Eliza Childress, Mary Silcox, and Sara Gossett are three young artists who’ve been engaged in a variety of creative works around RVA for several years now. In recent months, they have been joining forces on a regular basis to put on collaborative all-vinyl DJ nights at Balliceaux and other local venues. Knowing that the three of them are all hard at work on a variety of artistic and musical endeavors, both together and separately, I figured getting them to sit down with me for a group interview would be a fascinating experience. I was definitely correct in that assumption, but the most important thing I learned from our conversation was that Eliza, Mary, and Sara see themselves not just as peers and collaborators but as supportive friends who want to help each other, and the community of young artists in Richmond as a whole, grow and succeed. What follows is but a short sample of our 90-minute conversation, which ranged from the connections between art and music to the artistic significance of dreams.
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Eliza Childress
You guys have been doing a DJ night together for a few months--how did that start?
Mary: Rei [Alvarez of Bio Ritmo, aka DJ Rattan] and I would play records together. I never thought about DJing until one day he was like, "Hey, you know, you should do this!” So we did a few nights together and that was great, I enjoyed that, but there's something special about spinning with ladies. We have a different aesthetic when it comes to putting everything together. And so, [Rei] was like, “You, Sara, and Eliza.” He said, “I think that y'all would make a really good team.” He called it, from the very beginning.
Sara: I had been DJing for a while, but there was some time where I was like, “I'm tired of this.” You have some bad nights, and you're just like, “This is not worth it. It's barely paying to fund my vinyl habit as it is.” I got really jaded. [But] it's really been a nice, fun time DJing with them.
Eliza: I thought it was just gonna be a one-off, with you guys, and then you were like, “Do you wanna come back next month?” I think I got... oh, I shouldn't say this in the interview. [laughs] I think I got fairly intoxicated that evening, and I was like, "They aren't gonna want me back!" [all laugh]
Sara: But we had so much fun!
Eliza: I had a blast. But I was so nervous, because y'all were like, “We'll each play a record, and we'll play records back to back all night.” And I had never done that before, so I was really nervous. But I think we bring a lot of the same sounding stuff, so it works together.
Mary: We all balance each other out really well, you know?
Sara Gossett
How do you feel DJing relates to art? What's the connection between art and music?
Sara: I think a lot of people that are musicians are also artists, or vice versa. There are a lot of connections between those two things, and I know some of us play instruments, but playing records is another way to tap into that musicality. And you know, paint certain colors with sound.
Eliza: I personally can't play any instruments. And I want to one day, but I'm just not gifted in that sense. Music has always been my biggest inspiration. I remember when I was four years old, all I wanted to do was listen to music. It was my life. Ever since then it's been a struggle for me, because I want to be able to create sounds, but the only way that I can right now is to find music that just blows my mind.
How do you think the music you listen to influences the paintings you do and the art you create?
Eliza: I have to listen to something with a beat, because when I'm painting, the beat takes over my body, and all of my brushstrokes follow the beat of the song. It doesn't matter what the beat is, so long as there's like a heavy bassline, or a sick drumbeat, that's what all of my linework follows. That's how I stay in the zone. If I'm listening to nothing, I will not be able to concentrate. I don't know if it's the same way for you guys.
Mary: Yeah, pretty similar. As long as I'm listening to something that allows me to get into that quiet space in my mind, and let, almost like--I'm throwing this out there--God, in a sense, take over, then I'm good. For the most part I want something that's gonna ease my mind. I actually listen to a lot of classical music when painting. It depends on my mood, but for long term painting, like if I'm in my studio for 8 hours a day, I'm gonna be listening to jazz or something like Bach, something that gets me into a meditative zone.
Sara: Lately I've been listening to a lot of soundtracks. A lot of the films I haven't even seen, but cinematic music allows you to get into this...
Eliza: You create your own world.
Sara: Yes, exactly. They are trying to tell the story through music, and it allows you to get into this fantastical world, in whatever [art] you're doing. Most of what I do is really abstract stuff. It's not really trying to tell a story, necessarily. But [music] still allows you to get into this mood, and that can be really important.
