06.28.2007
Q&A with Ilisa Miller
I was first entranced by artist Ilisa Miller Howell’s paintings when she brought in pieces to Four Corners Gallery in Mooresville.
A quote by Thoreau is blown up and sits on a shelf in her studio: “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you’ve imagined.” That seems to describe her mission as an artist well.
Here are some excerpts from our conversation as Howell showed me around her studio, home and back yard.
With your art, where do you find the inspiration?
Nature, animals and the designs in spider webs. Nature is what really inspires me. ... I’ve always been very in tune with animals and that realm.
What kind of art do you do? I know you use a lot of interesting materials and color.
Color. I’m totally enthralled with color. I use acrylic and watercolor the most, then mixed media. Cardboard or paper towels are very fun to use.
Are you full-time now as an artist?
Yeah, and I teach some private lessons to children and I have a couple summer camps going on.
What kind of things do you teach them?
What I’m finding is that children are struggling to be creative because they haven’t been given the permission to be creative. ... Everything is spoon-fed to them in the way of creativity and I had a hard time getting adjusted to that.
So how do you give them the permission?
It takes a little bit of time depending on the children. ... You almost have to show them what creativity is. ... I have them look at a sculpture and say “You tell me what you see.” Well, if you’ve never been asked to see something in something then you’re never going to. Then I’d go around and tell them what I see and then they start seeing things. ... There’s no right or wrong in art and I think what frustrates me is a lot — not all — but a lot of the school systems, everything is cookie cutter.
You’ll go down the school aisle and everyone has to do the same thing. That’s not art. ... When everyone’s doing the exact same thing, that’s not creativity.
If parents want to open up creativity in their own children do you think the non-structured play time is the best way?
That’s the best way to start and you know what’s even better is when parents play with them non-productively. Because what happens, and it’s right around the age of 10, 11, 12 and that’s when children really get afraid to express themselves because they might not do it right. And that carries with them into adulthood.
I teach adult classes and I have to encourage them to play and experiment. In trying to be perfectionists, we’ve lost our desire to experiment and those are the best ways you find out what works and what doesn’t. Call them happy accidents. If parents can show that to their children by what they do, children are going to pick up on that.
Find out more about Howell and her art at http://www.ilisamillerhowell.etsy.com.