Interview with Artist: Spiral

It was a sunny Sunday morning in July, the kind of day that makes a person realize why they love the fair city of Seattle. My crew of Artists that month were Lindsay ‘Hera’ Harris, Poul Costinsky and Amanda Koh. We had sat our live painting performance up on the deck of the Nectar Lounge in Fremont. The RL Heyer Trio was playing tunes on the stage just inside the big warehouse doors and the music drifted outside in inspirational waves. This was the day that I met Spiral for the first time. She had seen the Art pARTies Seattle page at meet-up.com and hoped to connect with a group of artists to hang with. Little did she know what she was getting herself into, “Yes, that is the story, you were the corrupting influence that dragged me into the sorry depths of live painting... the first artist that I had met after moving here from California.”

Spiral fit right in with our little group. She was dying to paint with us, so Hera set her up with a board and Amanda gave her some paint. That was all she wrote, the girl was one of us! This clown was the first of hundreds of live paintings that were in her future!

The Interview

S~ “What is your most dominant characteristic?”

Spiral- "I think I would have to say my multitude of interests. I love learning. From science to philosophy, creative techniques to psychology...medical anomalies...writing...singing...everything. It's the driving force behind every art "experiment" and every other wacky choice I make."

Among Spiral's interests lies a fascination with science. The "experiments" include several paintings exploring the make up of certain rather frightening strains of bacteria. She transforms the scientific drawings into colorful paintings, which become something altogether different. The soft, billowing forms in "Bird Flu" and the melodic rhythm of "Ebola"create fluid abstractions of the destructive powers that the diseases hold.

S~ “Who would you say are your heroes and inspirations?”

Spiral- "I would say that I don't have a hero although I am always looking for one. My inspirations are "Alice in Wonderland", quantum physics, Salvador Dali, Van Gogh, abnormal psychology, Da Vinci, and microbiology."

S~ ”How does collaborative and live painting affect your work?”

Spiral- "All art is collaborative. Anyone who thinks otherwise is fooling themselves. All art comes from inspiration. From interaction. From the world around you. Live painting is just a more formal nod to that universal collaboration. It's high octane inspiration on a deadline."

S~ “Do you prefer collaboration, painting for an audience over studio painting?”

Spiral- "It depends on my mood. My more personal paintings are easier to paint in private...it's easier to disembowel yourself in the privacy of your studio. But I am my own worst critic and so the constant distraction of a chaotic club tends to drown out the petty nagging."

S~ “Who are some of your favorite Artists to paint with?”

Spiral- "I learn something from all artists I paint with.. but I think I prefer the childlike ones... the ones who haven't forgotten that art isn't about ego... it's about fun."

S~ “What do you hope to accomplish as an artist?”

Spiral- "I hope to tap into the voice that is uniquely my own... the one that we all have inside that speaks to everyone else...in the language that only a child can know.