Meet Sophia Pip” Clarke | Artist & Teacher”

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sophia “Pip” Clarke and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Pip, we’d love to start by asking you about lessons learned. Is there a lesson you can share with us?

Being open to rejection and life are pivotal lessons I am learning through my career and art.

However, I had to learn about curiosity before I learned about rejection. There is something to be admired about the blind arrogance that people have that allows them to walk into rooms believing they are the most suited for that position and role. Too often they are the loudest voice and only voice in the room. I have learned from these people to speak out more often and to put that arrogance or should I call it ‘spotlight’ into the things I believe in. Often, they impart small lessons in patience (a virtue that I have always needed a little more of), share some obscure fact, or a new way of looking at things. People are full of small lessons. Being around more people has taught me to follow curiosity and curb judgement.

When I wrangled curiosity I learned to say hello and try to truly engage everyone I met. This could be attempting an honest conversation or learning small pocket-sized pieces of information from everyone I meet. However, opening yourself up to people also opens you up to rejection.

If I say hello to 20 people in the street. Only 15 of them may answer. Maybe even only 5 of them. Depends on the street. I could focus on the rejection, feel embarrassed and stop reaching out. Or… I can realize I am a stranger on the street talking to other strangers. They may be confused, caught off guard, or get nervous in certain social situations or they’re having a bad day. It’s not about me. It may be but it probably isn’t. I just need to shrug and laugh at myself a little and move on. Because I can. Because I have to. In doing so I crush my fear of social performance and focus on connecting. I am prepared to launch into situations where I have no control. The only option is to learn from each person and situation and go about my day as best as I can.

In learning to embrace and prepare yourself to confront fear, especially that fear of rejection, you become more aware of what is truly an obstacle. Usually, that terrifying, knee trembling thing under your bed is a sock that you have willed into a life altering obstacle. That is your monster. That is not to say there are not real things getting in the way but some of it is our own, and some of it is not. I say this as someone who has been terrified of so many things and still went to them. I think that’s how I have met many of the people in my life. Scared out of my mind but still ready to run towards it. I learned that everyone is scared out of their mind about something. I feared lakes, so I swam from one end to the next. I fear heights, so I went cliff jumping. I fear the woods, so I went hiking. I fear snakes, so I held one. I was scared of being alone so I spent intense time driving and not surrounding myself with people so that I could appreciate that solitude.

Please know I am not saying this from a pedestal. This is a reminder to myself as much as to anyone else. There is no soap box. This doesn’t mean go and do every single thing that makes you uncomfortable like Jim Carey in that movie “Yes Man” without boundaries. However, I idolized fear and pain and thought it made me unique and special and deep. It didn’t. It made me sad and unable to connect. In the spaces where I was truly confronting my fear, I could be open about it and learn that there were always others willing to hold my hand or say a kind word or two. Becoming confident in the unknown is simply being confident with yourself in a wild situation. You will never be prepared for everything. There will not be some ‘aha’ moment where fear evaporates, and you wake up feeling invincible and capable. You must do it anyway. Take rejection as if it is another fear and do it anyway. Promote yourself. Shamelessly if you must. Tell people what you are doing. They will probably be interested. Go for that random ridiculous opportunity. There are probably thousands of qualified people applying for it. Perhaps, maybe – You are one of them. However, no one thinks they are. If you do, good for you. Enjoy this confidence as it is a luxury. If you don’t, pull out a seat and join the club. You will be surrounded by others who share your fears and can answer your questions. You need to be there to ask them, (not feeding the gluttony of self-doubt somewhere else.) Otherwise, you may never know. For my insatiable curiosity, that is a far worse fate.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?

My art is primarily focused on feminine forms that exist in spaces of mental, cultural, and physical crosshairs. Observing the intersectional aspect of society heightened my awareness of how the bodies and ideas of women served as metaphors to support and define certain ideas.

Some of my pieces directly address the abuse of land and black people, from manipulated crops and fields that have been over produced and pushed to their limit, and the people forced to cultivate and maintain it. They have been abused and manipulated in similar ways. Their fruiting bodies were taken, sold, and overworked. The woman reflects the land, and history of the area. The feminine form serves as multilayered iconography.

These layers are seen in literature, (more specifically in common Caribbean folklore.) Folktales were originally oral. They were passed down from generations like heirlooms. Each iteration changes with a new storyteller. In my work words are hidden and layered throughout, signifying the shapeshifting nature of words. These anecdotes may stay with the figures of my paintings only understood as they are created, or may lead to another understanding and interpretation of a given text.

 However, lost words, languages and stories that were not commonly recorded or even considered legitimate (as the language and ideas of the less privileged often were). Unfortunately, some of these lost words may have never become text. They were never written and therefore were never recorded. This is a dangerous position of folktales commonly reserved for children. There is no Caribbean recording similar to the Brothers Grimm collection, and likewise no illustrated accounts. Caribbean stories were shared, spread, and consumed but never legitimized. Many of my country’s dishes, cultural stories and ideas have not been officially recorded or published. They were considered stories, not history. This is part of the temporary space that inspires and fuels me.

