INTERVIEW BY H. CANDEE

TERRY TEITELBAUM

ABSTRACT IMPRESSIONIST

Interview by Harryet Candee Photographs courtesy of Artist

Harryet Candee: You have made an outstanding career in the fashion/textile design world. I am interested in what grabbed you the most about it and what your profession in this field focused on through the years? Terry Teitelbaum: As a fashion designer, starting in the 60s, I was surrounded by fabrics exploding with color. This time period of psychedelic colors and tie-dyed fabrics was a huge influence on me as a designer, and now as an artist. Art was bold, music went electric and fashion was dictated by my generation. Although I originally designed children’s clothing, life took me in a new direction. I left Manhattan for upstate New York. I eventually started working at Bennington College in the theater department creating costumes with the students for the dance and drama productions. We created some outlandish and wild looking costumes. I got great satisfaction using my imagination and skills as a pattern maker. Attention was paid to the overall effect the costumes had on the stage set. In fact, they were an integral part of the stage design. I did this for over 20 years while also running my custom decorating studio. Use of fabrics in both cases immersed me in color and texture with thousands of yards of textiles. I simply traded one art form for another.

Noting your fluid, uncontrived brush strokes, catching the continuous flow of what nature offers, capturing the subtleties in layers working with an endless palette of color, all this and more, I wonder how much of your skilled techniques working with textiles emerged, appearing in your paintings? Just like a house needs a good foundation, all artists acquire a skill set during their careers. The years of playing with the texture and color of textiles provided me with a rich library of images to transpose onto a painting surface. Memory of the textures, the weaves, the sheerness, and the opaqueness are still vivid to me. The easiest way for me to explain it is that these images of color and texture form the composition of my work showing up in the layers. The reconnection to the layers of fabric with folds draping off a mannequin are visible to me in the clouds, the hills, and the water that I paint. Some people say they see fabric in my artwork. “I see woven colors in the leaves”

How would you suggest the best way for an artist to begin incorporating color into their art in a comfortable way? I generally start out with an underpainting. Then I start applying layers of color as my painting develops. It just builds from there, one color working off all the others. I believe my color palette is different from most artists who strive for color sensitivity and harmony. My palette is experimental in nature. My art is impression-

Terry Teitelbaum Evening Light 8 x 11” Pastel

istic and abstract, sometimes with a touch of realism. Others have commented that they recognize my work whether it is oil medium or soft pastel. It is hard for me to advise other artists, for me, my paintings are an emotional experience. I break the rules as I did years ago in my former career.

“Evening Light”, one of your paintings, is a beautiful landscape. Do you find yourself working with your intuitiveness in ways to guide you through a work of art such as this? The pastel landscape “Evening Light” is my impression of a field I see often as sunset nears. I love to capture the softness of fading light and the solitude at dusk. This painting and many others are intuitive reactions to what I see in life and the memories of places that I have visited. while other works are more of an abstract nature. Tell us more about these two directions. To date, most of my pastels comes from photos I have taken and are impressionistic in nature, while my oils tend to be more abstract. I like merging the two directions on occasion. I’ve recently started exploring the process of painting more abstractly with my soft pastels, creating vibrant sunsets and fields stirring in my imagination. “Something Magical” shows my love of magenta and green playing off the yellow and red pastels.

I believe you are celebrating freedom and passion for life in your art. Though that is my observation, maybe you can show us with a painting you have in mind, one that relays what you are feeling? The greatest gift of expression that I have ventured into at this point in my life is painting! It is hard for me to believe that I started painting three years ago. The passion I feel for my art and the freedom to explore it keeps growing. “Breezy Beach” to me is a painting that takes me out to another place. It is a combination of the vegetation in the foreground before one encounters a distant ocean with a warm orange sky. It works for me! I love this painting! What I see and what I imagine are all there. As another artist said when she saw it, “Black water! Only you could make it work!”

Do you find you face challenges with the creative process you undergo when making a painting? How would that unravel for you? Yes! Oil paintings are a particular challenge for me. Drying time between layers plays a big role in the way I work. The drying process encourages me to start multiple pieces at one time.

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Breezy Beach 24 x 40” Oil/mixed media

Something Magical 5.5 x 13.5” Pastel

Even though I photograph the progress of a piece, finding the many layers can present a challenge. Sometimes I struggle to find the color I am looking to uncover. Often the painting just takes another direction, finding a new voice with an added color palette. I am not afraid to push the work away from where it was headed. I feel there is a spontaneity in the look of my paintings. There is an element of mystery to me when I paint. And of course, when to stop! I have gone too far with a painting, as many artists have done, and then I have regretted it. I remember making a dramatic change to the work in progress on “Through The Window”. I now find myself looking deeper into this work each time I see it. Breaking loose, finding new direction and experimenting helps me grow as an artist.

