Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Rebecca Gonzalez Cifaldi. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Rebecca thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

A project that was meaningful to me was photographic using alternative processes such as cyanotype, gum bichromate, and photo-sensitive dyes. The process led to my using more painterly gestures, relating also to printmaking. The technique led me to restart image-making post graduate school. It seemed I was more able to find my authentic voice in this technique that mixed colors, shapes, and patterns, stemming from photographic sources. I then began to write on the paper with white color pencils before painting the photosensitive chemicals on the paper. The color pencil acted as a kind of resist, intriguing me, and leading to an expressiveness that went beyond color, shape, and imagery. Words added another layer of meaning.

Rebecca, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am the daughter and granddaughter of Mexican immigrants. I grew up in the southeast Michigan region known as “Downriver” as in down-river from Detroit. It is a mostly working class area, though considered suburban and rural. As a young person I was very curious and this is still strong in me today. I am interested in a variety of things, in no particular order: lakes, nature, dogs, knitting, photography, reading, going to galleries, thrifting, sewing, mending, taking mechanical things apart, helping, listening to music, sports, walking, traveling, camping, talking, laughing, watching movies, biking, gardening, making art.

Though my mother always supported my artistic interests, I was quite stubborn, and resisted taking this seriously until my junior year of college at Eastern Michigan University. I took my first drawing class with Larry Freeman, a wonderfully kind and quirky professor who supported me in my interest in art. I realized in that first class that I had found my calling, and that everything else would always be in conjunction with creating art.

My work is primarily in the mixed media category, though it is photographic, using alternative processes such as cyanotype, gum bichromate, and photo-sensitive dyes. I am interested in using historical and archival photographic negatives, and have begun a process of sorting my family archive of photos. I hope to capture the fleeting moments in life, uncovering the layers of meaning we find in the world around us and in our connections to each other, through time and space.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is that it feeds my curiosity. Being curious about the world helps to connect us to each other. It leads to chance interactions that become lifelong friends. It helps us understand each other and the world in a way that is fulfilling and meaningful.

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 is that art is made in only one specific “correct” way. There are as many ways of art as there are people. Finding my own authentic voice in creativity has taken me years, but now I know that the practice of art is less about what others think and more my perspective on what is happening.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://rebeccacifaldi.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/msbetty_c/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rebecca.g.cifaldi/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-cifaldi-0594b5a
• Twitter: @msbettyc

Image Credits
Rebecca Gonzalez Cifaldi