Rachel Sperry

BIO

I was born in New York City but spent my early childhood in Vermont. I spent my formative years in Western Massachusetts. I started studying art at Maine College of Art in Portland, Maine and then transferred to Sam Fox School of Art and Design at Washington University in St. Louis and graduated there with a BFA in printmaking in 2013. I currently live in South Portland, Maine with my husband and our one year old son.

ARTIST STATEMENT

Here is a list of elements my work engages with: grids, abstraction, photography, collage, advertisement, fashion, form, color, and chance. The paper weavings I make are meticulous but also spontaneous and playful. I love being pleasantly surprised by the abstracted images I create by putting paper over and under itself. The digital collages I make using the woven pieces focus on form, color and juxtaposition of something abstracted with something representational. The work is also about my love of flipping through fashion magazines and the attraction and repulsion of high-fashion advertising. Most importantly, this work is very fun for me to make. It allows me to lose track of time, thoughts, and worries and, as a new mother, I find that extremely invaluable.

Interview with Rachel Sperry

Can you tell us a bit about your background and how you became interested in becoming an artist? 

I was born in New York City but spent my early childhood running around the countryside of Southern Vermont before moving to Western Massachusetts where I stayed until leaving for college. I became interested in art pretty early. My mom was and still is an artist so I would spend a lot of time in her studio as a kid. Around the time I was in 8th grade I knew I wanted to pursue art in some way. I took a lot of art classes in high school and went on to get a BFA in printmaking after that. It’s something that’s always been part of who I am, and I can’t imagine it any other way at this point. Over time, I realized I need creative work to be happy. 

Can you tell us about some of your most memorable early influences?

Seeing how dedicated my mom was to her practice growing up was a huge influence on me. She’s a painter to this day, and has never stopped moving herself forward as an artist. Outside of time spent in her studio, she would often take me to museums in the city whenever we went to visit family — the Met, the Guggenheim, the Whitney, MOMA. Being exposed to such monumental works of art as a kid makes an immeasurable impact on how you see the world, I think. Later in life, when I was in art school, I spent summers interning at some amazing print studios (Wingate Studio, Zea Mays and Island Press) where I learned a lot about work ethic, business and creative problem-solving as well as how different artists approach their studio practices. 

Where are you currently based and what brought you there? Are there any aspects of this specific location or community that have inspired your work?

I’m currently based in Portland, Maine where I’ve been for almost ten years now. My husband and I were living in St. Louis for a while before choosing to come back to New England to be closer to family. At this point we’ve grown real roots here which has set me up to have the space I need to explore my practice. Being near the ocean is a constant source of joy, and maybe more importantly, of perspective. 

What is your studio space like? What makes your space unique to you?

The space is bright and airy with views of the Portland harbor. It’s a new building in an industrial part of town that feels very contemporary, housing lots of creative studios for interdisciplinary artists in the community. My space is just about 1,200 square feet, which I split with another artist…my mom, Claudia Sperry! Sharing this studio with her has been such a unique opportunity for our relationship — truly a full circle moment. 

What is a typical day like? If you don't have a typical day, what is an ideal day? Do you work in large chunks of time, or throughout the day?

I have a full time job and an 18 month old son so I definitely don’t have a typical studio schedule these days. Usually, I make it over there in the evenings after dinner time or on the weekends for short and sporadic chunks of time. An ideal day is one where I’m able to get to the studio and chip away at a project – even if it’s a little piecemeal. I’m always thinking about my work in steps and phases, so a lot of out of studio time is still very much tethered to my process in a way. I try to not put too much pressure on myself in how I “show up” for my creative work because I’m still figuring out how all the new pieces of my life fit together. 

What gets you in a creative groove or flow? Is there anything that interrupts your creative energy? 

I probably drink way too much coffee but I usually make myself a pour over before I start working. There’s something about that ritual that helps me transition from whatever I was doing before to being in the zone in the studio. I like to listen to music (lately it’s a Spotify radio based on Miguel's song ‘Sure Thing - Sped up’) and I turn my phone on ‘do not disturb.’ Checking my phone in the studio is the biggest culprit when it comes to interruption. 

How do you maintain momentum in your practice? Is there anything that hinders or helps your focus? 

Deadlines, collaborations, and reaching out to people to talk about their work and their process all help me to stay on track. It definitely helps to have something outside of myself to focus on. 

What medium/media are you working in right now? What draws you to this particular material or method? 

