A discussion with artist, teacher, milliner Meyriel J. Edge

Favorite tool:
Pencil

Finest of all the colors:
Blue, but I rarely use it.

Travel wish list:
Bruges, Belgium. I went to Provence and enjoyed drawing there, I would go back.

Artists of admiration:
Vermeer, Rothko, Rembrandt, Andrew Wyeth, Leonora Carrington.

Bad Art:
It all looks the same as everyone else. Diminishing what art is really all about. Cannot see the artist in it or see the hand that did it. If it doesn’t make you think it is no good. There is a lack of original ideas. We are too focused on flat screens. Truly original work is hard to find. Something with nuance! How do you know what the back of the head looks like if you only draw the face of a person?

Best art story:
While teaching art, I asked a lively 2nd grader how to go about it. She said” First, I would have to climb up in the tree and inside it and see it from inside to draw it from the outside.”

How did you facilitate art for your own children?
I made sure they saw plenty of art. When we traveled, they kept journals with drawings and I wrote for them until they could write for themselves. Provide enriching things and it will come out in the end.

How do you know you are an artist:
I know I am capable. I worked really hard to learn and to build up skills. I put them all in my tool box and I can reach for them anytime. They are there and I use them all. It is more of technical thought than an emotional one.

How is it you are so beautiful:
The time-honored way of drawing what is there makes the art come out true and honest. What comes out in my artwork is truth and honesty which is beautiful. It is about me, and I see myself through my art.

Why does Art Matter:
It is not an indulgence. Once people made a diagram of where a place is before we had phones. People drew what they meant since the beginning of time. It was a basic thing that came before anything else. It was not a hobby, a way to express your anger. It is a basic thing that we all do like eating and breathing. Why it is the first to go in schools will remain a complete mystery to me. Why is anything else more important?

How are you beautiful?
I have always loved listening to family stories, hearing about where people come from. I am deeply interested in people from around the world.

Why does art matter?
I ask the students this at the beginning of every year. Why do we have art and make art?  Art helps connect to other subjects especially history and helps to relate to other people, the world, and to feelings. Good day or bad day, it helps to make art.

Susan Irish is the founder and owner of Fabulon – Center for Art and Education.  Each month she interviews a different local artist.