After the Storm

Rachelle Skinner

Interview by L. Valena

Can you tell me what you responded to?

My prompt was a series of pictures- it looked like carpet, cut up and arranged in different ways.

What was your first reaction to that?

The very first image reminded me of [puts hands into a v formation] the generic way you would draw a bird in the background. So the first thought I had was birds. And as I kept flipping through the pictures, I started thinking about the gradient pattern in it. It kind of looked like it was dripping down, so I started thinking of water. That led me to waterbirds. So eventually I landed on cormorants from that.

Is that a bird in your area?

They do nest in our state, but they are on the rare side. I don’t think they’re exactly endangered, but they were seen as pests for a long time. The state’s trying to help the public understand that they’re not ferocious fish eaters, they’re just regular waterbirds, and not to just shoot them on sight. I had read about it recently, so it was in my head.

Cool! The title of your piece is After the Storm. Is that the storm that you’re talking about?

Yeah — because I had that story in my head. I was thinking about how they had been seen negatively, but it’s starting to turn around. And also the colors in the prompt made me think of sand. Those desaturated colors bleed into more golden hues. So that’s why I wanted to incorporate a sun coming out of those desaturated colors.

How does this relate to the rest of your work?

I do a lot of nature-based stuff. Usually, if I’m doing anything, it’s nature-based.

What was this like for you? Were there any feelings that came up?

When I was first brainstorming it, I just kept flipping the pictures over and over until something cemented in my mind. Another thing I’d read recently was kind of a technical art thing talking about how to add a lens flare effect into paintings, which is kind of unnatural, but a neat effect. So I wanted to try it.

Cool! I never would have been able to name that, but I see it, now that you’ve said that. Did anything else come up?

Mostly sand, for some reason. I don’t know why that came up so much. Since the original prompt was so abstract, I felt like I wanted to do something more solid as a response to that.

Are you a beachgoer?

Yeah. I’m summer. I love beaches. I’m dreaming about going to the lake.

Do you want to talk more about birds? What’s your relationship with birds?

I just really love drawing feathers. So drawing the whole wing there — I just kind of zone out, get in my mode. I can do that for a long time. For me, it’s a very peaceful thing to do. Very zen.

I’m with you, actually. I’m more of a sculptor, and I’ve been making a lot of birds recently. Making feathers is a very zen activity for me too.

I don’t know why that is. It’s a little repetitive, but not.

Exactly. And they’re so expressive. They can have so much movement.

Yeah. I think that’s another thing I wanted to touch on with this piece. The flow of the prompt, and the movement from that. That’s why I felt like I needed the bird to be on water. I wanted the wings sprouting up and then the water dripping down from the wings. I wanted movement.

I really love the resilience you can feel in this bird. There’s a real show of strength happening. And it makes so much sense, given that these birds are potentially endangered. That “we’re still here” vibe is strong.

They’re hanging in there and making a comeback.

Do you have any advice for another artist approaching this project for the first time?

Have a lot of fun with it. Go with your gut. Even if it’s going to be something that you think is going to be technically hard for you to do, just try it. You’ll learn something, and it will be fun.

I think it’s always great when people can use this opportunity to experiment with things, because that’s when the cool stuff happens.

I like that I can take an abstract thing, make it something not abstract, and maybe the person after me will go back to abstract. I love the concept. This was a fun prompt, I enjoyed doing it, and I’m looking forward to seeing what comes next!

Call Number: Y59VA | Y62VA.skiAfte

Rachelle Skinner: I live in the Minneapolis area and have been making art all my life. I have a particular fondness for making cute designs, but I don’t like to limit my art in any way. If it inspires me, I’ll paint it!