Today we’d like to introduce you to Eve Sanford.
Eve, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
I am the youngest of four. By the time my sister and I were born my parents had a seemed to have a growing appreciation for the arts and cultural spaces. My sister and I both grew up visiting museums, seeing plays at the ETA and taking visual and performing arts classes. I decided on my career in the arts very early on.
I found a love of photography in high school after watching the movie Love Jones and my father purchasing a coffee table book of works by James Van Der Zee. I borrowed my father’s 35mm and began teaching myself photography.
In college I was undecided about a fine arts major. I stumbled around for a while and had a realization the education was the path I wanted to follow. I was shooting lots of events and portraits, painting and creating performances while working on my arts education degree. I realized I could not decide on one path because I had the chance to experience so many amazing programs, most of which no longer existed. I taught visual arts in public and charter schools for 5 years. I exhibited photography and was working on installations with two arts collaboratively around Chicago. I was coaching a dance team as well. I tried to keep all the things I loved in play at the same time. School closure and the bureaucracy of the education system wore me down quickly. I was the board president of a non-profit art center during my last year teaching. The experience inspired my next moves. I pursued an MFA 3 years ago in Arts Leadership. I have always been driven not only by the act of making but the experience of seeing and learning about art and culture. I am still a maker but now my heart is pouring into curating experiences in art and culture for a multi-generational audience. I’m the Director of Education and Public Programs for the Northwest African American museum in Seattle.
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
I work mostly now is jewelry design. I create earring using “upcycled” materials like denim, wood, plastic and leather. My process came out of my teaching practice, an actual activity with high school students and my growing need with limited budgets to make magic out of hardly anything. The process of dying my fabrics speaks really heavily to my love of abstract painters like Alber Oehlen and Joan Mitchell. The message for me in jewelry design the way I do it is in the appreciation and acknowledgement for the story. The opportunity for 2nd, 3rd and 4th chances and the space to reinvent ourselves repeatedly. The line is called Evolve Revolt Repeat.
My latest fine art piece was a photo shoot and alter installation that combined themes of variety of religious alters and practices and narratives around death and anxiety it incorporated a bit of vocal performance as well. I was looking a lot at my own history of studying and following organized religion, the role religion is rituals of death. As a teacher in Chicago I saw a lot of death and violence through my students specifically. I would see these alters created with flowers, cards, toys, balloons, candles, etc. laid in remembrance of children so young I considered often how in death that was likely the only time they were presented with sure an offering. I created alters for the living, sang to and acknowledge people who I felt needed to feel that in their living spirit.
Artists rarely, if ever pursue art for the money. Nonetheless, we all have bills and responsibilities and many aspiring artists are discouraged from pursuing art due to financial reasons. Any advice or thoughts you’d like to share with prospective artists?
I would encourage people to repurpose materials as much and they can. There are also lots of artists grants out there… find someone to help you apply to those opportunities.
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
My jewelry can be seen via Instagram @errlooks currently and at a few shops in Seattle, Moksha and the Northwest African American Museum.
My installation project is not online but my photography is at revelutionaryphoto.com
Contact Info:
- Website: www.revelutionaryphoto.com
- Phone: 7083595545
- Email: ejsanford24@gmail.com
- Instagram: @evolverevoltrepeat
- Facebook: @errcollection
- Other: IG for jewelry @errlooks FB for photography facebook.com/RevelutionaryPhoto
Image Credit:
All photos by Eve Sanford
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