Barb Cone
Q & A
What are your earliest memories of being artistic? I was raised in a home with a severely handicapped sibling who required a lot of special care, so I had to amuse myself. My mother and grandmother were both elementary school teachers, so they brought home materials floating around in their classroom cupboards. I had my pick. I spent hours drawing, painting and making things. I also loved building things with Tinker Toys.
When did art become a pursuit? Not until I was in my 40’s and had an opportunity to take classes in a wonderful arts center near Dartmouth College in NH. At first, I felt awkward and out of place. My work was often different from the other students’ and I would get discouraged easily and quit my class. Fortunately, after while the Master Artist in the building took an interest in me and bullied me into taking art seriously. One day he asked me if I was an artist or not. When I told him I didn’t know he said, “Well you’d better figure it out.”
40 years later I’m still figuring it out.
Are you self-taught or formally educated in visual art? Both I would say. I’ve taken a lot of workshops, art history and studio classes over the years. When I first started experimenting with encaustic in the early 2,000’s there was little in the way of classes or printed materials. We pretty much had to teach ourselves.
Fusion Of Work And Dream No. 1 from the C*Artifact Series No. 4, wood, cardboard, gesso, graphite, steel wire, velcro, hardware. 61″WX29″HX20″D 2020.
How did you first become involved with CAA? I moved from Boston to Cambridge and would walk by and pop in to see the art. When I got a studio in Somerville and started a studio practice, I applied for artist membership.
In what other ways are you involved in the local art community? I co-founded MassWax, the New England chapter of International Encaustic Association and for a number of years was very active in that organization. During this time, I curated or co-curated a number of exhibitions. A few years ago, I decided to instead focus on my studio practice.
What role do you think the artist plays in society? Artists tend to look at things from an outsider point of view. This tendency makes them valuable and often dangerous. There’s a reason authoritarian regimes toss artists in jail with regularity.
What medium do you currently work in and how did you choose this medium? I do mixed media so I work in traditional art materials such as oil stick, graphite, inks and encaustic combined with hardware store finds.
Fusion Of Work And Dream No. 2 from the C*Artifact Series No. 4, Wood, cardboard, spray paint, steel wire, velcro, hardware. 64″WX25″HX24″D 2020.
What is your creative process? Where are you finding ideas for your art these days? My ideal place is wordless, so images will float by in my mind or I will visit a place, and something in that environment stays with me. My job is to be completely open to whatever comes in and trust the distillation process.
How do you choose your subject matter? Is there a reoccurring theme that carries throughout your work? My subject matter chooses me. I live on the coast of Maine part of the year so water, woods, marsh, and that pale-yellow light enter into my work, though not in an obvious way. I’ve always lived in cities and I love the jangle of imagery in cityscapes. Ancient ruins and images of buildings destroyed by weather or war interest me a great deal. Things that are damaged or incomplete are beautiful to me.
In your opinion, what’s your best/favorite piece you’ve made? After many years of travel to the Southwest, in particular to ancient sites holy to the Native Americans, I returned to the studio and found myself making a series of small figures. Each piece was different. Some pieces showed 2 figures interacting. Some only had 1. It was the one and only time that I felt like my eyes and hands were being used to bring these beings to life.
What is one of your artistic goals? To keep trying to do things I don’t know how to do.
Fusion Of Work And Dream No. 3, Wood, cardboard, rust, steel wire, velcro, hardware 69″WX41″HX54″D
What’s your favorite place to see art, and why? MassMOCA is a favorite. With my love of ruins and buildings that are “imperfect,” MassMOCA is my cup of tea. You wander through half-lost in some building or another and suddenly there’s some extraordinary piece of art tucked into a corner by a window. I love the not only the environment but the element of surprise.
What living artists are you inspired by? Anselm Kiefer’s work moves me deeply. Jenny Holzer for her Hiroshima work, Shimon Attie for his Berlin work, Robert Rauschenberg for his use of materials, Agnes Martin’s work in the kiva room at the Harwood in Taos for the way the paintings change color as you look at them.
Do you own any art by other artists? Is so, what artists? I own 2 paintings by a couple of young women artists who were selling them illegally in a park in Russia. They are tiny gems. I have a number of prints by an artist friend in CA and 2 small ones from my trip with other artists to Cuba, and a woodcut by an artist I met years ago in NH called “Lobster Dogs.” I also have some prints of New Mexico scenes made in the 1930’s.
Do you have any shows coming up? Fusion Of Work And Dream, a solo show at the Bromfield Gallery in Boston Nov 6-29. Opening reception Fri Nov 6.
See more from Barb
Website: www.bconeart.com