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

Hi Sloane, thanks for joining us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I have been influenced and immersed in the arts since before I can remember. Dating back to Elementary school where my art teacher Ms. Elkins started an after school art club- we spent time muraling a mailbox and then delivering letters sent between students. My dream before realizing I was an artist, was to be a mailman. I attended summer camp every year and got to choose what I wanted to focus on – I always chose to participate in the visual (or performing) arts, my sister always chose the sports sector (She is now a professional sports agent, and I am an artist). I grew up in Washington DC where I had access to some of the greatest works of art, so needless to say I spent as much time as I could between the different art museums and galleries. I was enthralled with anything and everything that was creatively based. The real kicker however, was when I was in highschool deciding what college I wanted to go to and what I wanted to focus on as a major. I didn’t love anything more than I loved the arts, creating it, being around it, talking about it – it was my favorite part of life besides my family, travel, (and horses). My art teacher at the time, (she who shall not be named), told me I should probably chose another career path because she didn’t see me growing up to be a professional artist. Professional artist, what does that even mean? haha. So of course I took her words and threw them out the window and used that momentum to learn and grow and harness my skill and craft and creativity. That was when I knew for sure, the only thing I could possibly ever be “professionally” was the title of Artist. I mean, it is who I am after-all.

Sloane, 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 don’t believe I can be defined with just one word. I am a world traveler, lover, horse enthusiast, dog mom, family person, concert goer and most dear to my heart, an artist. I am an interdisciplinary artist – Interdisciplinary, a word that seeps into almost every aspect of my life. Although I’ve been predominantly working with metal (both in sculpture and wall hangings) for the last 9 years, I also have a background in painting, metal casting, print-making and wood-working. I don’t believe in putting anyone in a box, so It’s hard for me to narrow down on a specific medium or way of creating. But, for purposes of not writing a novel right now, I’ll dive into how I got hooked on metal. As part of my curriculum as a sculpture major at Syracuse University, we learned to weld and pour metal. I knew nothing about this medium before entering school, so one can only imagine how starry-eyed and in awe I was when I learned all the things I could do with metal (a material I considered to be so hard and rigid and so far away from the themes connected in my work). It was new and exciting and different from the paintings I had been so obsessed with for years (I had spent most of my formative years cultivating a skill and eye for the two-dimensional). The freedom in being able to build something from the ground up, to allow form and fluidity to enter a space not only on a flat work, but in a 3D form, was so inspiring and I felt it was starting to open so many more doors for my artistic practice. I took a small hiatus from creating all together after graduating college, and moved to Wyoming/Idaho where I was a pack guide on horseback leading people into the back-country in some of the most serene areas of Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Park. It was life-changing to say the least, and I knew these “other-worldy” experiences, for a city girl like myself, would only assist in broadening themes in my own art once I was ready to dive back into it. Fast forward 8 years, and I find myself sitting here in Driggs, Idaho in my studio, staring at all the tools and skills I’ve accumulated over the years. I fought for what felt like forever for an affordable working space where I could create my art, and it wasn’t until this last May when I finally found an incredible local landlord with an old truck weigh station that he was willing to rent to me at a beautifully affordable price. No longer working out of sheds and snowy fields in my backyard(s) – with this new studio, I was given the time, space, and security to really cultivate a healthy and consistent artistic practice (yet again). So here I am today, making magic out of metal (and on the side, helping out my community with odd jobs regarding welding and fabrication). I do not plan much, or sketch out ideas. I am a “fly by the seat of my pants” kinda artist when it comes to my process. I have about 100 working ideas at a time, written down between the 10 active sketchbooks I’m using that day. I practice a lot and test-run ideas, and they fail, and then I do it again. I love the freedom in my creative process, that there isn’t always a method to my madness or a reason behind why I have decided to try a new theory. I am concise and a perfectionist, without ever getting anything exactly right. My whole practice is as contradictory as how I live my life – something I used to be ashamed of, now brings me great satisfaction. I am a researcher, a scientist and an artist all in one. Last year I was hyper-focused on the rivers and waterways that surround me, and depicting them in 3D form out of metal and through the colors I’ve harnessed in my patina’s. I felt like that body of work was a niche subject, since it was so specific to the freedoms I had personally found in rafting and spending time on the water. Summers out here are magical, if you know, you know and I was really focused on that magic when I was getting back into creating again. Now that I am more confident in my practice, and have gained a following and interest from the humans that surround me, I am excited to announce that I am diving into a more abstract body of work – with themes that are a little heavier and more human experience based. I am currently working on a piece that I’d like to think is my own version of the wailing wall – and stay tuned because there are many more to come.

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

I think this is a very important discussion that needs to be had. In this day and age, with technology and our fast-growing outside influences, I think we often overlook the artist painting out of their house, or the sculptor working part-time as a bartender, or the culinary magician who is slinging burgers at the local dive bar. People who have just as much enthusiasm and zest for their creative process, but aren’t able to rely financially on it to pay the bills. In turn, these creatives are forced to work outside their artistry in order to survive, and with doing so, often don’t have as much time to invest in their practice. As a community and a society, we need to do better to recognize and encourage the lesser known creatives. To shop local and with small businesses, to ask the hard questions and have the conversations based on curiosity with the people we pass by. Face-to-face communication is lacking so much these days with the presence of social media and the phone, that I think we often forget to inquire about peoples passions and purposes. To realize that humans are more diverse and complex than just being described with a single word, will allow us to cultivate and encourage a creative ecosystem. More interviews with the small artist, the new artist, less competition and more camaraderie in our practices and our processes. Some of the biggest talents come from the most hidden places, and we won’t find them unless we want to. I think that’s the trick, as a whole, we need to want to learn and find and support all artists and creatives, no matter how big or small, no matter how successful or famous. We need to recognize the influence art, music, food, etc. has on our culture and realize the impact it has in our day to day. Let’s focus less on the material, and more on the human – encouraging pushing boundaries in the creative realm so it doesn’t just influence the art patron who can afford to buy art.

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

Freedom. It all boils down to the contradiction between freedom in my creation and being trapped in my ideas. My entire life, my brain has come up with such large ideas centered around huge, heavy and complex concepts. I’ve had and have so many questions and so many inquiries, and I didn’t know how to find the answers. The beauty I’ve found over the years is, there may not be answers aside from the ones I come up with while creating a work. And I think that is an answer in itself. I make up a lot of it and no one can tell me “that’s wrong” because at the end of the day, I’m the only one here to answer my own questions. My work, my art, my ability to exercise the freedom to create without boundaries, has assisted me in feeling more at ease with the uncertainties of life. It’s funny really, this freedom in my creating, is also the stress in not knowing the outcome. I haven’t always been able to harness the carefree, relaxed, go-with-the-flow vibe I’m often able to harness in the playfulness in my process, but I think that’s why making art is so rewarding. There is no right or wrong way, there are no rules, there aren’t guidelines or parameters I need to follow – it’s just me, my brain, my heart, my most authentic self, poured out onto whatever I’m working on at the time.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.sloanehartwell.com
• Instagram: @sloanehartwellart
• Facebook: Sloane Hartwell
• Other: Some younger year performance works – https://vimeo.com/user5409222