We recently connected with Siri Stensberg and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Siri thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I’ve wanted to be an artist since childhood. I was a quiet and reserved kid. But I found I had a knack for art and some of my fondest memories growing up were getting lost for hours while painting on printer paper at my childhood kitchen table. I think my entire life I’ve searched for points of self-expression and connection beyond the verbal. I pursued dual paths in music and art, finished college and went to graduate school for studio art. During my M.F.A, I relished the expanse of time to intensely focus to my practice. Today, I love the endless possibilities that linger when I sit down at my studio table and the connection my work creates between myself and my environment. Being an artist continuously expands my perspective and I find so much joy sharing that perspective with others.

Siri, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am an interdisciplinary artist who makes work that spans painting, drawing, video, sound, and installation. My work is about transformation, whether it be of the found materials, layered abstractions I construct, or gallery spaces that morph into new experiences for visitors. I have exhibited my work nationally. In the last few years, I have focused on making immersive installations that overtake spaces.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I think being a maker and artist can come with many expectations of what success looks like. A creative practice isn’t something that turns off when you go home (especially true of me, who lives in a studio apartment with a studio space carved into a corner). It can be easy to feel like you aren’t doing enough or that you aren’t where you are supposed to be. I have a full time job in addition to making my own artwork and am constantly trying to find the a work-life balance where I feel simultaneously fulfilled and not stretched too thin. It’s also important to me that I also feel healthy with meaningful relationships in my life. I have learned to give myself grace and increasingly am of the opinion that being an artist is a marathon. There is no correct way to be an artist, and often we are exactly where we need to be, moving forward step-by-step. I have had to learn patience, self-kindness, and when to push through or take a step back from a project. Sacrificing long-term happiness to chase an idea of who I should be is not worth it, and also not how I make my best work.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Navigating my own personal artistic interests and exterior demands of showing work publicly has been a challenging. I am someone who needs to constantly pivot my practice, switching between mediums and modalities. For example, I was a hardcore painter before I went to graduate school. Upon arriving at graduate school a few years ago, having trudged my oil paint, canvas roll, and brushes across the country, I realized that I had lost all interest in painting oil paintings. So began the painful process of unlearning, discovery, and experimentation. I’ve since worked with clay, fibers, found materials, light, video, and sound. Through this process I’ve learned that I make my best and most interesting work as a I travel across different ideas and materials.

However, it’s a vulnerable space to be in when you are experimenting with something new while presenting it to the public knowing it isn’t fully flushed out. It can take years to develop ideas. It can be difficult to let go of something that was received successfully. And when applying to opportunities, directness and clarity strengthen your application. But pivoting and experimentation can lead to greater things down the road, even if it means being uncomfortable in the present.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://siristensberg.com/
• Instagram: @siristensberg

Image Credits

Meagan Marsh Pine