Artist Interview: Erika B Hess
Please give a warm welcome to Erika! You may know her from the podcast I Like Your Work amongst the many things she does. Our founder, Svitlana, had such a pleasure chatting with her about art, learning to embrace multiple passions, the importance of failure, and other interesting aspects of her artistic career. Let’s dive in!
S: Erika, not only you are an artist, but also a curator, guest speaker, podcaster, and a mom... is there anything I missed?
E: Thanks so much for recognizing the different facets I have grown into over the years! I started as an art student in the studio, earning my BFA and MFA. After that, I begin to explore different parts of myself and of the art world which led me to all these different roles. I also work as a consultant where I help candidates build and refine their portfolios for applying to art schools and I also review portfolios for admission to the University of Michigan Stamps School of Art & Design.
S: I imagine taking time to yourself is extremely important in order to manage everything successfully. What do you do to decompress or what are your favorite self-care techniques?
E: I have two kids and I’m a bit of a workaholic so it’s pretty hard to take time to myself. What I’ve learned is to enjoy the little moments. Listening to books on tape or podcasts in the car when I’m driving to do a studio visit or to the grocery store. Being in the studio to paint feels like “me” time because I have silence and focus on ONE thing rather than trying to balance a lot of tasks. Meditation and focusing on the present, even if it is only for a couple of minutes really helps me as well. I try to do ten minutes in the morning of meditation and throughout the day check-in, breathe, and slow down. When I really need some time to myself, I will go to the movies solo. It’s one of my favorite things to do, having time by myself and a really great story that takes you out of the world and into an alternative space to explore for a couple of hours is really powerful.
S: Before I knew you as an artist, I knew you as the voice behind "I Like Your Work" podcast that I've been listening to for sometime now. Coming across your work was also an unexpected surprise, because often times it's one or the other, a business person or the artist. I am learning to embrace the multi-passionate aspect of myself as well, and it was refreshing to see a successful artist, who is also just as successful at something else. Were you always able to embrace various aspects of yourself or is it something that you learned to do over time? And did you have any social support in your decisions?
E: This is such a great question, and the answer to this is: no! I was not always able to embrace this in myself. In fact, I fervently denied this part of myself. I remember being in grad school and a professor saying, “Some of you will go on to open galleries…” and I literally do not remember what else she said because I shut down and thought, “Yeah, maybe some of these other people, but not me. I’m an artist. End of conversation.”
I was that shut off to other possibilities because I had drunk the kool-aid that artists lived, breathed and sacrificed everything else to solely pursue art in the studio. After some soul-searching and having to exercise other skills to make a living, I realized I should lean into the other talents I had and embrace them. The fact of the matter is I LOVE organizing shows, talking to artists and promoting their work. The funny thing is as soon as I started being honest with myself and digging into these other interests, my studio work improved! In terms of social support, people were extremely supportive and I discovered a lot of people were interested in collaborating. From starting spaces, helping curate shows, being on the podcast or just sending messages of support which was really wonderful.
S: Any advice for multi- passionate people as yourself?
E: First off my advice is to just go for it. That idea you have, just do it! It won’t be perfect and that is fine. You will figure it out as you go along, and that is pretty much the only way to learn, just by trying it. If it helps, treat it as an experiment. That is what I do. Nothing is written in stone, I’m always trying something and if it works, great! I’ll do it some more and if it doesn’t, that’s fine too, chalk it up to experience. Also, growth takes time. “Overnight” success doesn’t really happen and that is a blessing because if it did, you wouldn’t have the systems in place to handle all of the demands on your time. The key is just showing up consistently, doing the work, and being honest with yourself about how things are going.
S: Tell us a little bit more about your painting practice. Have you always explored femininity through florals, or have you indulged in other ways of communicating the subject matter? How has your art practice progressed over time?
E: The hilarious thing is just like I didn’t embrace my ability to work in different areas of the arts, I also didn’t embrace flowers. I remember when I was in my early twenties saying that I would never paint flowers! (Are you noticing a pattern here? ha!) When I was younger I was a figure painter and then I spent six years after grad school as an abstract painter interested in color and the surface of the painting. In 2015 I had my first child and that is when I returned to the figure. At first, they were private figure drawings in my sketchbook and then they turned into a full-blown series I titled, The Flower Bearers. My daughter’s birth was also at the same time as a death in my family. For both of these occasions, flowers were exchanged which really struck me. These are MAJOR events in our lives and one that we will all experience. We are all born and therefore we all die. The Flower Bearers were paintings of people holding flowers and I wanted the viewer to ask if the figure was giving or receiving flowers, also why? Was it for a joyful experience or a more solemn occasion? That series lead me to continue using flowers, patterns, and exploring birth and death through a female lens.
S: At All SHE Makes, we are strong believers that the more people discuss failure, the less significant the possibility of it becomes. In our society, we are so terrified of possibility of something not working out, that it halts all our efforts to begin with. We ask all of our interviewees if they can share a time where something (a project or opportunity) did not work out and how did you move forward? Words of wisdom?
E: When I was growing up, my very German immigrant father would say, “If you don’t fall on your ass it means you never tried. I want to see you fail and not just once!” I am so happy that he said this to me. I really began to embrace this and it has helped me take risks and chances over the years. In terms of failure, I never really viewed it as a final, negative thing. I thought of it as learning or as feedback that I needed to go left instead of right. For example, I was waitlisted to the grad school I wanted to go to, and then DIDN’T get in! I took the year off and it was one of the most informative years of my life. Of course, there can be a sting in rejection and I’ve always embraced allowing myself to be upset, and I mean really upset if I need to be, for fifteen minutes and then let it go. It’s done. I think my biggest “failures” that do upset me are where I doubted myself or fell into social conditioning that doesn’t serve women. For example, only now can I look back and realize how much time I spent worrying about being enough. Smart enough, thin enough, attractive enough. I don’t mind the time spent in yoga classes or academic classes but the time I spent outside of those spaces agonizing over what I was eating or if what I say sounded “smart enough” bothers me. There is pressure on women to be perfect and the sooner we can get rid of that mentality in ourselves, the sooner we can put that cognitive energy into dreaming up and then producing great work that expresses who we truly are.
S: Any events, projects, or exhibits you'd like to share with the audience?
E: Yes, thanks for asking! I have a solo show that will be at Marietta College in spring 2021 that I am working towards right now, and I am curating a major show for the Ohio Council for the Arts that will open in February 2021. There are also some really wonderful projects coming up with I Like Your Work, such as our next Open Call with the amazing gallerist, writer, and coach Bridgette Mayer and some more resource material for artists that I will be releasing soon!
What a pleasure it has been getting to know Erika!
You can check out more of her work at erikabhess.com
Listen to I Like Your Work on streaming platforms and/or submit your work ilikeyourworkpodcast.com
