Learning from other artists: An Interview with Brooke Schmidt

In my last post I wrote about Etsy and it’s influence on the handmade market. For me it has been a great way to meet other artists and to learn from their views and opinions. This week I interviewed PA artist Brooke Scmidt who I met through Etsy. Brooke takes polaroid photographs that reflect the world through her own unique lens as well as her camera’s. She also works with a variety of objects, collage, and altered books. Thank you Brooke for sharing!

Tell us about your art and what you create:

I work with objects I love to be around ~ nature inspires me greatly. My altered books, works on paper, sewings and photography are all greatly influenced by the colors and textures of what’s already happening outdoors. In my non-photography work, I tend to use found objects, such as feathers, that might mean more than one thing, so the piece can have layered meanings. Working with open-ended symbols like waves, ladders and circles let me adjust and tweak the story that is the theme of each piece. I work with a messy desk on purpose in order to find connections between objects I might not have thought of on my own.

How did you choose your medium?

Icame across the concept of altering books in college, when I lived in Rome, and was fascinated. That was about 11 years ago. I love the idea of collaboration ~ myself and the book coming together to make something new. Working with the story, colors and words that already exist (and I see this as a metaphor for life), and re-writing it as a sort of personal narrative. I include objects that are symbolic and unexpected and sometimes hidden. The poems are suggested by words I find and both the poetry and finished books come together in a very intuitive way. I have often been asked what a particular book ‘means’ and my answer is usually, ‘what does it mean to you?’ because what the viewer brings into it is completely valid.

Polaroid photography is also an intuitive and magical thing. It has the feel of a collaboration as well because, with instant film, I never know exactly what I’m going to get. I kept coming across polaroids online a few years back and bought an SX-70 Polaroid Land camera on ebay. On a road trip with my mom down Highway 1 in California in early 2010, I took a photo and felt like I finally understood what the SX-70 and polaroid film was capable of. The camera has a say, as does the film, the light, the weather. I love the unpredictability of it; it allows room for the universe to step in. Whether or not I breathe during the open shutter for a long exposure affects the end result, and I often warm the film on my body to bring the colors out, or cool it in the lake I took the picture of. The immediacy of seeing the picture develop before my eyes drew me in immediately. I grew up using 35mm film cameras, and instant film has many of the same qualities as that ~ being selective and careful, having a commitment to the composition and subject, working with natural light. I never press the shutter until I have a feeling that ‘this is it.’

What was the best advice that someone has given you?

Right now tacked up to the window above my studio table I have a Kiki Smith quote: ‘If you stick to your work it will take care of you somehow.’ This is so true.

What do you think the most difficult part of being an artist is?

Showing up to work. No one makes you do it. I can avoid that all day and then I have to live with an unsettled feeling that does not go away until I go open myself to whatever needs to be worked on.

What is the best part?

Being an artist is living on the edge of my intuition, trusting my gut and learning something new every day. Anything is possible. Everything is fodder for my art-making. There is constantly something around the corner. Making my altered books and writing my poems is very healing. Taking polaroids is always just pure happiness.

More about Brooke Schmidt’s work can be found on her blog, flickr, and online shop. Polaroids can be found here and in her shop.