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"I consider myself an artist who works in clay, rather than a ceramicist per se...I look first at what I want to say or express in my work and then I look at what medium or tools best serve that particular idea."
An interview with Gayla Lemke
After mastering your craft, or the technical aspects of your art form, how did you find your own voice — the unique, identifiable signature that sets you apart from other artists? Also, do you find yourself classified stylistically as a certain type of artist and, if so, how does that make you feel?
For me, these questions are closely related. First of all, I don’t tend to label myself as any particular type of artist. Presently, my primary medium of choice is ceramic sculpture. Yet, I started as a printmaker and I believe that printmaking has had a direct influence on the way I deal with clay surfaces. I still make prints; I draw, I paint, I do installation work. I consider myself an artist who works in clay, rather than a ceramicist per se. My forte when working with clay is not the chemistry or the strict technical aspects of ceramics, but instead the use of clay as a sculptural material. Generally speaking, when choosing a medium to work in, I look first at what I want to say or express in my work and then I look at what medium or tools best serve that particular idea. As far as technique goes, I believe that one needs to keep learning, exploring and pushing the boundaries, just as one would with any technical skill. For me, that is part of growing and keeping art-making exciting. As I have matured as an artist, I have found that my style shows through in whichever medium I choose to work. When it comes to developing unique work and a personal style, I believe that happens when an artist is willing to work consistently and try new things. I find that my creative ideas and my exploration of technique feed each other.
What artist, movement or historic time period has had the greatest influence on your art?
My first studio instructor in Hawaii, Allyn Bromley, had a great influence on my artwork, as well as on my attitude toward being an artist. The concepts of making art about something — art that expresses something and is more than just a reproduction of what one sees — that came from her. She also introduced me to the concept of making art because it is part of one’s being. She also stressed the importance making art consistently, of being professional in the process.
Another aspect of studying in Hawaii was my exposure there to Asian and South Pacific art and culture. While I don’t copy or literally rely on imagery from the islands, I can certainly see how my experiences there have influenced my sculptural forms and carving.
My work has also been influenced by the New York art scene of the mid-1980s. I was in graduate school at the time and was lucky enough to get to New York fairly often. I spent six weeks there in 1985, before the Lower East Side and SoHo become commercialized — a period when political art was predominant. I was exposed to artists such as Sue Coe, whose work addressed racist and sexist violence, as well as nuclear weapons and poverty. Other influences from this period included Jenny Holzer and Barbara Kruger, who was using text as art, as well as Art Against Aids, Meredith Monk and Robert Mapplethorpe. This exposure really opened my eyes to the making of art as a statement about something other than one’s own personal life.
What have been your greatest challenges as an artist?
One of the greatest challenges I’ve faced is figuring out how to balance all of the different facets of being an artist. It really takes discipline to juggle it all. While working in the studio and creating work is of utmost importance, there is also the business and marketing side of art that requires just as much creativity. All of these other aspects take time that I think most of us would prefer to spend on making art itself. After all, time is the most valuable thing an artist can have. And of course, in addition to the duties of a working artist, there are also those other responsibilities that just come with being a functioning adult.