Shamira Wilson
The ART of IMPROV
I am so excited to share the work of Indianapolis based interdisciplinary visual artist Shamira Wilson. Shamira attended Herron School or Art and Design and John Hopkins University. She creates minimal abstract art that explores the repeated patterns found in textiles. Through her work she tells stories of the qualities found in narrative textiles and objects across the African Diaspora. Fusing the similarities in the language of graphic design, textiles, furniture, and architecture, her compositions express impressions left by the contemporary domestic, built, and natural landscape.
I was instantly drawn to and have long admired Shamira’s work and am so happy to have learned more about her and her work and am so glad to be able to share it with you. Read on to learn more about Shamira and her process with The ART of IMPROV.
Interchange, Over by Martin University Shamira Wilson
What does work improvisationally mean to you? How would you define the ‘Art of Improv’?
For me, working improvisationally means allowing myself to play, experiment, make mistakes, and have happy accidents. I think to play and improv relaxes the brain and allows for creative breakthroughs to happen.
Have you always worked improvisationally?
When I was younger I was completely improvisational but I've become more planned and strategic with my work overtime.
Do you work improvisationally, consciously, intentionally? If so, how do you begin? If not, how do you find yourself getting there?
All of the above. The method I use usually depends on the medium. If I'm working with a material like wood, then I'll be more intentional and strategic in the beginning because it's harder to fix mistakes. I usually plan a lot in the beginning, and leave myself room to play at the end.
How Does Your Garden Grow : Studies of Pattern and Decoration Shamira Wilson
How often do you work with improvisation?
I work in my sketchbook pretty regularly which holds a lot of my improvisation. I later incorporate those sketches into my work. I'd like to improvise more directly into my work and I feel that it will become a bigger part of my process this year. I also improvise by using natural fabric dying techniques like rust printing. The result is always a surprise.
Please share a bit about your process. Do you have methods to getting started? Do you have tricks to getting unstuck? Do you have motivators to finishing up?
Usually, I start by researching the subject matter and making a list of words, free word associations, related to the subject matter or content of the work. Then depending on the medium, I start making thumbnails. Sometimes I get a mental picture of what I want to make and I start there and work through my process. Sometimes checking in with friends and other artists for feedback helps if I get stuck. Most recently the work I make is for shows or has deadlines so that has been a motivator to finish but the pace of my work is changing and now I have more time to make things just for fun.
Where do you find inspiration? How do you use it?
Inspiration often comes from conversations with other artists, I enjoy going to the Central library, getting lost in the city and finding hidden gems, and traveling. After a recent international residency in Delhi, India, I found that the movement of the city and the large population influenced me to make layered images more easily. I tapped into the flow and density of the city a bit.
Sketchbook and Nature Inspiration Shamira Wilson
What advice would you give to someone interested in trying to work improvisationally? Can you share some good advice that you received that helped you become more comfortable this way?
I've found that having a change of scenery helps. Also, don't force it. Take a break, go outside and get some fresh air, dance and listen to music, do something non-art related. There's a quote somewhere that says in order to make art you have to live. I think that applies to making work improvisationally as well.
How would you finish the sentence, ‘What if, . . .?’
What if you could make anything you wanted, what would you make?
What are you reading, listening to, watching, or any other inspirational obsessions you would like to share?
'I'm reading a lot of nature and gardening books, like The Body Language of Horses and a Horticulture Society Gardening Manual, as I incorporate more nature and science based images in my paintings. Also, I hope to take improv comedy classes someday for fun and to add to my creative toolkit!'
Thank you Shamira for sharing your art and insight into your process and your ideas on incorporating improvisation with us. I too find that there is a give and take when working with it, and that some times call for more planned and precise ways of making, although I am constantly seeking this feeling of flow that the improv process brings out. Keep me posted on your experience with the improv comedy class, I have thought about this as a way to help me jump right out of my comfort zone, we all need to push ourselves in this way! I am intrigued!
To see more of Shamira’s work visit her website here and check out her day to day happenings on Instagram here!