We were lucky to catch up with Sondra Schwetman recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Sondra, thanks for joining us today. Let’s start with inspirations and heroes. Are there any historical figures you look up to?

I look at many artists from history as an influence. I have grown my own practice by finding common ground with sculptors that I find. My favorite influences are Louise Bourgeois, Kiki Smith and Ann Hamilton. I have learned something different from each of these artists. Two of the are still living and creating work. I lessons I draw are mainly that you can succeed as a woman in the traditionally male field of sculpture.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I have been creating sculpture based on feminist ideas for about 30 years. I don’t sell much work because I am employed as a professor at Cal Poly Humboldt in Arcata CA and don’t need to create art for a “market”. That being said I can work as I please, not worrying about salability. This has allowed me to grow as a conceptual artist in a market that can really limit your creativity. I exhibit regularly on the local, national and international levels.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I worked for a petrochemical consulting firm in Houston, TX. At some point I decided that was not enough. I quit my job and went to grad school to study sculpture at the University of Houston. I have never regretted that decision for a moment even though I will never make that much money again. I’m not a starving artist, but teaching dose not pay as much.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

My creative partner (and it turns out life partner) and I established “Metal Pincushion” in 2010. We create collaborative sculpture installations. This is in addition to my individual work. We have exhibited several times in the following years. I actually him through school. He was the studio assistant to Maris Benson (a sculptor from Latvia) who also worked at Cal Poly before his death.

Contact Info:

• Website: sondraschwetmanart.com

Image Credits
Image by me