Meet Geri deGruy | Fine Artist
We had the good fortune of connecting with Geri deGruy and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Geri, do you have any habits that you feel contribute to your effectiveness?
1. I’m an avid learner! I read about art, look at art, go to an art critique group, scavenge for new techniques, and observe design and color in my daily life. I’m studying and learning as I go about living each day. 2. Taking risks as I work, something I prefer to call “play”, is not only the reason I can make interesting art, but it is the reason that creating is incredibly fun. Every day in the studio I’m experimenting and seeing what will happen if… New techniques stimulate new ideas. Literally playing with art materials with no intention in mind, seeing what develops, often reveals a fresh color mixture or structure or pattern to use. Art is a place where my unconscious can and does come out to romp.
3. Putting in the time is crucial. Making a LOT of ART and learning from each piece. Going to “work” in the studio daily or at least faithfully and regularly. Showing up! It’s like practicing the piano for a recital; you play the piece slowly, notice the rhythms and tempo, master the notes. But then you need to add color and dynamics to truly feel the piece and let it shine. That keeps changing every time you play. It’s a process and it takes the devotion of time and love.
Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I have a BS in nursing from Duke University. This was not my intention when I enrolled at Duke, but nursing taught me more about the body, suffering, healing, care, and the immense comfort of providing a holding environment for others.
Next I became an administrator of the Family Medicine Residency Program at Duke. I learned more about team work, management of people and money, working toward an ideal of family centered patient care. (this was many years ago…) It felt like being a conductor of an intelligent, innovative symphony.
Being a mom is the most important career move I made. I’m not at all biased and I have amazingly wonderful “children.” (They are all adults at this time.) Mothering is also the most challenging of my careers. It’s a combo of my former nursing and management, plus chauffeuring, mentoring, mirroring, playing, teaching, listening, being a safe space, and so much more.
Simultaneously, I got a graduate degree in counseling and started a private therapy practice. I was privileged to share in the lives of many tender people.
And finally I started making art. One thing led to another. One learning led to another so that I made cards, and journals, jewelry and art quilts, mixed-media artwork and acrylic paintings.
This “career” sounds like a diverse, unrelated set of skills but oddly they all feed one another. Everything I’ve done for “work” has fed the next thing, and has informed the art work I do now.
Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I love my neighborhood restaurants, both because they have great food and because they feel friendly and neighborly. So I’d take my friend to MIYO, a cafe in Castle Rock, and to Trestles, a seafood restaurant right across the street from MIYO. I’d make an appointment for a massage for each of us at Copperfalls, an Aveda spa I love in Castle Rock. For comfort food in Castle Rock, we’d go to the Castle Rock Cafe where the waits wear shirts that say, “No sniveling allowed.” In Denver we’d go to exhibits at the Denver Art Museum and eat at their restaurant, The Ponti.
We’d go to the Colorado symphony.
Sushi! Matsuhisa in Cherry Creek. And Uchi.
We would definitely go to the Denver Botanical Gardens, regardless of the season. Even in the winter the grounds are beautiful and the tropical garden inside is popping with color.
Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My family members are fans and cheerleaders which is lovely. Their homes are adorned with chosen pieces of my work. My husband Frank loves my art and has been consistently supportive and encouraging. The same is true of my friends. I’m very fortunate!
Over the years I’ve taken classes with inspiring artists who have taught me wonderful things about art:
Joan Fullerton
Adele Sypesteyn
Nicholas Wilton
Judy Woods
Louise Fletcher
Nancy Hillis
Jane Davies
plus many many other artists on videos and in books. All excellent teachers!
When I was creating art quilts, SAQA, (Studio Art Quilt Associates) provided learning and many opportunities to show my work in juried shows.
Artists often, mostly, work alone. Having others who teach, support, and encourage is essential for a continuing career in art.
Website: https://www.geridegruy.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geridegruy/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/geridegruy/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/geridesigns
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7O0OjoqYc_yym0H-v8nr_g
Image Credits
all photos by Geri deGruy
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