Travelling is a way that builds one’s visual memory. You say you have travelled to Europe and have camped out in the wilds of nature. How much of a direct influence has this had on you as an artist? Where have you gone that you thought was sensational? Trips to Europe years ago, living in hostels and on the beaches of Morocco, with friends shaped my love of freedom with so little restrictions. Later in my travels with family to France and Italy to take in museums and great food enriched me with a love a both. Other trips cross country opened my eyes to visual landscapes I continually dream about. I would say the Southwest has had the greatest influence on me as an artist. The warm vibrant color, the vast openness with the distant horizon has captivated me. I have a deep love and spiritual attachment to the Native American reservation at Canyon de Chelly in Chinle, Arizona. From my first visit there, when I saw the sculptured sandstone passages carved out that make the deep canyon walls, I felt a spiritual connection to the land. The eroded formations with the dark varnish stains of manganese and iron oxide on the walls leading down to the cliff dwellings are apparent in my painting “Impasse”. Windblown sand polishes the blue-black stains and creates a glistening patina which reflects the changing light. Water travels through the canyon floor, where native people continue to live and farm the land.

Is there anyone from your travels, education, work, that has been a strong influence on you as an artist? My artist friend, Leslie Parke, was the most influential person for me as an emerging artist. She is someone I admire for her dedication to her art, as she truly has great imagination and follows her vision. She encouraged me to submit my artwork to an exhibition when I first started painting. To my amazement the jury accepted me, and it turned out to be a successful venture. The advice she offered to me about framing,

Through The Window 8 x 20” Oil/mixed media

Impasse 10 x 24” Oil/mixed media

pricing, exhibiting artwork were immeasurably helpful. I am grateful for her honesty, her depth of knowledge, the generosity of her time, and most of all her friendship. I have watched Leslie’s work evolve over the decades. I marvel at the risks she has explored and the evolution her work has taken. I value her advice. The most important tip she gave me was to “paint what you want to paint”. “Just go for it”! When I got word of my solo show for May 2019, she said you will need some larger artwork on the walls in your gallery. I was leaving for Costa Rica at the time and upon returning, I painted “It Happened” and “Breezy Beach”.

Have you enjoyed the selling art market? How do you find your way to art shows and marketing your work? I love sharing my art: it is my voice. I am fortunate that I have had so many opportunities as an emerging artist. My paintings have found new homes across the country. As an artist friend mentioned, “you jumped in with both feet and skipped 30 years.” I was lucky to garner solo shows in my first two years of painting. This will be my fourth year juried into the ASA “Landscapes for Landsake“ Exhibition. My first opportunity for a solo exhibition was a private music event at Maple Ridge Gallery, Cambridge, NY and I have exhibited there several times. I began showing my artwork in 2018 at Southern Vermont Art Center in Manchester. I was juried into a Solo Show at Yester House in the spring of 2019. It was a thrill to have a gallery space to hang my own work in. As a member of Saratoga Arts Center, I have participated in Art in Public Places for three years. This wonderful program is dedicated to providing local art that can be viewed by adults and children who may not have necessarily visited a museum or an art gallery. The venues are libraries and other public buildings. I was honored to be juried into the three artists group exhibition, PERCEPTIONS, at Saratoga Arts Center in the fall of 2020. Over the past several months my pastels have been juried into national and international Pastel Societies in New York, Massachusetts, and Maine. I am a member of the Pastel Society of America and the Adirondack Pastel Society. A large part of my time is devoted to submitting my work online to art centers and galleries. This is the most effective way for my art to be seen around this region. My paintings are part of invitational group shows. My paintings are available for viewing and purchasing on both my website and at my studio.

People that buy art sometimes do not care about the artist, just the work in front of them. I find it gives more depth and meaning to have an idea who the creator is. Do you make it your business to meet the people that buy your art? Continued on next page...

It Happened 124 x 40” Oil/mixed media

Across The River 10 x 24” Oil/mixed media

One of the biggest thrills as an artist is to see the excitement a collector has when they first view one of my paintings. I love the opportunity to share my inspiration with them. I can see their appreciation and connection to the piece grow as we talk. During Covid, I was one of the 3 artists at Saratoga Arts Center’s Perceptions Exhibition. With limited hours and no opening reception, I planned to be at the center every Tuesday to meet people there. On one occasion, a visitor from Miami entered the center and headed straight to one of my paintings exclaiming how much he loved it. When I told him I was the artist he was elated to learn more about the artwork. “Across The River” is a painting that emerged out of COVID isolation. During the pandemic, I was making cloth masks for family and friends when I heard of the dire need for supplies by the Navajo Nation in Arizona. I made and donated 2000 masks to their health services. The cutting of hundreds of masks left remnants of scraps in many colors which showed up on my cutting table and then in my paintings. I did not realize the symbolism of crossing the river and the plateau in the distance until my husband brought it to my attention. The coincidence of meeting a collector at Southern Vermont Art Center when she was buying my painting gave me the opportunity to tell her about the piece she loved. She commented how she always likes to meet the artist of the work.

