Meet Elaine Weiner-Reed

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Elaine Weiner-Reed. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Elaine below.

Elaine, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?

 

Thank you for inviting me to join you! I am honored. I would like to express my sincere thanks to everyone at “Bold Journey” for contacting me and inviting me to give an interview. 

Initial Thoughts…  Responding to your interview questions took a lot of introspection and thought. First of all, I had to ask myself “Has or HOW has my journey been a bold one?” Do I consider myself brave? To undertake a journey takes courage and determination and fortitude in the face of challenges, tribulations, failure, doubt, and yes, even success! I have come to the conclusion that we can only know if our journey has actually been a bold one after many years have gone by… In many ways, this interview helped me appreciate that my journey has been a very personal and bold one, indeed. Thank you, Bold Journey, for helping me realize that “bold” is a relative term. What is bold to some people is a cake-walk for others. Understanding that my art career has been a long courageous one-day-at-a-time journey emboldens me to continue to shake things up. My newest adventure is taking me into the world of Public Art!

(Subscribe to my Art Newsletter for updates and backstories: https://us9.list-manage.com/subscribe?id=68194975d8&u=bf3274d598fde8a7ed584f18c )

Now, to the first interview question: How did I find my purpose?

I entered the world in a crowded womb as a fraternal twin, a second generation child who was the product of a hardworking Russian/Irish couple who bucked “the establishment” to marry across religions in the 1950’s. (Talk about a “bold journey!”)

In my youth I remember endlessly soul-searching about who I was and what I could possibly contribute to the world. Thanks to the prevailing parenting wisdom and the twin mystique of the times, my brother and I were rarely separated. It bothered me that our names had also become conjoined, a compound name: MarkAndElaine. Boys were always first – in line-ups, in classroom rows, etc. I remember thinking that he was the smart one, my sister was the tall, thin one, and there I was: the rounder, shorter twin who was painfully shy and considered herself unbeautiful. I turned inward, reflecting on uncovering some talent or personal areas of strength that could someday lead to purpose or some career options. I agonized over the question: “Who AM I and what can I possibly DO in and with my life!?”

Since I already knew that I loved to draw and write, I focused on those areas as “mine.” In the journey of self-discovery, I wrote soulful poetry colored by angst and loneliness. I used to draw on scraps of paper and the corners of my notebooks because art materials and paper were expensive commodities in our house. One year I was thrilled to receive an Etch-a-Sketch for Christmas, and it became my sketchbook. I quickly mastered the vertical and horizontal drawing knobs, creating progressively sophisticated landscapes, people, and interiorscapes.

Pivotal “Light-Bulb” Moment

In third grade, after experiencing a humiliating confrontation with a teacher in what could have become a spirit-breaking moment, I realized that I was an Artist and that I saw the world differently than others. Without intending to be one, I also realized I was a “rule breaker” – something that is critical to building one’s unique artistic vision. Being an artist means being different and being different takes courage. Holding onto one’s vision and courage in a world of “impossibility thinkers” requires relentless fearlessness.

I vividly remember my “light-bulb moment.” We were sitting in class and I was excited because the teacher was to return our latest art assignment. They were always graded. This time, I was expecting an “A!” I remembered that I had really outdone myself creatively. To my copy of a mimeographed drawing of some random scene, I had joyfully added colorful rainbows, birds, and butterflies. I said a little prayer as I tried to calm the swarm of butterflies circling in my stomach… Taking a deep breath, I picked up the sheet that the nun had placed face-down on my desk. Turning it over, I was horrified and dumbfounded to see that she had given me a “C.” (A grade of “C” was never acceptable to me.) I tried to calm myself and not break into tears… Somehow, I composed myself and found the courage to walk up to the nun’s desk. Blushing to my roots, I respectfully asked: “Excuse me, Sister: Why did I receive this grade?” Without looking up at me, she grabbed the paper from my hands, hurriedly glanced at it, then shoved it back toward me with the curt reply: “Because you didn’t copy EXACTLY!” Mortified and chastised, I scurried to my desk, my face beet red and lowered. I believe some tears fell then, to be quickly brushed away…as a revelation danced into focus in my head: The words “SHE’S WRONG!” reverberated loud and clear within my mind, penetrating deep down into my heart! It was as if a chorus of angels (or dead artists?) was trumpeting those words straight to ME, as a very special personal message. In that instant, I realized that I was an Artist! For me, art was and is about originality – not copying. Grateful and feeling rebelliously gleeful, I never looked back!

