payback makes it well worth it. A good day in the studio is very special.

I create dramatic narratives both in painting and short film. My work is represented in NYC by the Walter Wickiser Gallery, Inc. and in Santa Monica, Bergamot Station by the Lois Lambert Gallery. I’ve been showing my work professionally since the ’80’s and have shown in the USA, Canada, and Europe. I’ve participated in a number of art fairs: Art on Paper, NYC, Form, Miami, Art LA, Art Toronto and others. I’ve shown my art and films at universities, colleges and museums in the US and abroad. My artwork has been featured on Channel Thirteen, PBS, NYC, PBS in Los Angeles and many other venues. My most recent film: Road 721 has been screened at over sixty film festivals here and abroad. It has won numerous awards. The film’s theme is our forest fires. It’s an environmental ghost story set in California forests.

In addition to my life as a multimedia artist I curate exhibitions here in the LA area. My most recent works have been a multimedia exhibition called: Reflections on Our Warming Planet. This show is comprised of over 20 artists, scientists and community activists dealing with the subject of climate change.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

In America we value an accumulation of things not creative accomplishments. Being creative is discouraged from the time we are in grade school and thereafter. Unfortunately, as a society we don’t value creativity–only if we can use it in some way, or benefit from it financially. So, we would need a different way of looking at creativity: seeing the intrinsic value of art and the benefit it can bring to our communities. Years ago I worked as an artist in the schools in NYC. I encouraged the students to use their imaginations. There were no grades involved in my workshops. When I would come into a classroom all of the students would stand up and clap, saying “yea!” and the teacher would look at them and then at me…I think it was eventually an “ah ha” moment because they realized that the arts were fundamentally important for thinking, and for motivating students. So I saw from the ground up the need for individual expression–how important creativity is to motivate and inspire.

Our society is bankrupt and fairly blind when it comes to seeing how important creativity is. We respect it in the sciences to some extent, but not much in the arts.

Our government puts less funding into arts organizations than Canada does. We need to realize the importance of the arts and find ways to sponsor more public projects and more educational opportunities where arts professionals can share their abilities with the public.

The most important thing is to realize how valuable individual creative expression is and how essential it is to nurture this side of ourselves in order to create a more positive, dynamic society.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

My mission is to move people and get them to wonder and appreciate the power of visual art.

Contact Info:

• Website: lucindaluvaasnewwork.com
• Instagram: @cinsensations
• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/lucindaluvaasartist/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucinda-luvaas-156236b7/
• Other: https://www.walterwickisergallery.com/artist-pagelucinda-luvaas-first-page https://www.loislambertgallery.com/lucinda-luvaas https://www.artsy.net/artist/lucinda-luvaas