014 / Pandemic Artwork Stories

8/20/2020


014 / pandemic artwork stories

WITH MARY JANE VOLKMANN

The Pout of a Hundred Possible Meanings


Where are you painting from and what have you been doing to keep busy?

I’m painting from my home studio in Gainesville, Florida. I’m currently busy with a portrait commission and have been taking the opportunity to complete a few paintings which have been neglected as well as start new ones which take me to the countries I have lived or visited and the people who live there. I still teach a few private students, though online, and make kaleidoscopes. We’ve also put in a lovely vegetable and flower garden, and I walk daily with my camera.

How did you find inspiration from your surroundings for it?

I think a lot about the children I see, wondering what the world looks like to them in this day and age and how they experience it. Children are an abundant source of inspiration!

What is one positive that has come from this experience for you?

Staying at home has connected me more intimately with my thoughts, memories, and immediate surroundings and has given me the opportunity to explore subject matter which has been “on hold” because of other work.

What is one of your favorite pieces in the collection from a fellow artist?

There are so many, each so unique! I’ve returned several times to Jan Frank’s “The Basket”, imagining how many things one might discover under a leaf, behind a bush or perhaps beyond the thicket. I want to crawl through that space to see if there is a clearing and what view I might have from there (or how much further I might have to walk to find one!). 


Learn more about Mary Jane's artwork and story here