Lisa Congdon : Art with Joy and Purpose
My mantra this year is “Everything in Service of Peace.” And my goal is really to do less and to have more spaciousness in my life toward a more peaceful existence. Art is really my number one love (next to my wife!) and I realized last year at all the running around I was doing, the stress and the piles of projects I was working on were all causing me to have a really fraught relationship with my art. You really can’t make art in a tight corner. Creativity requires space and breathing room to propagate. Also, I was feeling burned out and tired. So I have begun really paring down my commitments so that I can have more creative time and make art my main focus again. I’m leaning into making more personal work, experimenting more and pushing myself to make work that I’ve never made before. It’s really exciting.
Nerida:
Nerida Hansen has had the privilege of printing your fabrics and seeing all the wonderful ways people use them. What is your vision for Lisa Congdon textiles?
Lisa:
I love the bold, modern stuff we have been able to make with you! I am excited to create more playful, slightly weird patterns that folks can use to make everything from clothing to upholstering sofas. What I love about the scale of my prints is that they work for both clothing and home décor. They aren’t too small or precious, and I want to continue that legacy.
Nerida:
I have always been drawn to colour above any other elements of art and I believe it still remains the number one reason why people are drawn to fabric. I always quote artists like Rothko, Sonia Delaunay and Matisse as having an ever-lasting influence on how I approach my work. I would love to know what artists you have always admired when it comes to colour.
Lisa:
I love all the artists you mention! My biggest influence is Alexander Girard, not just for his design aesthetic, but also his use of colour. I love the mixture of neutrals and bright colours, pastels with primary colors in all his patterns and motifs. He was really a master of happy colour in a way that was so contemporary for his time that it still blows my mind today!
Nerida:
There is so much X-factor about what you do that makes you stand out amongst a very hectic art scene. Are you able to identify for yourself how you deliver such unique work?
Lisa:
I really don’t know! I basically focus on making the work that appeals to me instead of focusing on what I think will necessarily be popular. And I think I have developed a keen sense of style in my work that is very dialed in. But that took YEARS of practice and putting my work out into the world. I have been doing this for a long time. And with experience comes a certain knowing. It is the gift of getting older and wiser.
Nerida:
You are such a brave spokesperson for so many marginalised people and the way you incorporate social justice messaging is so fantastic. Can you put into words the role you think art can play in improving social justice outcomes? Can you provide us with one of the examples of how you have made an impact through your art?
Lisa:
Art is vital to social justice. Film, illustration, painting, poetry, sculpture, photography, dance – all of these mediums (and there are more) are all essential to spreading messages that support vulnerable people, fight racism and spread love. Art speaks to us in a way that nothing else does, it connects to our emotions, it speaks to people’s hearts. I have made so much art over the years that I have hoped has made a difference. Once I met a person at a conference who has a trans teen. And she told me that the year before she had purchased a bunch of my prints to hang around her house to remind her kid that they mattered and that they were loved, and to give them a sense of joy and purpose. That is a small but powerful example of what I hope my art can do to make an impact.
If you would love to brighten your world with some Lisa Congdon Fabrics, you can find all her designs HERE