We were lucky to catch up with Yvette Rock recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Yvette, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.

My father is the late Humphrey Amstelveen. My mother is Catalina Amstelveen. From a young age, my parents supported my creative path. They witnessed my love for art and never once, told me not to make art or pursue it. My parents never said the words, “You can’t make a living as an artist,” “You’re going to be a starving artist,” or “Why don’t you become a doctor or lawyer?” The words that stuck with me for my entire life were, “Never give up!” My parents valued me as a person and because of that, they valued my creative choices. They encouraged me to get an education and to work hard. I am thankful to this day for parents who showed me unconditional love and support. When we came to America in the 80s it didn’t stop them from doing what they could to nurture my creativity and educational paths. They sent me off to high school in the wee hours of the morning as I took a bus, and train, then walked to my high school campus in downtown Miami. They dropped me off at Cooper Union in New York City when it was time to go to college at the age of 17. Though heartbroken (first kid out of the house) – they allowed me to follow my dreams. For all this and more, I thank them!

Yvette, 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 have been an artist most of my life. From a young age, I had teachers who supported and nurtured my creativity. I attended schools with art programs and thrived as a young artist. I attended Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art and received my Bachelor of Fine Arts. This was followed by graduate school at University of Michigan in Ann Arbor where I received a Master of Fine Arts in painting. It was during my time at U of M that I was introduced to the wonderful city of Detroit – now my home of 25 years.

I have a passion for art, community, and education and believe art has the power to transform lives. Its with this conviction that I formed Live Coal, a 501(c)(3) in Detroit. As a teaching artist for over two decades, I love bringing art to all people! Seeing people’s reactions to works they make is one of the highlights of my career – especially when the reaction is one of awe because the person who made it never thought they could be an artist or make art. I love taking people through a journey of art-making where there’s so much discovery about themselves and their world.

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

I love art and sharing it with others so much that at the age of 48, I went back to college to get my visual arts teaching certificate! This two year process was incredibly challenging, but I gained what I hoped to gain – a greater understanding and knowledge about art education. After Covid-19, I found it incredibly difficult to teach. I wanted more. I needed more tools. I believe one of the best supports we can give artists is to nurture them from a young age. Children are often ignored when they tell the adults in their lives that they want to be artists! Why? Is it really all about money or is it rooted in fear? If that’s the case, how can we build a case for art as a life journey and career option? I also think we can embrace people in all ages and stages of their creative journey. For some, they don’t realize this side of them until much older. Let’s find ways to support artists and creatives at all stages.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Here is my artist statement:
I am an artist, proudly rooted by place, Detroit, and courageously unrestricted by form. I paint. I photograph. I transform objects and manipulate materials. I create collages. Each work is part of an ever-evolving conversation with my city, identity, memory, the world around me, and the relationships I see between issues seemingly in opposition but often connected.

I choose the word artist over being labeled one thing —such as merely a painter — because I’m enlivened by looking at issues from multiple angles and using various mediums, textures, and materials. Much like the shape at the center of many of my paintings and canvas selections, I am constantly circling back, exploring, questioning, and sometimes simply honoring themes central to who I am as a person. I’m curious about motherhood, from conception to birth, about the toll of racism, about the effects of time on people, on the land, on history. Making art in Detroit for nearly three decades has only deepened this commitment to allowing the process to lead my work to its preferred form.

Whether representational or abstract – preferably in series, the hope for my work is the same, to capture a connectedness to people, issues, and histories I am compelled to account for, value, and memorialize. I imagine the untold stories and the many things we don’t know. My eye is always shifting. A current series, What Comes From Dirt, is inspired by a photograph of a dirt mound from a lot I own in Detroit’s Brightmoor neighborhood. The dirt symbolizes the resilience of people and places and the unexpected literal and figurative surprises of exploring unknowns or fixed ideas. The dirt, a source of life and transformation, is a metaphor for my journey and the determination of community in the face of struggle.

Through art, I remain inspired. I’m convinced it is my truest lens to understand the past, reflect on the present, and imagine our future.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.yvetterock.com
• Instagram: @yvetterockdetroit
• Facebook: @yvetteraquelrock

Image Credits

Photo of Yvette Rock by Stanley Larry, Exclusive Visions, LLC