Meet Ivan Grieve

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Ivan Grieve. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Ivan below.

Ivan, so excited to have you with us today. So much we can chat about, but one of the questions we are most interested in is how you have managed to keep your creativity alive.
What a lovely question. Since my early childhood years, the opportunity to make and create became deeply implanted in my life. Surrounded by 60’s creatives in Bohemian Camden in North London. Happenings, “grown-ups” becoming visionary and inventive, were all around this buzzing part of London. Trips to the galleries and theatres, concerts and shows were always treats to be relished. This early energy has never really faded for me. I love conversations and collaborations and can find inspiration through all my senses, rolling hills or building sites, books and film there is so much to explore and it is always a joy.

I keep this urge to create and express alive by nurturing very aspect of it, like a living breathing entity that has become a life long companion. I listen to it and have a dialogue with it, sometimes it is calm and at other times it is filled with such a passion that it urges to rush ahead. So perhaps the answer is love….or perhaps Meraki as the Greek people might say, the word does transcend many languages and with good reason.

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?
Building an artistic career based on a range of explorative and dynamic creative processes really does require a broad palette of skills. Reflection and contemplation, rigour and determination, honesty with oneself but a good helping of strength and perseverance.

I use a quiet meditative time each morning for writing notes at my desk with a warm drink. This has been my “go to” ritual for a few years now, it really is a good investment, to reflect and plan, imagine and focus on the day. As it forms a rolling diary / journal over the years it acts as a great source of inspiration and source of knowledge too. In December each year without fail, I read over the years of notes that I have written. There are many things to learn from also there is room look back and enjoy a sense of achievement. A sort of “I did all this in a year!” So the New Year always starts with a renewed energy and excitement.

There is a regular amount of website and “artists platform” management to work on, these I try to do on a fortnightly basis. Then there is daily office work that usually includes a flow of email responses and enquiries and social media messages etc, I try to get these cleared before the studio working day commences. In this way I am not rushing and there are fewer impositions on my studio practice and creative freedom.
The projects I am working on, may frequently overlap or interdigitate to some degree. The recurring theme running through my work is the flow of the river to the sea. Visually documenting the landscape through the changing seasons and in all kinds of weather. The passing of time.
I make sure that at least once a week I walk and draw in the local countryside, taking with me very few basic materials and making sure the my senses are awake and alive ready to explore.
Making visual notes in the landscape as I go, for me this will involve the use of found site specific materials and pigments….yes even sheep scat and feathers too. This provides a defining nexus with the landscape and the seasons, the thrill of this is continued with unwrapping the pieces that I bring back from the field to the studio. Exciting moments to review the birth of new pieces and enjoy the raw elements of a work.

This year sees continued collaboration with an environmental, Saltmarshes project, part of a wider Bioregional work. I was invited to be a collaborative artist as I have been drawing and painting along the river Dart for sometime now.
The desire I have to draw and work in the landscape was taken a stage further recently. Having some fun, I enjoyed putting myself into landscapes that I had drawn or painted, a sort of artist in his “studio”. I shared some images on social media and asked some friends to send a photograph of a landscape they enjoy along with a picture of themselves. I worked with these photographs and then I sent the original drawing I had made of the landscape (from the photograph) and a print with them in their drawn landscape. I now offer this as a bespoke service across the world through my website, a nice way to share creativity and enjoyment of the landscape wherever you are. A portrait of someone described by their chosen landscape.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
The quality of self belief has to come first for me as a visual artist, it represents the source from which creativity can flow. This inner strength, to explore and experiment, to meet challenges and take adventures during one’s creative journey to success is paramount. Apparent failures are simply stepping stones on a new path, a meander in a river that flows constantly toward the sea. I will cheat a little here if you do not mind? I would like to couple this quality of self belief with her sister called “self esteem”.
It so very important to value oneself and to understand that you are good enough and what you make and express, has a value and does matter. Be proud of who you are and be honest to this aim. This applies wherever you maybe on that path to be recognised for creative achievements. I have learnt that talking and perhaps walking with someone, sharing one’s thoughts and self perception can be useful. The support of others is very important to us all. I volunteer my time as Ambassador for Outsidein, a U.K. charity that is dedicated to removing barriers for accessing the art world. I have been greatly supported by the charity and so impressed by the work of my peers, it is an absolute honour to be involved.
The next quality of empathy and curiosity about others is included with very good reason I feel. Listening to others with a truly open mind is a valuable skill, in a way it is both giving and rewarding too. A genuine interest in what other people may do or feel is really exciting and a wonderful resource for creativity. Hearing about other peoples projects and work has often taught me so much and even resulted in some exciting collaborations.
The final quality must be conscientiousness, as without some hard work and perseverance the creative progress will be slow. Constantly seeking out new ways to make or to do some work provides exciting stimulation and opens up new avenues to explore. There will naturally be times when things go a bit “topsy-turvy” but these should be seen as new opportunities to learn from. Bringing in a new printing press into the studio has opened up a new world of experimentation and exciting possibilities, adding a new income stream.

Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?
Outside in have been a great help with exhibiting my work, selecting me as artist of the month, support with writing a statement and so much more. This support and encouragement spurred me on to train and become an Ambassador for the charity. In fact at the end of last year I was invited to join a 10 week on line course in Creative Workshop Leadership. I was thrilled to have successfully completed this course. I shall seek to develop ideas for creative workshops with a view to starting to offer these in the new year…watch this space on this one as I have really let my imagination grow some exciting ideas. The collaboration of work with a charity and indeed on an environmental project have consistently fed my creative development and in the spirit of this I would encourage any readers to get in touch with any ideas or thoughts that may offer such collaborative possibilities.
The word UBUNTU in Zulu refers to the shared existence of one another to form resilient communities. It is where everyone’s contribution is listened to and respected. Thank you for listening to me in reading this interview.

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