Meet Benjamin Sorrell

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Benjamin Sorrell a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Benjamin , so many exciting things to discuss, we can’t wait. Thanks for joining us and we appreciate you sharing your wisdom with our readers. So, maybe we can start by discussing optimism and where your optimism comes from?

Optimism, I think, gets misunderstood a lot. It’s commonly seen as belonging to people who are more childish or to faithful people. It’s funny to me to answer this question because I don’t often feel like I am an optimistic person, but in conversations and discussions with family, friends, or other artists, We’ll be speaking about a particular difficulty in our lives or the fear and discomfort in the state of the world, and I’ll take some solace in the feeling that things will be okay- eventually.

The thing is, “It got better eventually” may not be for a while. It might be, for us, a painfully long time-even going past our lifetimes. That sounds a little dark, but also history shows us that some changes take time, immense amounts of time, and the fruits of that change may be further away than my own lifespan. It’s a little bit hopeful, and a little bit spiritual, but it helps to think about that “Eventually”, and then with the secondary note of saying “its my job to make things a little more okay every day”. Making things better may sometimes be for just myself, but it’s better to be able to be a part of a greater whole- part of a community who wants to seriously consider the well-being of everyone in it.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I’m a textile artist and printmaker from Corpus Christi, Texas, and currently living in Austin- In the last two years, Ive focused on creating quilts, clothes (mostly for myself for now), and more functional materials like wall hangings and small goods. With printmaking, I print with linocuts and woodcuts on fabrics for sewing, as well as bandanas, shirts, and table coverings. For all these outlets, i’m using secondhand materials. Fabric, hardware, tools all come from thrift stores, donations, recovered/repurposed goods and creative reuse stores.

I currently have a full-time job, but I’m going to focus on the creative work for this interview- It’s worth saying this, because there are a lot of ways to be creative, and a lot of ways to pursue goals in a creative field. For now, I’m going a little more slowly and intentionally in my print and textile work. When you have to budget your time, you notice new things- priorities and responsibilities rearrange a lot.

I think what really shines about all these things- print, clothes, textiles- is that beyond the result of making art, they all do an amazing job of putting you right in your body, right in the Now, which is something I need more of. I tend to worry a lot, but I worry the lest when I’m fixing a pair of jeans for someone, or sketching out a new idea for a print I want to try.

I try to live in and around my work as much as possible- over the years, my wardrobe has become more visibly mended and focused on “work clothes”, so I can move around as comfortably and practically as possible. I have a baby niece who is also getting new clothes made of fun and colorful materials now- Learning how to make clothing has been an incredible journey so far- there’s so much labor and tailoring involved to get something to fit your body well!

For now, I’ll be reintroducing my prints and mended fiber works around Austin, Houston, San Antonio and Corpus Christi, and I’ll be at the PrintAustin Print Expo at the Blue Genie art bazaar in Austin the weekend of February 7th.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Honestly, so much support needs to go into your body and mind outside of a creative practice to be able to keep going. It seems that my whole adult life has been a journey to better listen to my body’s needs- sleep times, foods and snacks, lots more walking, lots more stretching, needing silence and reflection to better allow myself to explore creatively. I haven’t meditated as much as I used to in the last few years, but I’m slowly practicing again, especially as my personal life got more tumultuous in the last year.

Taking a moment to write lists down- lists for everything, with subcategories, and spaces you can write notes in, have been extremely helpful as well. Cross items off, no matter how old. Push dates forward as needed, but within reason. Keeping it all in my sketchbook helps- the sketchbook is a journal and shopping list half the time these days.

Lastly, I would say to anyone not feeling as full of creative energy as they may have used to feel- discuss it! bring up wanting to work with friends, or at a shared studio. Be around people making different things and with different goals and bounce ideas off each other when asked. There might not be a 1=1 correlation between the things being made, but the ideas start to sit in your mind and grow. All creative endeavors use the power of others and the world around us, even if the art is made by a single artist, even if it’s not really for others to see.

Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?

I’m still learning- but here’s what has helped:

When I’m overwhelmed, I tend to start spiraling down my thoughts in regards to beliefs about what bad things might happen to me or my loved ones, and how my self worth is tied to that. Kind of textbook anxiety. The only thing that will help is a little time to process those feelings and to keep bringing my thoughts back to here and now. I can’t change the past, and I have no control over the future, so pulling the thoughts back to the things I can do something about- Here and Now, and planning for the circumstances I can change soon, gives me peace. I wish I had something more sophisticated to say, but sometimes we just need to feel those ugly feelings but not become identified with that.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://benjaminsorrellart.com
• Instagram: @printsandmends

Image Credits

all images taken by artist, Benjamin Sorrell