Mary, you mentioned being in your studio for 8 hours. Is that a regular thing for you? How long does the creative process take for you to achieve something that you're finished with?
Mary: That's definitely, on a good week, a regular thing. I'll wait tables three days a week, but other than that, I go to work at the studio every day. And it just depends. On a good day, maybe I'll have built up my canvas for hours, and then once I get into that trancelike state, if it's even possible... It's similar to when you're meditating. People will sit and sit and sit trying to quiet their mind, and it won't ever happen. Then there's one day where you just have 30 seconds where you are in complete and utter bliss. In the same way, when painting, it'll be so shitty, you know? I'll just be pissed off. “Why can't I even paint this fucking nose? I've tried for the past three hours and I can't paint a nose.” But then something will happen, and that trance state, or that godlike quality that I keep bringing up, or that blissful state will enter in, and something will come out. And it may have taken ten minutes, and it will be a masterpiece.
Sara Gossett
That makes me curious about another thing that I was wondering. Eliza, I know you’re freelance, and Mary, you were saying you work as a waitress three days a week and paint the rest of the time. Sara, I'm not sure what you're doing now.
Sara: I work in an office. Monday through Friday.
Mary: We're trying to convince her to quit her office job. [laughs]
I'm really curious about the financial implications of making art--how sustainable you've found it.
Sara: I can't really speak to that too much, obviously, because I work, but I can say that I think this is probably as good of a place as most places in the country to try to live your dream. Because the cost of living here, while it has risen in the past several years, compared to other cities in the country, is still relatively low. If you want to go for something, you might as well [in Richmond].
Mary: My boyfriend just recently quit all his other jobs in kitchens and whatnot and is solely doing artwork. And he always says to me, “If you love it, it will survive.” I think that's true. I'm not impractical, and that's why I still have a waitressing job, but I also think that you have the power to create your own destiny. If you want to be an artist and that's what your passion is, and what you want to share with the world, then you have to do it! And you can make it happen. It might be hard. You might have to go to other cities to try to find clients or have shows, and you might have to write a lot of emails, or do things you don't want to do, but that's tough! That's what it takes.
Eliza: It beats having a real job.
Mary Silcox
So what's been your experience with getting shows and clients?
Eliza: I've emailed galleries, but that was before I'd gotten any press. I don't know if it would be different now. Honestly, all of the publicity that I've had in the past year and a half hasn't done that much for me. All of my clients are still from out of town. I've had to make a shitload of sacrifices working as a freelancer. I don't go out to eat, I don't really do anything. But the only art shows I seem to be able to get in this town are in unconventional spaces--which I really like, because as much fun as it would be to have a stale white wall to work with, and put paint all over, I like to be in a place that feels like my own home. But it's kind of frustrating also, because the galleries, that's what brings you good money to live off of.
Mary: I think house shows are the way to go. I started selling art in high school. My mom's an interior designer. I just took down all of the art in my mom's house, in the living room and dining room, then replaced it with all of my art and invited all her clients over. I really like that you can see something hung up in your house with a plant next to it, or a light, or trinkets, or however you're gonna place it, instead of just on a bare wall.
Sara: I think it's more difficult when you're younger, because people don't have the disposable income to spend on a piece of art, really. I completely understand, because I cannot really afford to buy someone's original art, either. I just think that for the most part, our peers who would really appreciate our art can't afford it. And that makes it harder.
Mary: I think it's important to tap into different markets. I had one art show in Richmond at some wealthy lady's house, and she invited all of her friends--I didn't know anyone there. And it was great--people were really into it. I think that maybe we just need to work together a little bit more.
Eliza Childress
Do you feel like the art scene in Richmond is geared towards older people?
Eliza: If you want to make money, then yes, you have to tap into the older crowd. But with us, it's probably harder because we make a younger style of art.
Mary: I've had a hard time tapping into the younger crowd with artwork. Just this year, I've finally started to share my artwork with friends, whereas before, I only sold to older people. I've actually been more intimidated to share my artwork with people around here.
Sara: There are so many talented people here in Richmond. And yes, what everyone is doing is special and unique, but it's only a slight exaggeration to say everybody's talented in some way. So it is hard because we live in a place which has a really good art school, and there's tons of people doing really cool things.
