In and Out of Shadow – Terri Tufts

I am very grateful to Preston Buchtel for his support and technical advice, and for helping me to hang all of this.  Preston is also responsible for the backward ticking clock on ENTROPY one-five-six.  Thanks also to Deidre Lauer who is helping me to entertain at the Literary after the artist reception.

 I have been working as an Artist, Decorative Painter, Interior Decorator, Scenic Artist/Designer along with many other odd and varied project that have come my way since graduating from The Cleveland Institute of Art in 1988.  I currently own a business called Art Crimes Inc.  with a thankful nod to the Artist STEVEN SMITH for the obvious inspiration for the name.  Although I didn’t remember until it was recently pointed out to me so thanks Steven!

I currently operate my business and studio out of a pole barn in my back yard in Eaton Township where I live.

  I have always been pictorially motivated.  Each of these pieces began with a distinct idea in mind.  Some begin with a poem or phrase.  Others begin with a concept but no images or words.  Some are just emotions or feelings that I would like to express.  It gets difficult at times to create a visual image out of nebulous feeling.  I have a story to tell but have decided to release myself from my pictorial tendencies a bit.  I was able to do this with poetry, phrases and words within the work.  I felt the freedom and moved more towards my expressionistic, symbolist imagery, in conjunction with my pictorial tendencies.  All of the pieces are about personal experience, losses, feelings and interests. 

And as “they” say

PAINT WHAT YOU KNOW

That I have done

  I love to experiment with different material and I often call my studio or wherever I happen to set up my work space, “my laboratory”.  The pieces in this show have a very definite structure and hanging system. I am quite enamored of structural systems. “Form follows Function” is apt on many occasions.  The rust belt, decay, along with the beautiful and varied landscape, harsh and wonderful weather of the Cleveland area has shaped vision in a way I could never have predicted as a child living in Southern California.

  I am used to working quite large and am often design large spaces and have had to modify the work somewhat.  In fact, the show almost became “In the Dryer” as everything is a little smaller than usual ie: shrunk in the dryer, and probably should have remained so.  But here we are.  I have some rather serious tendencies in my art and often dwell on darkness.  I have tried to be more playful with ENTROPY one-five-sic and let my humor come through even though it deals with a serious and emotional topic and is very complex on many personal levels.  I become much attached to my art and have a hard time letting go. It makes selling a very difficult proposition.  I am trying to remake myself with ENTROPY.  Its sole purpose and concept is to disperse into the world and increase its entropy.

In spite or because of all this, I am a rather happy and optimistic person.  Perhaps delving in the dark helps me to cope with life’s tragedies and disappointment small or large. I have always believed that hard honest work with purpose and integrity matters.  Meaningful relationships cure a lot of ails.  Boredom is a disease and moving forward is the cure,  Or just moving sometimes.

 

 

IN AND OUT OF SHADOW

New work by Terri P Tufts