Debbi Bond

Inteview with artist Debi Bond —

1. Who are you and what do you do?
I am Debi Bond, and I consider myself a multi-cultural artist, having lived a great part of my life far away from where I grew up, which happens to be Carlisle, Pa. Out of all the places I have been, the art and people of Ecuador have had the greatest impact on me. I am presently adjusting to my new world; Utah.

“The Lyre Player”

2. Why art?
Art is my identity. It is all I have ever known, and has been my way of sharing who I am and what my very adventurous life has been like. To me, art is therapy!

3. What is your earliest memory of wanting to be an artist?
That is hard to answer. I cannot remember ever seeing the world without creating pictures in my mind of what I was looking at. Nature, people, animals, other art, pretty much anything that catches my eye, has me thinking on a new or unique ways of recreating it in my mind.

“Searching For Hope”

4. What are your favorite subject(s) and media(s)?
Anything that catches my eye is a potential subject. For example: I love musicians and the interaction between their hands and the instruments they are playing. It is as though they are talking through music. That makes me stop and ponder. I am also very nearsighted (to an obscene level), so when I look at nature I stop and ponder from a worm’s eye view. I might see what a flower looks like from that perspective and how it moves in the wind, etc. At first, watercolors, acrylics, charcoal, and pen and inks were always specialties of mine. I would use them depending on what I was creating while pondering the subject I was looking at. Then, while living in Ecuador, you could often find me in the streets as a mural artist. There are a lot of walls there. Though weathered, there is an entire block of murals still existing on the Galapagos Islands today.

“Dripping Sunflower Series”

All this was me: but then I discovered encaustics. I will never be the same.
My passion for this medium has ever grown as I am burdened for our fragile planet and our lack of concern and care for it. This includes all of us artists. Most of our creations use very harmful substances. That’s not the case with beeswax, and my concern has morphed into creating works of art that are permanent yet free from toxicity. Handmade paper, driftwood, scrapped wood, raw burlap… encaustics love nature. Egyptian Tombs that used encaustic art methods thousands of years ago are almost as rich in color as the day they were painted.

“Granny Smifhs”

5. How do you work and approach your subject?
I am a conceptual cross between realism and expressionism. I start with an idea I see in what I am looking at. It is best to explain it metaphorically: As though I am looking at a recipe for a slow-cooker stew. Even if I start with a known recipe, the end result always has my signature. Sometimes I might just throw all the ingredients in and push the start button, or sometimes I might spend all day preparing different ingredients for a culmination of a unique thick and rich flavored stew. It always depends on the thoughts and creating going on in my mind.

“My Alpaca Buddy”

6. What are your favorite artwork(s), artist(s)?
I will never get over the sculptures of Michelangelo that lined the hallway of Galleria dell’Accademia when I was there. He spoke my language of looking at an existing object and seeing a creation in it fight its way to life, leaving many parts an unfinished mystery. I understood he went to the quarries and stared at many parts of the quarry, until he saw something waiting to be set free and that is how he would have the stones cut. I also am partial to Pablo Picasso’s etching “Frugal Repast.” Though I am not a fan of Picasso and his troubling life, this is one of my favorite works of art. I believe it is the calm café’ scene with much suffering appearing mysteriously through the empty eyes of the couple that haunts me. And I could not say enough about the life and works of Vincent Van Gogh. Just when I think I have been effected enough, I look on a new undiscovered work of his, or aspect of his life and am passionately renewed to experience his work once again. The famous “The Starry Night” is just the tip of the iceberg!

“Mother and Child”
on driftwood

7. What are the best responses you have had to your work?
When I see someone, or get a comment from someone emotionally experiencing my work, or I see folks lingering at my pieces, sometimes taking pictures or notes…that I guess would trump even the sales. It to me is an honor that I could use my God-given talent to get people to stop and ponder anything I create. Back to the metaphor of the slow cooker recipe: You can make horrible stew as a chef and people still have to pay. But the longing is to see someone close their eyes in recognition of the wonderful taste they have in their mouth from something the chef created. That is the longing of any artist I would think. And when that happens, they are the best responses that keep me going.

“Playing The Piano”

8. What do you like about your work?
When I was young, though I was always known for my artistic talent, my academic life lacked greatly. My famous statement, even through college was, “Well, at least I can draw.” It became my academics, my identity, my way of communicating, and my therapy and journal through life. In this mindset, I love to invite the viewer in, offering a place of tranquility and experience…but with a deeper hidden message, making my art interactive. And I love my new phase in this endeavor, which is creating works of art that permanent as they may be, are not harmful to this fragile planet.

“OO LALA”

9. What advice would you give to other artists?
Whatever you do, do it for the passion. No one can teach you that; that is who you are. Do not make it about the money.

“The Paintbrush”

10. Where do you see yourself in 5-10 years?
At my age, if I am not in a coffin, I would love to see an excited Antique’s Roadshow Historian showing my newly discovered valuable painting on the show!

Debi Bond

LINKS —

Email: debibondartist@gmail.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/debibondartist/
Website: theartsanctuary.net