 

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

 

Artists Inspiring Artists

I am an independent visual artist. My Website (https://www.elaineweinerreed.com) can provide you with a lot of information about me, along with paintings and companion recordings of original music, songs, poems, and reflections created by published and renowned professionals. I selected the website template knowing that I wished to have audio be an integral part of the multisensory experience I envisioned when I launched my 2016 “Every Painting is a Song/Story” initiative (EPIAS). Because I care what people think or feel or remember when they view one of my artworks, I asked the question “How Does My Painting SOUND to You?” The result has been an outpouring of inspired Ekphrastic interpretations of my artwork, especially within the Social Justice category (https://www.elaineweinerreed.com/stop-injustice/) . The goal of my creative collaboration initiative is also to promote cross-generational relationship-building. Energizing art and community venues with multidisciplinary installations and creative engagement sessions broadens our world view and supports relationship-building in a climate of respect and inclusion. Join me in this initiative, where art meets word and music and dance! Together, we create, learn, and celebrate our rich multi-cultural backgrounds. We are greater than the sum of our parts.

(Email: elaineweinerreed@gmail.com )

About Me & Call To Action

My company’s trade name is “Creative License.” Throughout my art career, that trade name has served as a mantra and guide. It is a constant reminder that I have the creative license to do what must be done in pursuit of my artistic voice and vision. My mission is to create a legacy of mindful artwork infused with life, heart, soul, and hope. Through the powerful lens of the feminine perspective, my multi-media artwork breathes life into unspoken or forgotten narratives, amplifying voices that were silenced or overlooked throughout history. Witness the raw potency of artwork and related narratives that reflect the struggles, triumphs, and resilience of those who have been marginalized, rejected, maligned, or dismissed as the “Other.” Together, let us redefine “Beauty” in the 21st Century – redefining perceptions and definitions alike.

I love the physicality of sculpting and painting and I believe the artist’s hand should be evident and recognizable. We are each products of our personal histories, and in my work, I connect my present to ancestral voices and timeless whispers of the past. Finding beauty in the imperfect, the unfinished, and transient nature of life, my work focuses on relationship dynamics and every-day or chance encounters as they impact identity. No two identities are ever the same and I find that fascinating. As a result, I explore the energy, motivations, chemistry, and undercurrents between individuals. Featuring an individual within or outside of a group scenario, I let the colors and placement of figures imply subsurface content, energy, and emotion. My creative process involves building a character in layers, mimicking the way in which identities are formed throughout a lifetime: layer by colorful, complex layer.  Each artwork invites viewers to engage their minds, hearts, and imaginations. Monuments to life, my work celebrates the resiliency of the human spirit, resurrecting feelings of transcendence, mystery, and hope.

Legacy | Purpose | Service

First – A message to creators: Be UNAPOLOGETIC about your art and who you are along your path. Let your own experience and vision guide your artistic path – instead of letting others’ whims and opinions limit your vision. Remember that EVERYONE HAS AN OPINION and opinions are very different from insights from trusted art mentors and colleagues. I think it is important for artists to know themselves and then to create their own work in their own unique voice and vision with all that they have to give. We owe it to the world to give our best and be authentically us. Each of us brings our own story forward, weaving more chapters with each passing day, new experience, and strengthened connection. Live and create your story with all of your mind, all of your heart, and all of your imagination. It took me decades to reach the point where I became unapologetically me as an artist, and I would not trade a thing – not any of the joy and not one moment of pain, exclusion, uncertainty, grief… NOTHING. Faith got me through a lot of trials, but so did my art. I cannot tell you how often I painted my way out of challenges or pain or grief. (https://www.elaineweinerreed.com/primal-scream/) ALL of it made me who I am today and ALL OF ME goes into each work in progress. My work is my living autobiography and memoir.

What do I mean by legacy?

Many people do not know this, but I maintained a second career in the U.S. Government for over 37 years while developing my art skills and portfolios. That lifetime and culture of public service became part of my make-up. Although retired from that world for some years now, it remains just as important to me to do something meaningful and to make a positive difference in my world while I pursue my art career 24/7.

Another thing that many people do not know is that I had two near-death experiences – one in 2019 and one in 2021. These “wake-up calls” helped me refocus on not only making great art (and having fun doing it), but also on creating a legacy of which I could be proud. Not only my legacy with regard to my artwork, but my broader life’s work and purpose. We never know how much time we have left on this beautiful planet. My focus is on leveraging my artwork to expand the imaginations of others and to connect people in respect-based relationships and creative collaborations.  I am also now entering the Public Art arena so that I might connect with more people in different ways, hopefully creating intergenerational murals as a way to bring communities together. Giving back is another important part of my legacy. I volunteer and I donate a percentage of every art sale to charity. Some of my main charities include: The Maryland Food Bank, Salvation Army, and Feed The Children. Creating art while trying to help others is a core value.

 

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?


