We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Shaelyn Dalziel. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Shaelyn below.
Alright, Shaelyn thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?
Growing up, I was always encouraged to draw and paint, especially since both of my parents were artists. As a small child, I was always observing my parents and their process of creating. After many years of watching, I became more interested in creating more serious works on my own. I began painting and explored colored, then I explored the simplicity of ink and charcoal. I developed my most concentrated work when I reached city college. My ideas and visions became more complex which challenged me to further my execution. After gaining an understanding with mediums like charcoal and oil, I discovered printmaking. Etching and relief became a love of mine where I felt I could combine painterly aspects to the power of black and white lines. Learning a new craft starts with curiosity then exploration and finally dedication. This is a never-ending cycle that opens new doors each time.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
In the simplest terms, I am an aspiring young artist. I have experience in most mediums, but my main expertise and love lies in painting, drawing, and printmaking. Although my work ranges in subject matter, I am most interested in the figure and the abstraction of a feeling. Something that is important to know about me and my practice, is that I want people to have their own interpretations. I strive to make my work obscure, so that the viewer can identify something internally beyond what they are seeing.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
I find the most rewarding moments to be in the process of creating. For example, the most rewarding part of printmaking is lifting the paper off the plate after being rolled through press, to see it exactly how you envisioned it. With painting or drawing, it’s being able to know exactly when it is finished. However, the most rewarding of it all, is the moment when you start a new piece after finishing one. It’s this complete restart. As much as I love completing a project, starting a new one is where I feel most in my realm. The rhythm of exploring and discovering in those beginning stages are my favorite. It’s freeing and fluid. Watching a piece change in an hour or so from a small mark to a moving, evolving image is the most rewarding part of art.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
The lessons that I keep on my sleeve every day are: the safest option is not the best option and perfection is the enemy. We all have our own definitions of “safe” and “perfection” and I am guilty of being a perfectionist in my own way, however, I think I had to unlearn the idea that perfection will make my work great and being safe in my methods. After rewiring my brain to allow imperfections to happen whether its badly blended colors, disproportioned figures, or messy lines, I realized that these are the characteristics that allow me to discover myself in my work. There is an interview with David Bowie giving advice to young artists and it’s an interview that I can’t recommend enough. He states, “ if you feel safe in the area that you’re working in, you’re not working in the right areas. Always go a little further into the water than you feel you’re capable of being in… and when you don’t feel that your feet are quite touching the bottom, you’re just about in the right place to do something exciting.” I definitely try to live by this quote. It changed the way I work in the aspect that I try to be fearless and emotive with my process.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.shaelyndalziel.com
- Instagram: @shaelyndalz
Image Credits
Michael “Waldo” Foeller