Sherri Silverman – Art and Cake

Sherri Silverman
Lagunitas, CA
Age 73

What keeps you excited in the studio?
The flow of art images and ideas coming through me. the beauty of the materials. the delight of being in the moment.

Looking back at your trajectory as an artist, how would you say your work has developed?
My art has always explored my inner images and the images I see in the world around me in nature, books, and art. Inspiration comes from quiet interior states, meditation experiences, and contemplative creative time. Influences change over time. My initial art inspiration came from Indian miniature painting and European and American 20th century painters.
My art conveys my response to and perception of the essence of nature and consciousness. I created my early work, colorful geometric abstractions and Southwest and Moroccan imaginary landscapes with archetypal images, in pastels on paper.
In 2014 I moved into a looser, more lyrical, gestural abstraction that is primarily non-representational with floral/botanical images, calligraphic elements, and a continuation of floating motifs in gouache and mineral pigment on paper and panel. These paintings convey my continued interest in subtle levels of creation, meditation states, and the capturing of the essence and energy of nature rather than its more exact duplication. Influences included contemporary painters and Japanese and Chinese art and calligraphy.
I’m interested in expressing the unseen source of creativity and this world, its beauty, wonder, and radiance. This has become more clear over time.

What role do you think the artist has in today’s society?
Different artists and writers will always proclaim various theories, but I see the role as the same it’s always been: to create work that expands and enlivens consciousness, nourishes the soul, heals, and evokes happiness and wholeness. I depict the flow of images inside me, mainly unconnected to contemporary events and history except as a means of uplifting and showing the beauty that still exists within each moment, despite the turmoil and troubling forces in the world today.
I focus on beauty, the eternal, the blissful because I and we as humans need these to survive, navigate, flourish, and contribute to this world. Instead of reminding you of life’s difficulties and the appalling things that abound, I’d rather my art bring you into the present moment, the timeless, the sublime.

What’s the most important advice you could give to an aspiring artist?
Follow your own ideas and what excites you. Don’t get sidetracked by what others say or do.

Does age matter in art? Why or why not?
Experience and inner depth matter. Yet your best work can come through at any and every age.

What can we look forward to from you next?
I recently created a series of Lichen Boxes. These are green marks of calligraphic, gestural abstract painting on corrugated cardboard boxes.
Then trees crashed onto my home and studio in a big storm, breaking the roof and causing the ceiling to collapse and rainwater to enter my studio. It’s all cleaned up and rebuilt now, so I’m in a big reset. After I get my work back into my restored wood flatfiles, something new will start emerging in my studio. I can’t wait to get started.

Is there anything else you would like to share about being an artist later in life?
It just gets better. It’s a continuing adventure that has nothing to do with age and everything to do with feeling youthful (whatever that is), enthusiastic, curious, and like myself.

https://sherrisilverman.com
@sherrisilvermanstudio