When you have time away from the studio, what do you enjoy doing? The time I spend with my family - my husband, my kids, and my grandkids are at the top of my list. To see the family, Andy and I must travel to Maine, New York, or New Mexico. It is the pleasure of my life to be with them. I only wish we could get together more often. COVID has been especially hard for all of us this year. My daughter, in NM has not seen any of the family for two years. We are all making plans to visit her this fall. I look forward to my monthly meetings at The Fire Pit Circle with other women artists. After a year of isolation, a Saratoga artist decided we should get together outside on a regular basis. We are enjoying each other’s company as we sit by the fire to share our stories and ideas. To escape the New York winters, Andy and I love to vacation in Costa Rica (or other warm destinations). I find inspiration and rejuvenation every time we travel. Gardening has been a big part of my life for over 40 years. I see parallels between my love of gardening and my love of art. Both activities give me satisfaction beginning with a blank canvas and enjoying the journey of their development.

Presumpscot River Preserve 8 x 11” Pastel

What in life gears you up and motivates you full force? I always want to paint, garden and enjoy nature. I am constantly searching for the magical light. Light! Light! Seeing it, capturing it, and using it. Where I live in the woods, light streaming through the trees inspires me. I enjoy the sparkle on the leaves, the glow of the mountains in the distance, and the shadows on the ground. I love the changing seasons, the early spring colors, the summer sunsets, the autumn brimming with radiant light, colorful foliage, and the glistening light on the snow in winter. The beauty around me are my palette and inspiration. I never tire of the rolling hills and the landscape I call home.

Can you describe to us what your childhood was like? I grew up with my sister and a working mother and my grandmother’s occasional visits were the highlight of my life. Childhood was lonely and there was little to do. We did not own a car and lived in upstate NY with no mass transportation. My grandmother lived on a farm where she had vegetable and flower gardens, farm animals and cats that I adored. She cooked & baked delicious food and made braided rugs, crazy quilts, and clothing. She taught me how to sew by hand at age 6 which led me to making my own clothes. At age 11, I was brave enough to take my mother’s sewing machine out of the closet and taught myself how to sew. Soon, I was making my own clothes. I would cut out patterns and change the style. By the time I was ready to apply to college, I took a suitcase full of these designs to my interview. Luckily for me, the head of the pattern making department at Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC interviewed me, and I was awarded a full scholarship in the fashion department. I credit the woman who gave me my first after school job when I was 12 for encouraging me to follow my passion and to go to college. I did not have any sports, music, museums, or art influence in my life as a teenager. Leaving home as a young adult, and moving to New York City, opened up a new world to me.

Presumptscot River Preserve is a beautiful landscape. Sunlit is another one I really like. It seems like you enjoy working with water reflections and sky. What do you enjoy capturing in these paintings? My walks in a nature preserve near my home rejuvenate me and continue to source inspiration in my life. Again, light plays such an important influence in my artwork. My painting “Sunlit” is my vision of light captured and my desire to save and share the way this special place makes me feel. Continued on next page...

Sunlit 8” x 11” Pastel

Many of my pastels are memories of unique places that I have visited. I can’t explain exactly why I am so fascinated with the reflections in the water. Perhaps It goes back to my work with fabric where I see ripples of texture, and the softness of fabric in the layers of the landscape. “Presumptscot River Preserve” was painted after a trip to visit my son and grandkids during COVID. This was our first trip hiking in the preserve and the mid-day light reflecting on the water was a memory that I wanted to capture. I’ve always had a fascination with light reflecting on water.

What is next on your schedule, Terry? Where can we follow you? This fall I am participating in a number of exhibitions. Some galleries are open and some exhibitions are virtual only. The Saratoga Arts ART IN PUBLIC PLACES program is in-person and online. Most pastel shows are virtual including the PASTEL SOCIETY OF MAINE and the CENTRAL MASSACHUSETTS PASTEL SOCIETY. The ADIRONDACK PASTEL SOCIETY show in Glens Falls is in-person this fall. The ASA LANDSCAPES FOR LANDSAKE exhibition is a hybrid of in-person Columbus Day weekend and online for a month. SOUTHERN VERMONT ART CENTER will be open for the two month member show ending in December. You can also follow me on social media and by appointment at my studio in Cambridge, New York. Email: tjteitelbaum@gmail.com Website: www.ttartist.com

What do you think are some of the most common issues artists are facing today with Covid? Unfortunately, we are still going through Covid and our minds are distracted with trying to stay safe. I am wondering if we can safely go to openings. Artists want to socialize now more than ever after isolation. Viewing art online will be part of the future; I think we will have limited access to some galleries. A big part of art is the shared experience with the physical piece of work.. Covid has limited this. I look forward to a time when we are no longer restricted by this pandemic.

What would you say is your favorite quote you would like to share? “She’s got everything she needs, She’s an artist She don’t look back

She can take the dark out of the nighttime And paint the daytime black” —Bob Dylan

Thank you, Terry