Interview with Feature Artist Collaborator Faye Silvia
This Month’s Feature artist COllaborator is Faye Silvia whose pieces are on display for February.
In an interview with us, Faye discusses the evolution of their art, the best piece of artistic advice that they’ve received, what they hope to explore next, and more!
Faye will be having an opening on Thursday, February 1st from 6-8pm AND an Artist Talk on February 3rd at 2pm.
This is your fourth Feature Show with The Collaborative! How has your artwork evolved over the years and what do you hope people take away from your current showcase?
Yes, this is my fourth show with The Collaborative. I first featured as a Youth Artist in 2016, and showed a few different series including "Birds with Teeth"; the title explains itself. I soon became an artist member. I did not have another feature until my show in 2022, where I featured works from my MassArt illustration thesis; a series about mental illnesses called "All in the Mind". In 2023 I had my third show where I exhibited a variety of horror works. This show will be similar; I hope the audience truly feels dread from my new works. I aim to provoke discomfort with my art. This exploration of horror has been integrated into my art since 2016, but I did not recognize myself as a horror artist until 2020. Since then, I almost exclusively create scary things. Over time my style has also developed; when I first started making serious work it was mostly pen and ink or watercolor. I now use mixed media; painting, drawing, or collaging on a variety of surfaces.
What has been the best piece of artistic advice that you've received and/or what is one thing you wish someone told you when you were first starting out as an artist?
I took a figure drawing class and for a few sessions the regular professor was absent. The substitute professor was very eccentric and bold, and I didn't necessarily agree with everything she taught about art; but one day she said "if you aren't making art, you are just making excuses" and that has stuck with me. Art is my purpose; I have been making things for as long as I can remember. Of course as an artist, especially one who went through college, my creative flow went up and down. But I always remembered her words... making art begets more art. Whenever I was stuck, or I didn't have the energy to create, I would try to start with something small. Just pushing through the feeling and making something was often enough to get me back on my feet. It is so rewarding to make art... to see the beauty of something only you could have brought into the world. So why question or criticize that gift? We must keep making even when making doesn't feel right, and one day it will feel right again.
“Corpse Bride”
Do you have any tips for artists on marketing and selling artwork?
For a while I considered the marketing of my art when making my art. This is the biggest mistake you can make. It killed my creativity and made me feel like my art was "bad". You cannot compromise your vision, your art, and your feelings for the audience. Make what you want to make. The audience and patrons will only come after that.
In your new featured works, what is your favorite piece and why?
The pieces in this show lived in the idea stage for months or years. I did not know how to bring the pieces to fruition with the skills I had back then. Even pieces I was making at that time lacked the structural integrity and material understanding I achieved in these new pieces. All of this to say, it is hard for me to choose a favorite. Each piece brought me on a journey and challenged me to experiment even more than usual. I feel that especially with "Corpse Bride" and "Forest God" I explored processes I never have before — incorporating textiles, hand cutting wood, using hot glue sculpturally, etc. I have been a mixed media artist for a long time, but these works are the first time I feel I have truly mixed media; I used particular materials to my advantage while keeping it cohesive.
What artistic ideas do you hope to explore next?
I want to continue inching into 3d art. In the past 5 years I have explored this bridge between 2d and 3d, where you can make 2d elements and stage them to appear more 3d, like a pop-up book. But I want to continue to explore 3d in my artwork; ideally branching into sculpture. I am so inspired by miniatures- tiny replications of rooms, houses, and buildings — and would love to make something like that in my own style. That may be a long term project though — I would want to make all the structures and textures myself.