Issue 2 Artist Spotlight | Clara Peeters
C+B: Tell us about yourself, Clara!
CP: My name is Clara Peeters, and currently I work as a freelance art collection manager and art handler in Kalamazoo, MI. At any given time I have no less than 10 art projects I am working on, so there is always something to do. My free time is spent working here and there on various projects, which include latch hook, embroidery, painting, drawing, crochet, printmaking, stained glass, and soft sculpture. I also like baking, snuggling with my cat, listening to music, being outside, and making lists. I am inspired by existence in general, nature, emotion, light, language, moments that have no language, and my ancestors, all of which were talented makers/artists in their own right. My home is filled with their art, and it pushes me to carry on with my work.
C+B: Describe your work in three words.
CP: Illustrative, Equivocal, Atavistic
C+B: Which creator(s) (present day or in the past) do you most admire and why? What draws you to their work?
CP: This is a very hard question, I admire many artists, both past and present. It's difficult to pick just one. I admire the drawings and sculptures of Ruth Asawa, the perfect touch of Agnes Martin, Kiki Smith's ruthless depiction of the human form, Dwayne Lowder's hard lines and handmade canvases, Paul Klee's ability to simplify the complicated, and the audaciously multifaceted nature of Marcel Duchamp. I am drawn to these artists because their work has touched me and changed the way I think about art and the world in general. My work is all the better for it. I am drawn to their character, their attitude, their execution, and to the unapologetic pursuit of their authentic practice.
Find and support Clara here:
IG: @peeters.art
(Views From Your Dead Body, Peruse the Rock Garden,
mixed media on paper, 5.5"x6.25" ©Clara Peeters)
Long-term goal(s) for creating: Most of my long term goals revolve around having my own dedicated studio space. Right now my studio is comprised of several stations around the apartment that I share with my boyfriend, who himself is a talented musician, artist, and maker. I have so many projects I want to start and so many ideas I want to get out of my head, I just do not have the physical space to do so! I would love to quit my day jobs and make art full time, but that's what all artists say, haha! I guess at the end of the day my goal is to make whatever I want to, and to get to know my self better through my artistic practice.
Ideal collaboration: I am very interested in the concept of time as a collaborator. I'm thinking about The Large Glass by Marcel Duchamp, where the glass panels were left to collect dust, which Duchamp then glued to the surface. One could argue this was time working on the piece. I would love to create some paintings, and then leave them in the forest to grow moss and collect leaves. I love the weathered look, the "I am thousands of years old" look, I would like to collaborate with the rain, the sun, rocks, lichen, the tiny feet of a centipede, and sprouting seeds.
Currently inspired by: This is but a small fraction of the creators I love and respect, I enjoy following you all, and look forward to what you make next!! @youluckygirl @natmeade @yellowbrickstudio @anne.minich @cablegriffithstudio @goblinsandgardens @faris.alshafar @nestinghabitsart @amirrormoo @perpetual.bel @vinhpear
I would, of course, be completely remiss if I did not include some musical creators in this list, of whose work I listen to often and am inspired by: @wojtektheband @lochy_smoki @thereisbeautyindirt @harveywaters666 @rezzzn @deathbois @russiancircles @nothingnewmi @pistolgangboy @xbox_church