Eliza: I'd like to form a monthly art meeting, but it just hasn't come together yet. I went to that Klimt exhibit in Venice, and [Klimt and other Austrian artists circa 1900] had the Vienna Secession. We obviously couldn't call it a secession here in Richmond, but it was just a group of artists from different backgrounds who got together. It didn't matter if you were an interior designer or an architect, or a painter, a jeweler, anything. All of them worked alongside each other, discussed their ideas for individual projects, and built their own gallery space. I want to get something like that going, because I feel like if we all came together then we would be able to use each other's resources, and tap into avenues that we have never explored before. It would be really cool, to have 15 people and have a massive group show.
Eliza, you had pieces in the PLF's Visions art show at Gallery 5 in October. That's all young artists.
Eliza: It is. Gallery 5 is an exceptional venue. It's fantastic. They have great events and great shows there. They'll host anything, it doesn't matter if they think the art is going to sell and bring them a lot of revenue. They're very supportive.
So but for real, how's selling art going?
Eliza: In my year and a half of freelancing I've had one hard month, and that was in November of last year. But past that, things have done really well. I've gone on four vacations this year, which is perhaps irresponsible, but I was still working on art when I was out of town.
Mary Silcox
Are you finding ways to expand your reach?
Eliza: Oh my god, yeah. I met so many people in Italy. I met a [guy who] calls himself a "video jockey," a VJ.When I go back in the spring, he's going to do visual projections and I'm gonna bring records over and DJ. We're gonna set up an art show, so I'm gonna have an art show based around my experiences in Italy. It'll be all-encompassing, which is what I like events to be.
Sara: When Greg [Darden] and I used to do our light shows [Cosmic Hum], that was our original plan. We would do light shows and play music as well. We would take turns doing the oil and water projection and then DJing, which as you can imagine, you have to be very careful about. Your hands are covered in oil and food coloring--
Eliza: And then you go to pick up a record, my god.
Sara: Yeah. But that was a big objective for us, combining visual and aural. It just became exhausting. [laughs] But it was really fun while we did it, and we might do it again.
Mary: Back to what you were saying, selling artwork is do-able these days, for sure. I did a painting-a-day project in Mexico. I was going for a yoga retreat, and didn't have a lot of money. So I sold 5"x7" flat paintings, almost like the size of a postcard, ahead of time. The deal was you gave me $20, and you got a painting in the mail. You didn't get to choose what it was, it was a surprise. And I sold way more than I even wanted to do. I ended up having to do multiple paintings a day. But I think that's a good project. The first week I was like, “Damn, why did I do this? I’m tired and now I have to go paint.”
Eliza: But those are pieces that people are gonna cherish forever. It's something that's so real.
And you did it for $20, which is in reach for a lot of people. A lot of paintings are multiple hundreds or thousands of dollars.
Mary: I've been doing really small stuff now. I think that's a really good way to sell art to our friends and our peers, because it's so non-committal to buy something for $20. Most people can afford $20. And for something small, you don't have to think about "Where am I going to put this?"
Eliza: Can I ask a question?
Absolutely.
Eliza: Do dreams affect your illustrations at all? Because it's something that's occurring in your mind, and it's obviously very relevant to what goes on in your day to day life. Does that inspire you?
Mary: Do my dreams inspire me?
Eliza: Yeah, do they inspire you enough to where when you're sitting down at a painting, not even thinking about it, do you ever think, "Oh my god, that happened to me in a dream." Or something, and it just comes out naturally? How does that relate to your day to day life?
Mary: I think that every single painting that I do could be tied back into a dream or a dreamlike state.
Sara: Yeah, totally. I'm a shy person, so you just retreat into your daydreams. And that is just as important. That's the fantastical element of things. For me, when I listen to music, that happens a lot. You see certain images and colors and it takes you to a fantastical place in your mind, and you translate that into what comes out of your hands, whether it's writing or painting or drawing or music.
Mary: And it all can be tied back to the same thing, at least for me. When I was speaking about a bliss-like state, that's like getting into the unconscious. Letting that seep through. Those are your dreams.
Mary Silcox