Maker: Erica Thune
Lea: Tell me about your work and what inspires you.
Erica: My work is all abstract. It’s based on my life experiences, the people I meet, the experiences I have, the encounters, and the feelings absorbed in all of this. It is essentially my day-to-day groove and my life experiences thus far. I am completely inspired by everything around me. My art is a constant translation. I have come to realize that the seasons affect me more than I thought they did. I try and keep it to myself and as authentic as possible so it doesn’t feel like someone else’s. What I am doing is basically a reflection of how I am feeling. I make a lot of bad art, but all the pieces I make inform the direction that I am taking, so even the bad pieces end up being valuable to my process.
Lea: Describe your process.
Erica: My art is essentially all in the process. I’m fully immersed in the entire process until I perceive I am finished with the work. I never know where the piece is going when I begin; the process is translating myself onto paper and canvas. There’s no planning ahead of time. I keep adding color and mark-making and continuing the process until I feel like I’m satisfied with what I’ve made and it feels whole and complete.
Lea: What is most satisfying about your work?
Erica: I feel extremely satisfied when I feel like I have taken a new direction with my work. I always feel like it parallels taking a new direction in my life. It’s satisfying to feel like I have moved forward in my work and my life. I am making a change.
Lea: Talk about the evolution of your work
Erica: When I was in college and just starting to do my own thing, I thought I had found my “established style.” I laugh now at my “established style” when I look back and realize how much it has changed. I have respect for where I was then in my art and my life, and how it led me to flourish into what I am doing now. At one point of time, I thought that I was producing my best work yet, and in retrospect it’s humbling to see how far I have come. Five years ago I had no idea where I would be now, and I think that’s true about the next five years, I don’t really know where my work will be and I find that really exciting. I have come to realize that it will always be changing.
Lea: What is most challenging?
Erica: Not to get caught up in what will sell and staying true to what I am authentically making. I’m usually pretty good about staying true to myself, but sometimes you get caught in “Will it sell?” or “Will people like this?” or “Is it a bad turn?” The challenging part is staying true to your work, trusting the process, and knowing it doesn’t matter what everyone else thinks.
Lea: Do you consider this your life’s purpose?
Erica: I think painting and putting art into the world is my purpose. I spent a lot of years feeling lost. I didn’t know what I was going to do, I didn’t feel like I fit into any specific category. A lot of people I knew were taking a conventional path, but none of that felt like it was really me. This is the only thing that felt like it was real or true for me. I completely feel like this is my purpose.