Today we’d like to introduce you to Eleanor Spiess-Ferris.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
My work reflects a deep involvement with my native New Mexico – not as much visually and spiritually.
My childhood was a melting pot of surreal attitudes surrounded by such diversities as the Spanish Penitentes, early catholic retablos, and American Indian Artifacts. All were woven among family tales and myths. My mother’s ancestors were among the first Spanish settlers of Northern New Mexico. My father’s people were mixtures of Irish, Mexican and German. All were storytellers.
Most of my childhood was spent in a wild apple/plum orchard that grew behind our house on our small farm. It was here that I discovered an imaginary world beyond the real. I felt the weight of the seasons, the migration of birds, and the never-ending thrust of insect life.
As an adult, I return to the orchard in my work. I discovered the grit of Chicago as a young woman when I went to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Chicago has nurtured me as the orchard nurtured me. I am a narrative artist and the depiction of nature has become a metaphor for my personal experience and my relationship to the world.
It has not always been easy to stay the artist path. Life, it seems, tends to jump up and bite. My struggle is to continue making art as I confront the death of loved ones, illness’, and disappointment. My Chicago self-remains dedicated to this process and is always strengthened by the pigtailed girl in the orchard.
Has it been a smooth road?
Is there Life After Death? How does one regain balance after tragedy?
How does one survive long enough to reinvent oneself? When my husband, my go-to-guy, suddenly died, I found myself adrift and I struggled to find my bearings and to regain my vision. When my daughter came down with West Nile Virus and it paralyzed her from the waist down for nine months, I wondered if I would ever paint again.
I nursed her and cared for both her and her daughter. She found immeasurable strength and fought herself back to health. Eventually, I found my vision again. Trouble, it seems, pops up when one least expects it, but so does the unexpected blessings in life. My best painting days are behind me as one’s health tends to fail as one gets older. The body aches and new pains come every day.
But my vision remains strong and my desire to do art continues. I am so blessed as my inamorata is a lovely bearded older fellow – a writer – who gives me joy and makes it easy for me to go forward.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Being a visual artist is difficult during the best of times. Today the gallery system is dying. People are not collecting art as they once did. All of the galleries that I was affiliated with have closed. Rent for studio space has skyrocketed. These are difficult times and if there ever was the need to “reinvent” it is now.
I am working in a smaller space now and the fact that my thumbs have worn themselves out -( ah, the joys of aging)- I find myself working with only gouache on paper. However, I am planning on executing some lithographs and looking for new avenues to sell the work.
This is indeed a challenging time for visual artists. The market dust has not settled. It is good to have had so many retrospectives recently and several are being curated for the future. I still teach and I continue to paint.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
We artists of Chicago are so fortunate. We like each other and help each other. This is not true in other cities. While we may not get the reviews, the sales, or the recognition that some get in New York, we get a friendly city to work in. We get the support of other artists.
I wish the city-sponsored more exhibitions. I wish the Art Institute had not abandoned the Chicago and Vicinity exhibition. I realize that it is harder now for the younger artists to get a leg up. We no longer have a newspaper critic.
With the restraints of these times, I think the city of Chicago does very well by its artist population. The city tries.
Contact Info:
- Website: eleanorspiess-ferris.com
- Email: spiessferrise@gmail.com
Image Credit:
Ken Indermark
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