We recently connected with Micael Elrod and have shared our conversation below.
Micael, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
A couple of years ago I had a really difficult time grappling with my abilities, purpose, and general life as an artist, The eleven months leading up to that time I had applied to at least ten different calls for art, fellowships, grants, and other opportunities an artist would apply for. My goal had been to work towards doing art full time and supporting myself through selling my work and grant or fellowship opportunities. I got rejection letters from all but one, the one that I thought maybe my work had a real chance at. Then one day I opened my email and found that final rejection. I hadn’t been accepted to a single thing that year. I read an article about a study once that said that men in general apply to opportunities and/or jobs that they’re less than fifty percent qualified for, whereas women generally apply to opportunities and/or jobs that they’re only almost one hundred percent qualified for. In my case that year I had applied to opportunities for my work that I thought I was most likely to succeed at being accepted to, so the rejections really stung, I felt inadequate, untalented, dismissed, and disappointed.
Over the following weeks I asked myself what work I would create, if any, if it was just for me; if no one ever saw anything I ever did ever again, what would I create? I realized that for years I had been making art that I’d hoped would stand out from the crowd, that I’d hoped would be noticed, that I’d hoped would help someone in some way, but none of it was because that is the art I wanted to be making. I had lost my authenticity. My voice as an artist and human who feels drawn to create was lost. In that moment I decided to create work for myself only; letting go of preconceived ideas of what it means to be an artist, what success looks like as an artist, what I “should” be worrying about for my career as an artist.
That is where I find my resilience: I create for myself out of a need to be creative, out of a desire to capture the beauty I see in the things around me, to attempt to communicate my emotions through my work, for no one else but myself. My resilience comes from knowing that I am my harshest critic, the viewer, the creator, and the patron. I paint my children, I paint creatures I love even if few other people do, because I create for me and no one else.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I am an artist and mother who supports my work and family by working in a restaurant. It’s weird as an extroverted introvert to talk to strangers every day about mostly insignificant things, but there are moments of hope and inspiration occasionally where you find a stranger that you instantly connect with. Working in the service industry also helps to relieve the pressure of the constant push to turn my “hobby” of painting into creating commodified work. I have three children who I am trying to raise to be resilient, empathetic, open minded lovers who recognize injustice and their very small but significant place on our planet. We grow plants and flowers, save bugs from drowning, rescue worms from drying on the sidewalk, and try to support life from our little corner of the universe in our garden. My children are my greatest joy and inspiration as well as the most challenging part of my life.
I care deeply about the people close to me but also worry probably too much about people I barely know, hoping that they’re okay. I spend a lot of time working, painting, and taking care of my family; but I also try to spend as much time as possible usually in the morning watching hummingbirds, bumblebees, the trees, listening to the wind, birds, and insects. I reflect often about what trees are thinking or feeling, how similar and wildly different it may be from our way of thinking or feeling. I think a lot about our connection to our planet and the universe and every tiny speck of life therein, so I also obsessively research how our ancestors viewed the same things. I am enthralled by the symbolism of every being and dream.
All of this leads of course to subversive, rebellious thoughts of a better future for everything on our planet, which ultimately leads me to wondering what my purpose is. The only answer I ever come back to is to create in any way and to love and accept everyone and everything for the miracle of existence everyone and thing is. To create for the sole purpose of the act of art and to love without question are two of the most revolutionary acts one can do.
I don’t have a lot going on with my work right now other than making it, All of the pieces I’ve finished in the last two years are currently on view at Blue Valley Library on 151st street and Antioch through December 23rd. I try to keep my website updated where sometimes I also write about what I’m working on on the blog there, but I mostly post progress videos and photos of my work on Instagram although that is sometimes few and far between.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
I think the most impactful skill on my journey as an artist started at a very young age when my mom would ask me what colors I saw in the clouds. It taught me to hone my observation skills. She also always encouraged my art even when it was awful. It’s really important to make art that you hate. You have to fail at some pieces to learn what went wrong. Some of my most successful pieces were do overs. The most important thing to develop skill is practice. It’s important to watch and learn from other artists but the thing that is most advantageous for improving skill is just continuing to make work. I think it’s really important to be strict about making time for creativity. I don’t think that creativity has to fall under the specific work you do as an artist. I allow my creativity to flourish in my garden, in cooking and baking, in making costumes for my kids for Halloween. I used to be hard on myself if I didn’t make art for a couple of months, but I think it’s really important to recognize what falls under the scope of “making art” and allow yourself time to have fun and experiment with other creative outlets.
It’s also important to spend time with other artists, whether in large or small settings. I have shared studio spaces with other artist, collaborated on pieces with other artists, and just hang out and talk with friends who happen to be creative. It helps to see how other people work and think and to bounce ideas off them.
That, but the most vital thing for me personally to keep my creative juices flowing is routine, screen free, quiet time to reflect every day. I spend most mornings (I won’t say every day because I miss some occasionally) writing freely in my journal, letting all of my thoughts out on paper per the advice of Julia Cameron, followed by time being present and grounded before I even get out of my pajamas.
I know I keep saying “most importantly” or “it’s really important to…” but actually the MOST important advice I can give any artist is to be authentic to themselves, to do what they want without worrying about what anyone else thinks, to get as weird or vanilla as they want to be. Just making art is enough.
Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?
One book that has parts that I benefited from, but who I have heard from countless creative friends that they also benefited from, is The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. If you are at a creative block it can really help you get over the hump. A book I recommend to every feminist or should be feminist in my life is Women Who Run With the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes. She writes about myths and legends in history and their relationship to women, inspiring the wild woman archetype in which you let go of the opinions of others and learn to love yourself fully. I’m currently reading The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz and I highly recommend that as well.
Earlier in my life when I was in art school I found a lot of inspiration in books about the life of Frida Kahlo, as well as the biography of Georgia O’Keefe by Roxana Robinson. I really loved my art history classes in school so I have collected a lot of books covering art through the ages as well as mythology. I also have a pretty large collection of books that are photographs of specific biology, like a big book of butterflies, owls, insects, wildflowers, plants, or birds. I flip through those often just to look at all of the textures, colors, and shapes.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.micaelelrod.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/micael_elrod
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/micaelelrodartist
