Carolyn Adams
Oyster River Pages: What is the most challenging aspect of your artistic process?
Carolyn Adams: I tend to revisit art and writing projects many times, except not that much with photography. Poems, drawings, and collages are tweaked often until I consider them done (or I’m tired of fooling with them). It can be challenging to get back into the creative moment and mindset that originally set the work in motion, after walking away from it for a time. Sometimes, though, a short departure brings a fresh perspective, and even clarifies the focus of the work.
ORP: What would you say is your most interesting writing and/or artistic quirk?
CA: I don’t leave things alone. I’m always fiddling with my created works, always fiddling with different artistic and poetic perspectives for potential works. No visual or poetic subject is really off-limits for me, and the stranger something is, the more it fascinates me and the more I want to play with it. My works that are most interesting had really curious beginnings.
ORP: What do you think is the best way to improve writing and/or artistic skills?
CA: Definitely exposing yourself to the work of other writers and artists is a great way to fine-tune your writing or art. Try on their style or perspective and see where it takes you. When I want to get back into writing poetry after an absence from it, I use poetic forms to warm-up. Sometimes I keep the form rules intact, sometimes I break them; whatever feels right at the time is the way to work on a piece. If I want to create a new art piece, I play with photo effects, drawing methods, or add more to a collage. I think the operative word should always be “play”.
ORP: What does vulnerability mean to you as an artist and/or writer?
CA: Vulnerability means remaining open to receiving criticism, whether it’s from an editor or a peer. I look at critique like an AA meeting—take what you need and leave the rest. Not everything someone says has to be taken to heart. I listen to what critics have to say, and think about what their feedback means. If someone hones in on a certain aspect of a piece, it sometimes means that portion of the work needs some attention. But just because I leave myself open to criticism, that doesn’t mean I sacrifice my estimation of the value of my work, or question its worth or my talent. My vulnerability comes from a place of self-respect.
