Today we’d like to introduce you to Carolyn Case
Hi Carolyn, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I am originally from California but came to Baltimore for graduate school at the Maryland Institute College of Art. After completing my degree, I moved to NYC with my future husband. While in New York, my husband’s mother became ill with cancer, and we returned to Baltimore.
Upon returning to Baltimore, I continued my studio practice at several studios around the Baltimore metro area until I created a home studio in my garage after my children were born. I worked in my home studio for 15 years until they left for college. During this time, I have shown all over the US and internationally. Since my children have left for college, I have returned to Baltimore for my studio, and I now have a studio at Greenmount Studios.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The biggest challenge of being an artist in Baltimore is getting exposure. Prior to Instagram being such a big part of the art scene, it was difficult to engage with the art world outside of Baltimore. Now with Instagram, it’s easier to get your work out there and engage with the national art scene.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am an oil painter who focuses on domestic/daily life. Here are a few links about my work.
https://www.artforum.com/events/carolyn-case-248293/
Here is my artist statement as well.
Theodore Roethke’s poem “The Waking” repeats the line, “I learn by going where I need to go.”This mantra is the backbone of my current work. My paintings need an understanding of what is right formally but also to go beyond that to become an image of thinking. My ideal painting holds formal mechanisms lightly, so there can be tension between seeing the painting as an image and seeing the painting as thinking. That’s the exciting part of painting for me. For the past twenty years, I traveled between the studio and the kitchen, and scraps of domestic imagery populate my paintings. I’m in the studio, struggling for beauty and complexity. I go into the kitchen to chop onions or empty the dishwasher, and it’s all there. I stand at the sink washing dishes, my mind still on painting, and notice the exciting form of a half-submerged spatula and its shadow. I see other connections between the studio and the kitchen as well—the kitchen was the first place I got to make stuff, and early on, I fell in love with the specialized tools found there. Domesticity is hard, and I have spent energy trying to get good at it. Some days, painting is terrible, but dinner is good. There can be a sense of accomplishment in domesticity that you don’t always get in the studio, but it’s not fulfilling. Through my current work, I attempt to elevate everyday family routines and domestic duties to the realm of beauty.
My process starts with pastel drawings that will become the seeds of future paintings. The speed of pastel allows me to be inventive, trust intuition, record direct impulses, get lost, and “learn by going where I need to go.” Then, I can develop core ideas from pastels into more complex oil paintings. The pastels had a physicality that wasn’t served by a traditional frame, so I began making ceramic frames to extend the energy of the pastel.
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
I think the most important characteristics are staying positive, continuing to work, and believing in yourself.
Contact Info:
- Website: carolyncase.com and asyageisberggallery.com
- Instagram: @casecarolyn
