We recently connected with Micah Dillman and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Micah, we’re so appreciative of you taking the time to share your nuggets of wisdom with our community. One of the topics we think is most important for folks looking to level up their lives is building up their self-confidence and self-esteem. Can you share how you developed your confidence?
Personally, my journey to self acceptance and confidence is always ongoing and comes with a lot of failure. Especially as an artist, I think it’s important to turn towards the failures and find what is salvageable and more forward with that. Also, I like to remind myself that there are so many people making beautiful things in the world and we’re all sharing a small pool of opportunities. The timing has to align for things to happen and it doesn’t always reflect back on the artwork itself. And even if it does; it’s better to appeal to a group of people who are really understanding and into your work than to appeal so broadly that your viewers aren’t really connecting. I’ve gained a lot of confidence by just continuing to push through the doubts and staying grounded in what is working for me at the given moment.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I am a queer and trans sculpture, fiber, and performance artist. Professionally, I pursue my own artistic career in addition to supporting other artists as a studio and gallery assistant. Right now, I am focused on producing several new bodies of work: a series of wooden toy cars, quilts referencing map making, and delving more into ceramic works. I plan to expand my studio this year and produce some larger installation works. Additionally, I am gearing up for the new year ahead and hope to make it to several residencies and curate a group show with a collaborator. I have a quilted piece up in “The Big Softie” at Soft Times Gallery, San Francisco which opens February 1st. You can follow me on Instagram @spitboy_ to stay up to date on what I’m making.
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?
One of the most important skill sets that has carried me throughout my career is having carpentry and woodworking skills. Having that foundation has really helped in thinking through the whole installation and life of an object before even making it and understanding practicalities such as the ideal hardware to use. Secondly, I think being social and reliable has helped me build a community and connect with other makers which allows for skill sharing and all sorts of new paths emerge that way. Finally, I think a real interest in materials has shaped my art career thus far: really investing time into experimenting with combinations, almost like alchemy, and working to find the best processes for the task at hand. The best advice I can give is to surround yourself with people and spaces that are doing things that align with where you see yourself. That will connect you to the resources and strategies to plan your next moves. I find myself to be constantly learning from others and I think it’s best to keep it that way.
What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?
Most often, getting overwhelmed leads to creative block or just an inability to execute tasks or reach a good workflow in the studio. I find it really helpful to reorganize my tools and supplies and look back at old artworks or other studio keepsakes in the process. Leafing through past works and looking at my collections of found objects helps to reorient me into the studio mindset. The best advice I can give to combat the overwhelming feeling and creative block is just to keep putting yourself in the studio and make something low stakes. Take a pause from your current projects and just do something that appeals to you sensorily. I find letting my body do some of the thinking for me helps immensely.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/spitboy_/?hl=en
Image Credits
Jules Koreman Micah Dillman