For the last three years I’ve been making paper weavings. I made my first woven paper piece in January of 2021. I started working in this way while I was pregnant with my son. I had been doing more intensive printmaking processes and I just didn’t have the energy or the time during the first trimester to set up all my inks, make prints and then clean it all up at the end of the day. The paper weavings were something that felt immediate to me and also something that I could leave unfinished and complete the next time I made it to the studio. They were meditative which also took my mind off of the anxiety I felt during my pregnancy. It has really worked out to be a sustainable studio practice as a new mother as well. 

Can you walk us through your overall process in making your current work? Does drawing play a role in your process? 

I start by gathering images mostly from fashion editorials or ads. I pick ones that I’m immediately drawn to. When I first started this practice I had stacks and stacks of tear sheets from magazines that I was going to collage with but felt too precious about them so I ended up scanning them all into the computer so that I would have the originals. Once they were all scanned I started printing them on my Epson Stylus Pro 3880 that is probably fifteen years old and still working perfectly if I am kind to it. I use a paper cutter to cut the prints in strips. I cut one image into strips vertically and cut the other into strips horizontally. Warp and Weft. I then weave them together. I usually scan that original weaving back into the computer and layer them in photoshop with other scanned tear sheets to create limited edition digital prints. 

Do you pursue any collaborations, projects, or careers in addition to your studio practice? If so, can you tell us more about those projects, and are there connections between your studio practice and these endeavors?

I have been lucky enough to have worked on a few commissions this year and have really enjoyed that process of bending what I do in the studio to fit someone else’s needs. All of the commissions that I have done this year have been woven paper pieces but each one I approached a little differently. The first commission that I was really proud of was to accompany a written piece by Amil Niazi for Mother Tongue Magazine. This was the first time that I actually manipulated the images that I was weaving together. It was a simple thing, I just added a purple border around the images but it really felt like the beginning of something that informed my studio practice moving forward. I worked on an original woven piece for a concept shop called Common Things that opened in New York City in September and for that I created a digital collage with images from the Library of Congress and wove that same image together with a blue border. I was really excited by the process of finding the images and putting them together. This was also one of the first times that I wove the same image together. Usually I am weaving two different images together. I was really excited about this. The final commission that I did this year was for a New York Times opinion article. I went through many different sketches and iterations before landing on the final piece. I don’t usually make many versions of the same imagery in my own practice and I learned so much from going through that process. All of these commissions have really informed my work and where I want it to go. They opened up new ways of thinking about imagery, time and how I can push my work further. 

Have you had any epiphanies recently that have changed the course of your work or caused you to shift directions? 

Up until recently I have been working mostly with imagery from fashion magazines. I have been really inspired by the colors and compositions I find in fashion ads. But I have been thinking a lot lately about moving away from that and collaborating directly with photographers or manipulating the images and compositions myself digitally more before printing them out and weaving them together. 

Have you overcome any memorable roadblocks or struggles in your practice that you could share with us? 

I think becoming a parent has been the biggest, and best, roadblock to my practice. My son is just 18 months old and figuring out who I was as a mother and as an artist right after he was born was very difficult, and is still a work in progress. He’s changed my life in so many good ways, but my concept of my own time and my time to work in the studio is totally different now. I used to be a huge procrastinator but now I've learned to be committed and focused with my limited studio time. Becoming a parent has improved my work ethic tremendously and given me a new perspective that I can bring to my work. 

Who are some contemporary artists you’re excited about? Is there a recent exhibition that stood out to you?

Some of the artists that I’ve been excited about lately are Vanessa Saba, Daniela Libertad, Matt Phillips, and Lola Dupre. 

Do you have any tips or advice that someone has shared with you that you have found particularly helpful? 

I recently asked my dad, who is 87 and is an inventor that has worked with great focus for his entire life, for some life advice. He said: be slow and steady. Do not rush things. Take 15 minutes to read something or meditate if you’re feeling ungrounded. Enjoy a good nap, a good meal and your surroundings. These things are all really simple suggestions but are so easily forgotten.

What are you working on in the studio right now? What’s coming up next for you? 

Right now I am working on a few things. I am just finishing a larger scale commission for a friend that is the largest woven paper piece I’ve worked on so far. I also have been making some smaller collages (not digital ones!) out of some of my original woven pieces that didn’t feel complete to me so I’m cutting them up. I am dreaming up and chatting about a couple of collaborations with other artists which I feel really excited about. I am working on opening myself up to experimentation more. I am slowly becoming less precious about my work and less worried about“messing it up”.

To find out more about Rachel Sperry check out her website and Instagram.