Greg Edmondson’s Stories, Lessons & Insights

We recently had the chance to connect with Greg Edmondson and have shared our conversation below.

Greg, we’re thrilled to have you with us today. Before we jump into your intro and the heart of the interview, let’s start with a bit of an ice breaker: What is a normal day like for you right now?
Ha, you know the old joke, “normal is just a setting on the dryer”… Over the past 7 months I’ve gone through a series of life changing events. Major surgery, rehab, change in a relationship… so normal kind of faded away.
What brought normal back was a return to daily studio practice. During the pandemic I’d made a series of paintings each. day. Once the pandemic lifted I focused on exhibiting them. When my “normal” life shifted, half of them had been returned to me and I found myself seeing them with a new set of eyes.
Starting completely over felt daunting, but reworking past paintings felt somehow comforting. So I began taking the paintings I was no longer sure of, and radically re-exploring them.
I won’t lie, it took a minute, but the action of returning to something I once held as normal, that I could immerses myself in without anyone else’s involvement… That is what brought me back to normal

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I have been a working artist for 4 1/2 decades now. It’s been a life filled with ups and downs and is constantly a challenge. But that’s not a bad thing.
Currently, I’m working on a series of so far 16 paintings, all made over the past 4 months. On November 7, I have an exhibition of sculptures and drawings that I made in the 1980s titled “Anywhere with a Studio was Home”opening at the Philip Slein gallery in St. Louis, MO.
I’ve lived on two continents, and I’ve met and worked with astonishing people from all walks of life.
I turn 69 this month, I’m both proud and humbled that I’m still able to do this…

Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. Who saw you clearly before you could see yourself?
My mother’s mother! I was first born, and first grandchild. That comes with a lot of attention, but also a lot of expectation.
I was mostly placed in the “smart” or “gifted” kid programs, which sounds better than it actually was. I excelled at intellectual pursuits, but was small and insignificant at things that people paid more actual attention to. Curiosity is often viewed as weird,, and self certainty as normal. I was certain of nothing but curios about everything.
My Grandmother embraced that curiosity, and engaged with it as if it were her own. She was the first person to let me pursue interests that were mine, without feeling judged or made fun of.
She died when I was young and small, She was always my protector, since before I knew I needed protection.
I’m nearly seventy years old now, but the initial support she showed me was crucial to who I became.

What did suffering teach you that success never could?
That if you are still moving, still experimenting and still testing yourself, success will always be temporary or fleeting. Success is a thing I’ve had to constantly redefine, and I’ve learned to embrace that. You can only “rest on your laurels” if you stop moving…I’ve also learned that the majority of my greatest “suffering”, has been self imposed. The acceptance of success as fluid and not a fixed, unchangeable definition has helped me see failures as a sign of me still attempting the uncertain, not a sign that I did something I deserve to suffer for.
When I was young and just out of grad school, I had a series of “successes”. I knew I was working hard, but I took this to also mean I was doing things “right”. As those successes became interspersed with more challenges and struggles, I felt like I was doing something “wrong”. I’ve come to realize that both success and failure can happen for reasons that may have nothing to do with you, and that you may never fully understand…

Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? Is the public version of you the real you?
That’s a question I wish I could answer with a resounding Yes, but I’ve realized that is often not the case. Some of that is on me, and some is simply because how others see you is to an extent, out of your hands. It’s easier for me to be real with my work than it is for me in public.. But I’ve also come to see that how you are seen by others is something you do not have total control over.
As a child I was small, self conscious and had trouble navigating social situations with confidence. Now I’m old, and I’m 6’4″. I learned years ago how to project confidence to mask my insecurity. I honestly do try to be the person I see myself as, but my old and once necessary ability to appear confident when I wasn’t has at times lead people see me differently than I see myself myself. There have been times when I’ve let that mask fall and not hidden my doubt or insecurity and that has surprised people.
There will always be people jealous of your successes, however meager they may be. You will never be able to show people unwilling to see you who you really are. I do hope those closest to me know that I’ll be there if they need me, and I’m good with that.
I am so much more comfortable now with who I am, and so much less concerned with how I’m seen.
I try to live a life that projects the principals I admire, but I’m less defensive when I fail to live up to my own standards.

Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. What do you think people will most misunderstand about your legacy?
I guess I feel like legacies are to some extent fantasies. One’s legacy is far more important to those who require it than it is for the one who once lived that life. There are people to whom I have been my worst self, and I will always regret that. There are people (especially students) with whom I’ve barely interacted that have told me how important a comment or an encouragement from me has been for them.
I deeply regret not always being secure enough or strong enough to be the person I meant to be.
I know my flaws and accept that I own them., regardless of where they came from. But I do hope I’m seen as someone who took this crazy game of making art as seriously as I was capable of. And that someone, somewhere can find in my commitment, a reason to continue being themselves.

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