I have probably touched on some of these in my previous remarks, but here are some thoughts about qualities, skills, and knowledge areas that could help artists and other folks thrive throughout their lives and career journeys:

Self-awareness: Know yourself – not only from the inside out, but with regard to your place within your world.

Continual learning and skills development: Continuing to hone your skills is vital throughout one’s creative journey and in any profession. Always be an enthusiastic learner…it will keep you young at heart!

Courage:  Be bold enough to create, to keep creating, to risk reinventing yourself, to evolve and explore your vision unapologetically, and to exhibit your work outside your studio. It takes courage for some of us to even declare ourselves an artist…
In my case, a favorite college sculpture professor told me that one day I would declare myself as an Artist. I did not understand what he meant at the time… The “light-bulb” finally went off and I declared it silently and then publicly about 10 years later… Many can draw and paint, etc., but not all will be called to live the Artist’s life. For me, it has always been my passion and vocation.

Faith and Perseverance: Do not give up. Stay centered. Push through any hurdles and focus on “what can I take away from or learn from this.” Your practice should include good habits you build to keep going forward. Remember that every ladder to success is composed of failures and successes. Leveraging each, while lingering on neither, is the key to reaching your goals.

Laugh Often: It really is the best medicine and a tonic for the creative spirit. No one laughs harder at my art “failures” than I do! I just paint over them, humbled and reinvigorated.

Surround Yourself With Positive, Possibility-Thinkers: Choose your “tribe” wisely and judiciously add/subtract negative influences as possible. Worst case scenario, limit your time swimming with sharks and turn negative situations into INCREDIBLE ART! The creative process will soothe your pain and brighten your world, coloring it with hope and good energy.

Personal Core Values: Be transparent and consistent. My core values are noted on my website.

 

If you knew you only had a decade of life left, how would you spend that decade?

That is the very question I am currently asking myself!

One challenge I am facing these days has to do with aging. Ageism is a real thing. It is one of those biases that is hard to anticipate, detect, and eliminate. Living a long life is a good thing, but it is mind-boggling to consider that I now have many more years behind me than lying ahead of me. As my mother used to say, aging is not for the faint of heart!

If we are blessed with relatively good health, we wake up one day and find an altered reflection of our reality in the mirror. Every wrinkle is a badge of courage and a Medal of Honor in its own right, yet our country/culture does not view wrinkles and exterior imperfections in that way. Rather, society views them as impediments, casting “we the imperfect” (and elders) into the realm of the invisible and mute. Let me just affirm that I do not intend “to go quietly into the night!” As noted in my Artist Statement, my work focuses “on transience and imperfection” with the intent of visually influencing viewers to LOOK BENEATH THE SURFACE and to READ BETWEEN THE LINES. Beauty, like truth, often lies in the shadows.

On that note, working on the “life is short/ask for what you need” principle, my need for collaborators and support is at the national level and my exhibition proposal follows…

“Beauty | Beast: A Revolution of Identity” – An Immersive Identity-Focused Museum Exhibition

My goal is to have my work featured in a 6-month (or longer) multi-room Museum Exhibition where we collaborate with the community and local high schools and area universities, integrating art into at least one institution’s full semester spanning all disciplines and curricula: Philosophy, Art, Literature and Creative Writing, Science/Math/Computer Science, the Humanities, and more. I would love to undertake this project locally – at the Baltimore Museum of Art – or elsewhere in a suitable venue with the right levels of appropriate support and coordination. Spoiler Alert: One room (or Wing) will contain mounted blank canvases and cameras – waiting for live painting throughout the exhibition time frame. The result? To. Be. Determined.

“Beauty | Beast: A Revolution of Identity” is not merely a museum exhibition project; it is a movement uniting humanity under the banner of compassion and acceptance. Join me in this bold endeavor to reshape our collective narrative and redefine the true meaning of beauty. Brace yourself for a multi-media, interactive exhibition that leaves an indelible mark on your soul, daring to redefine what it truly means to be beautiful in the tapestry of life. This exhibition is a call to action, a transformative movement that will awaken your consciousness and ignite conversations destined to reshape our collective narrative. My vision is not limited to the gallery walls; it extends to the very core of our society, redefining the collective narrative and challenging preconceived notions of beauty.

Readers and collaborators who are in a position to make this proposal a reality can contact me directly via email: elaineweinerreed@gmail.com. From there, we can schedule meetings, phone calls, and plan what promises to be groundbreaking initiative.

Thank you all at Bold Journey for this wonderful opportunity to share my art, thoughts, and dreams for an enlightened and imaginative future for us all!

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Profile Headshot ONLY: Ceylon Mitchell / M3 Mitchell Media & Marketing (@CeylonMitchell / @m3mitchellmedia

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