We recently connected with Meike Legler and have shared our conversation below.
Meike, thank you so much for taking the time to share your lessons learned with us and we’re sure your wisdom will help many. So, one question that comes up often and that we’re hoping you can shed some light on is keeping creativity alive over long stretches – how do you keep your creativity alive?
I like to accumulate materials that I find randomly and that I could make something out of with the result yet unknown. Often, things like shoe laces, old fringe curtains, brooches, lace scraps and wood can spark an idea for a new piece.
Another big source of inspiration are the photos of outer space taken by the NASA hubble telescope, learning about the power of hallucinogens, the law of attraction (or wether it really exists), and seemingly crazy concepts like quantum jumping that I only recently discovered.
Another way to keep my creativity alive is by just going to my studio every day and working on something even if I don’t really have a clear idea for a new piece or feel “inspired”. It helps to listen to music or to scribble a bit on paper to get the process started. I once heard the quote “No masterpiece!” that some art teacher once told his class and that really takes the pressure off me that whatever I make has to be good. It’s ok if it doesn’t comes out well, I can always throw it away and never show it to anyone. Not taking myself too seriously is what helps me to just try things out and have fun with 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?
Hi, my name is Meike Legler and I am textile artist from Germany with a background in fashion design. I have moved quite a bit in the past with my husband with stays in Berlin, New York City, LA and now Vienna.
While in the beginning of my artistic practice back in 2016 I only used untreated fabrics, I now also work with other materials such as acrylic paint, oil stick, bleach and black tea to treat the fabrics with before using them. My pieces have become larger in size and recently I have been sewing mostly by hand and not as much with the sewing machine anymore. My style has become more loose, free and collage like. The pieces come together intuitively and I don’t make sketches as the first step of the process anymore, but instead I lay the fabric scraps on the floor and arrange them in a way that makes sense to me. What I love most about being an artist is the freedom that I have. It almost seems crazy to me that I can do whatever I want and how different that is compared to working a regular job.
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?
An important quality as a self employed person is to have the self discipline to work on your business – in my case on my art – day in and day out even if you don’t have any upcoming shows or anything else going on. Another key factor is to have faith. Faith in yourself, your talent and your future. That things will work out for you and that there is a reason why you do what you do. And the third one is getting in touch with other artists, building and maintaining a community with like minded people or just nice folks who are fun to be around and who you can share infomation and experiences with.
Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?
When I think too much about the future and what could possibly happen, I tell myself that at this moment, everything is ok and that at this moment I am safe. Nobody, really nobody knows what the future will bring.
I also try to do a short meditation every morning, which has done really good things for me in regards to enjoying my life every day. I can always decide to be happy without a reason other than it just feels good to feel good.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.meikelegler.world/
- Instagram: @meike_legler
Image Credits
All images by Meike Legler
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
