We recently connected with Nicole Maynard and have shared our conversation below.

Nicole, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

Here is my elevator pitch for my recent series of paintings and drawings: “I use color and paint to create otherworldly, abstract places on the edge.” Of course, there is more to it than that, but that simple sentence is a door to my thinking. I don’t know what the places will look like until I’m finished making them out of oil paint, oil pastels, colored pencil, collage, or on my iPad). I deliberately use linear perspective and break from it in order to show architecture in an unstable environment, something shifting that reflects my personal climate anxiety living in Miami as well as architecture in relation to home. Home is a reoccurring theme for many artists. It can take the form of exile from a home country or the traveling that takes one away from home, for instance. A childhood home is a place to which you can never fully return because it’s not only about the architecture. A childhood home is the memory of the place in a specific past with you at a particular age and the family with you, who are also all frozen at particular ages in particular circumstances. In that sense, none of us can go back (maybe that’s for the best). Home can be a state of mind. We make new homes, sometimes by choice. Many people are unhoused but perhaps still have homes because of family ties. I have a physical home that feels like home but I choose to think of home as wherever I am. My paintings are like snapshots of places in transition.

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?

After a lifetime of moving around the Northeast (I’m originally from Boston), I moved to Miami in 2017 because of its vibrant art community and to become an artist-in-residence at the Bakehouse Art Complex in Wynwood. I create paintings, works on paper, and digital drawings printed in limited editions that I sell through my studio and website. Since that time, my relationships with my amazing colleagues have grown and expanded. My artistic practice is in tandem with my work as an arts educator. I’m currently serving as the Education Programs Manager at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami. Working as a part of a museum team by day and alongside other artists by night is stimulating and fulfilling. I did a double major in Painting and Art Education as an undergraduate and am still challenged to balance the number of hours it takes to do both well. My teaching skills make me a resource to collectors who would like to learn more about art as a whole and mine in particular. People are confident asking questions when they know I share insights in response to their curiosity in a way that is engaging and leads to deeper conversation. Art is also fun. It’s about experiences and connections. I work abstractly, and that way of thinking informs how I am outside of the studio as well. Abstraction implies the process of simplification – I’m decisive, preferring to get to what is most important; I don’t like to waste anyone’s time. It’s not a contradiction to say, however, that one can engage with my work over time, that it offers sustained looking rather than a glance because it’s complex.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

Artists are valued differently from culture to culture, and part of that is determined by the function of art in society. Art can be a part of a cultural tradition, infusing daily life with meaning and beauty. When art becomes a commodity, its meaning can be changed, distorted, or lost. The equation of time = money comes into play, as artists need time to make art, which means they need money. The art market of the western world has so many layers, many of which are far from transparent. The best way for society to show the importance it places on art is to respect artists as people, attend art events, provide public and private funding for artists and art institutions, and for its people to buy art for homes and workplaces from living artists. If art is purchased as an investment alone with only a small number of artists singled out in terms of low economic risk and high return, the role that art plays in society can diminish. Wise financial decisions can apply to art. My point is that it’s incredibly sad if the main purpose of art in society is financial gain. Collectors need to buy what they love, even as they are mindful of other factors.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

As studies in cognitive science reveal new ways people think, there is increasing attention to the idea of “positive self-talk.” The stories we tell ourselves and the thoughts we have shape our self-image, you’ve heard it before. Artists have another layer to this internal dialogue because, in addition to battling issues of distraction or self-worth, artists see what is trending in the Art World and have to decide their place in relation to it. The cliché of “staying true to oneself” is what needs to happen to make authentic art, but one can’t go live in a cave; an artist has to be immersed in their time. The kicker is that the artist’s thoughts impact the art! Thoughts are embedded in art from conception through execution. The greatness of an artwork has to do with a combination of concept, feeling, and vision. It takes commitment and perseverance to stick it out. It’s only the magical feeling of flow and fulfillment that can entice someone to navigate the minefield.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://nicolemaynard.studio
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicole_maynard.studio/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NicoleMaynard.Studio/
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-maynard-159723126
• Youtube: @NicoleMaynard.Studio

Image Credits
3 photos of me in my studio done by Mateo Serna Zapata | MSZ Foto