Belle Brett
What are your earliest memories of being artistic? My mother was an artist and art teacher, and I can’t ever remember a time I wasn’t making art. As a child, I constantly drew what today might be called graphic novels—multi-paneled stories, with spoken (and thus, lost) rather than written words. In the fourth grade, I was proud to win the “Lower School Art Award.”
When did art become a pursuit? Although I went in other directions professionally, I have always pursued art, at some times more than others. As an adult, I regularly took classes, experimenting in a variety of media—Chinese brush painting, bookbinding, silkscreen printing, pottery, fabric collage, among others! Because I loved to travel, I settled on photography for awhile, and I met my husband through a photography class he was teaching at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education in 1980. In the last few years, since I cut back on my paid work and then retired from that in 2017, making art has become more of a pre-occupation.
Are you self-taught or formally educated in visual art? I never attended art school, but as I mentioned, I have regularly taken art classes and workshops throughout my adult life to learn more about a particular medium or to sharpen my skills.
How did you first become involved with CAA? I joined CAA less than two years ago. A friend of mine, who is on the Board, thought it would provide me with some good opportunities to regularly exhibit. I have been submitting regularly to both the juried and non-juried exhibits at CAA and look forward to exploring more of what it has to offer me as an artist.
In what other ways are you involved in the local art community? I am a member of several other art associations, including Lexington Arts and Crafts Society, where I have studied watercolor with Paul George over the last few years and the Concord Art Association, where I have taken a number of workshops and which prompted my current interest in collage. Closer to home, I am an active member of North Cambridge Arts.
What medium do you currently work in and how did you choose this medium? My current favorite medium is collage (with some mixed media). I love the puzzle-building aspect of it as well as its versatility as a medium. I also do watercolor painting. The first art class I ever took after college was a watercolor class, and I kept coming back to it. The transparency of the paint and the layering of colors are appealing to me. I still do some photography, especially when I travel, Lately, I’ve become intrigued with Instagram, so I am always on the lookout for quick photographic opportunities.
What is your creative process? Where are you finding ideas for your art these days? For watercolor. I often work from photographs, not trying to represent them literall, but rather capture their essence. For collage, something I experience, or dream up will inspire me—the orange rooftops of Lisbon, a carnival, a passage in a book—then I see where these will take me. My collages process is much more organic than my watercolor painting process, and I like the contrast of these two in my creative life.
How do you choose your subject matter? Is there a reoccurring theme that carries throughout your work? Nature, skies, and buildings are key subject matters for my watercolor paintings, with a focus on light and shadow. My collage themes have been more diverse, but my emphasis is always on story, pattern, and composition. At the moment, I am working on something I call my “Japan Series.” It is inspired by a novel I wrote called Gina in the Floating World, which will be published by She Writes Press this coming September.The novel, which is billed as psycbological suspense, is set in Japan, with frequent references to the arts of Japan. I have done a couple of watercolors, especially of city night scenes in Tokyo, but most of the series are collages. Many of the images are edgy, and a little unsettling, like my story.
In your opinion, what’s your best/favorite piece you’ve made? I think my Japan Series contains some of my best work, and CAA has chosen three of my collages from this series for three different juried shows in 2018. However, I am fond of a collage I made two year ago of the rooftops of Lisbon. I sold the first one, made another, which I also sold, and am keeping the third one. Perhaps I like it because it reminds me of a place I enjoyed.
What is one of your artistic goals for 2018? My main artistic goal for 2018 is to complete my Japan Series and find a place to exhibit it, which will allow me to have a reception and an accompanying reading from my novel.
What’s your favorite place to see art? I am a huge fan of the MFA, where I’ve been a member for years. I particularly like their Japanese woodblock collection. But I appreciate seeing less familiar artists in small gallery settings, too. Discovering a new artist is always a treat.
What living artists are you inspired by? I’m most inspired by artists I’ve had a chance to study or interact with. I love Nan Feldman’s work. Her use of color and pattern, her off kilter perspective, are a delight. I took a collage class with Alexandra Sheldon that gave me some altermative approaches I am now incorporating into my work. In watercolor, I am inspired by the work of Paul George, Robert Noreika, and Gary Tucker.
Do you own any art by other artists? Yes! Of course, I own a lot of pieces painted by my mother. She did large acrylics and then, in her seventies, took up silk screen printing. My cousin is a sculptor, and I have two of his pieces. But, over the years, I have also regularly bought small pieces from artists I admire. I believe it’s important to support the work of other artists as I hope they will support me.
Do you have any shows coming up? As mentioned, I have a piece in CAA’s Emerging Artist’s show, but no solo shows planned as I have been busy preparing and marketing my novel, which will have its launch at Porter Square Books on October 2. I invite CAA members to attend! (My writing website is www.bellebrett.com.)
See More of Belle!
Website: www.bellebrett.studio
Facebook: (my business facebook page is more geared towards my writing, but I regularly display my art on it, too) www.facebook.com/bellebrettwriter/
Instagram: @bellebrett