This temporary space has many faces and avenues. Matters such as mental health, familial issues, and legitimacy are difficult to address or fully acknowledged (especially in Caribbean societies.) There are half-truths or feelings of open land mines and deep-rooted ideas of shame. This shame renders something taboo. It is the taboo or ignorance that creates the temporary space. In addressing the uncomfortable I do not mean to force it in people’s faces in an ugly unfeeling way. No, that is not the allure of the temporary or taboo. The goal is to show them the gradual ways taboos sneak and harbor secrets that we refuse to talk about or acknowledge. The taboos are there, we have simply rendered them invisible.

It is the way a woman may struggle to speak up for herself in a society that prioritizes the man as the head of house, that primes her and her children for domestic abuse and neglect. It is the way a woman who cannot acknowledge her mental health loses her children as she is forced in and out of mental institutions and outed from society. It is the way carnal desire is glorified but promiscuity and children is the sin of the mother. It is not to say only women suffer but personify the symptoms of societal issues that would rather be shadows.

So, to pursue my art business I practice. I try to draw once a day or at least multiple times a week. As far as how I pursue the business, I try to use online sites such as Cafe listing, or local art calls through various galleries. Sometimes I contact local stores and coffee shops as a place to put merch. I cold email for murals and work at festivals. Right now, I am trying to apply for residencies.  Building that resistance to rejection is essential for this part. You will be told no. It is inevitable. You need to hold on and keep going until you hear that yes.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?

Okay hear me out, as I am not living in Denver these are actually all of the places that I visit when I go.

Food:

-This is going to sound crazy but any hot pot restaurant. Every time I visit Denver the first thing I hit is a Hot Pot restaurant. It’s always a different one and I am so excited. By the time I get there I am beyond excited. I have always wanted to hit up an Ethiopian restaurant but I am just waiting until next time.

-There’s this random food truck / shack right outside of Churches on top of that hill that has some of the best midnight Mexican food I have ever had. I don’t know if it was the tequila or the cold but it was definitely amazing.

Activities:

-Paddywax – candle making! This was so fun. I went with a friend and she was decisive and ready. Meanwhile I took an hour to decide on small details. This was fine. This is a note for the people who also deliberate forever! Meanwhile we were able to just talk and hang out the whole time. I love learning during small activities and doing things. You need to pick it up after so this gives you plenty of time to stroll or look around.

-RiNo District – I love this place because I love just walking around and finding something to do. I know it’s pretty cliche but there’s something great about being able to wander. I also love just following the murals and art until I am tired of walking around.

Chill spots:

-Milk and Honey Coffee – great staff and drinks and the food is pretty great. I just love the atmosphere I learn so much when I go there and talk to people.

-The Botanical Bakery of Denver – I love plants and it’s a cool place to just sit and walk and talk to friends. I also love plants and they’re connected to a really cool plant shop. So I love just randomly going in and looking at what new plant to buy. I would eat before going here, or maybe meet here and then go do something else after.

-Denver Botanical Garden – I know this is such a basic answer but I always enjoyed that different flowers would ‘steal the show’ every time I went. There was always something new to notice. Drawing or take pictures for different references is always a good idea as well.

Drinking: (I know this isn’t everyone’s cup of tea)

– Death & Co – Great drinks and love the ambiance.

-Churches- I love this bar. I know it’s more of a club but there’s something about a party environment that encourages you to walk around. I love the stained glass and meeting so many random people. I always have the most interesting conversations with people I have met there and I learn so much about their lives in such a short amount of time. I think it is the fleeting nature of that place. You know you may never see them again so they’re so open and true to themselves.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I have had so much help from so many people. Everyone I have ever called a friend or known in some capacity has helped or taught me in so many ways. I am grateful to every stranger for passing conversations in airports, libraries, bars, parks, and social media rants. How can you not thank every teacher and professor and mentor? Thank you to my first teacher, my Grammy. I have had the luxury to share all of my hare-brained ideas with people and artists like Michael Baum, Desy Schoeneweis, Tim Steckline, Bridget Beck and Quintin Owens. Thank you to my kind artist friends like Hope Christofferson, Anne Skaug, Katie Plymate, Tia Erin, and Anthony Checchi who have taught me that life exists outside of fear and I can’t even name the conversations that have changed how I look at things or forced me to confront something new or outside of my wheelhouse. I can’t even begin to name all of the people who have helped me. Thank you to all of my friends. My numerous countless friends. (Basically, the entire island of Grand Bahama and the town of Spearfish.)

Website: https://www.sophiamclarke.com/

Instagram: @socaandsunshineart