We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Molly McCracken. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Molly below.
Hi Molly, thanks for joining us today. 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.
Although I have never gone to “Art” school, I don’t consider myself a self-taught artist. Beginning at an early age I had a wonderful supportive family who taught me the importance of using my hands to make things. Not only make things, but observe. My grandmother was a geologist and taught me to look closely and really see things in nature, like agates on the shore of Lake Superior. My other grandma was a teacher and an incredible homemaker who taught me the importance of education and being able to make things that are necessary in everyday life. I had an excellent studio art teacher in high school, an incredible art history teacher in college, and many other influential teachers and mentors at various classes I took along the way. I am not sure that there is any way to “speed up the process” since the process is the most important part of my art practice. All of the parts of my life, including my supportive spouse and children, have played into and lead up to where I am today. Having children might be considered by some as an obstacle, and indeed I wasn’t making much art for myself when they were younger, but having them has grown the art education side of my practice. I would say the most essential skill I’ve learned as a working artist has been forming a daily practice, something that keeps me making, searching out opportunities and believing in myself.
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 am a collage and mixed media artist and art instructor working in Arlington, Virginia. I take a playful, process-driven approach to my work, even when the subject matter is sometimes heavy. My intent is to bring emotions, personal history and women’s issues, among many other ideas, to light in a beautiful and often humorous way using shape, line and color. I also teach a wide variety of classes for all ages at the Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington and Falls Church Arts, which inform and inspire my own practice through conversations and connections made. Inspiration is all around, in passing clouds and rocks on the beach, in people and places, in present feelings and warm nostalgia.
Sometimes a cast off piece of paper on the floor is the inspiration for a whole body of work in my tiny studio. Sometimes the feel of the scissors in my hand makes me let go of my anxiety. Sometimes my mind wanders around in the colors and shapes until the right combination appears. All of these reasons draw me to collage. However, I feel stifled if I am not constantly playing with different materials, trying out new color combinations or learning new techniques. The freedom in playing with whatever idea pops into my mind, the ability to calm the chaos that resides there and the idea that whatever I produce might touch another person’s mind, keeps me excited about my work and prolific in the studio.
I show my work regularly in gallery spaces and online at my website www.artistmolly.com. I do sell my work, but at this point in my life/career it isn’t the top priority and I recognize my privilege in being able to create the work that I want without the added pressure of needing to sell. I have enjoyed managing the Falls Church Arts Instagram account in addition to my own active social media @mollyfmccracken. I am planning a big project for the summer of 2024 with the big public art project and can’t wait to share more details. I enjoy spending time working with people to encourage their own creativity and firmly believe that art is for EVERYONE.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
There are two components to the most rewarding part of being an artist. First, in my role as an “art encourager” aka art instructor, it is the most amazing feeling when someone creates something that they feel really excited and proud of. I always tell people in my classes that you can’t pick up an instrument and play a concerto, same goes for art – you have to put in the practice and once they see that if they work at something they can get better at it, a light goes on for them. This is especially true for adults, kids often haven’t built up the idea of “perfection” yet and are much less inhibited by these social pressures. The second “most rewarding aspect” of being an artist is having my own art cause a viewer or collector to have a feeling of deep understanding. When someone says, “that piece really speaks to me”, I feel like I’ve made a connection with them through my own intimate process of creation.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
Instagram is my favorite social media platform. I think many artists use it since it is imagery based. When I started out, I was just posting things that appealed to me – the clouds, a nice sunrise, anything that struck my fancy. As my art practice became more established, I focused my social media feed on my art, mostly the process of creation. My studio is tiny and messy (but organized to me), and I enjoy showing the reality of what and where I create. I’ve never been particularly good at showing the finished work on a blank white background, usually there are paper scraps, paint drips, brushes and scissors all over the place. Keeping my feed true to myself, (mostly) ignoring trends and not trying to curate what I think people will want to see has served me well. I post what and when I want to post, algorithm be damned.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.artistmolly.com
- Instagram: @mollyfmccracken
Image Credits
Headshot credit Patty Hines (Gertie Gebre Photography) All artwork photos, Molly F. McCracken