Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Pamela Palma. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Pamela, appreciate you joining us today. Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?
I am happiest when I can put my fingers on textiles – yarn, thread, cloth – it all speaks to me and soothes my soul. It has always been this way for me. I need to create because it is who I am. Textiles are my thing, my visual voice.
Throughout my life I have been conflicted about pursuing textiles as a career and have vacillated between “normal” jobs and my art. It is a struggle to survive financially on art. Yet it is a more difficult path emotionally, spiritually, to work in the confinement of an office, serving the needs of the corporate entity which cares little for the individuals who allow it to function.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I was born into a family of creative women who were makers of things – beautiful, decorative, utilitarian – items made with cloth, thread, and yarn. Embroidered table linens. Crocheted kitchen items. Hand knit sweaters. I learned early on, finding great satisfaction in the creative process, mastering techniques over the years. In college I learned the fine art of weaving, a very complex system of manipuating threads on looms to create cloth. There is no limit to what can be done in fiber arts in general and in weaving in particular. I adapted to the complexities of reading coded patterns, translating pattern drafts into thread sequences on the loom to weave cloth, not so different from computer programming except weaving is physical, tactile, visual, resulting in a tangible item.
My woven art is multi faceted. I design utilitarian products like table runners, placemats, tea towels. I make hand bags from my cloth, shawls, ruanas, scarves and wearable art apparel. And I explore the many avenues of fine art and mixed media fiber art. Tapestries, wall art, and murals enter new dimensions with the addition of unexpected materials in the weavings. Especially money, my favorite addition to cloth. There are so many things to express visually by weavving in strips of money. Years ago I acquired a quantity of decommissioned one-hundred-dollar bills, sliced into thin strips, perfect for incorporating into woven fabric. And thus began my series, The Money Weavings.
All the work I create is the product of my imagination. I do not copy other artists. I do not sketch my ideas. I do not use software. I keep meticulous record of my art yet I never re-make. Each art work is envisioned in my mind’s eye. I pull colorful yarn and materials from my stash to decide what works. Then I set up one of my looms and go for it. The creative process is exhilarating, holistic. My fingers and feet work the loom, ideas fly like the wind as cloth develops before my eyes.
My work tends to be unusual, which is the point. I have no desire to emulate my peers or produce what has been mass produced off shore and sold in big box stores. I know we are all individuals, we are all unique. What we wear, use, how we deorate our spaces can reflect our own personal spark.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?
Non creatives may not understand the need, and the importance to society, of creativity. Our very beginnings are the result of creation. We are created. Therefore we are by nature inherently creative. We may or may not have the desire or encouragement to exercise this right of birth. Truly, our culture does not place importance on creativity. Very often art is regarded as “fluff” – stuff we whip up out of the ethers that takes no effort. Nothing can be further fromm the truth.
Yet without creativity, imagination, and art, our society would be very primitive. Everything we own has been created by a design professional, an artist plying her trade. We may be born with certain tendancies but to become fully adept as professionals, we train, study, practice, go to university, learn more, develop processes and products.
In addition, to use your hands in the process of making is very empowering to the maker on so many levels. It promotes healing. It is actually necessary to our well being.
Is there a mission driving your creative journey?
My mission as an artist is to make the world a more beautiful place, one thread at a time by creating beauty we can live with. The second aspect of my mission is to encourage others to express their own creativity and so I offer classes in weaving, sewing, embroidery, knitting and more.
I create for myself as much as for the world. I feel good when I create. When I feel good, I can shine my light around to others to shine their light. I chose to create beauty. We need it, we need to be surrounded by beauty. It is uplifting, joyful. It gives life meaning. I use my art as a way to express my impressions of the world I see, good and not so good, by creating works of art that are asethetically pleasing. Each work I create has meaning, a back story. Social commentary. Satire. Allegories. Parables.
Stories from before, recalled in vague mythological tellings that remind us of what existed before our current system, before patriarchy, whisperings of silenced goddesses that reveal there is more to life than what meets the eye. This is where magic lies, this is where art dwells before it is made manifest by artists, creatives.
Contact Info:
- Website: pamelapalmadesigns.com
- Instagram: @pamelapalmadesigns
- Facebook: pamelapalmadesigns
Image Credits
Pamela Palma