Studio Tour #005 - Nancy Rosen
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Studio Tour #005 - Nancy Rosen
Mothers Day Edition
In honor of mother’s day we bring you a special edition studio tour with my mom Nancy Rosen. A couple weeks ago we had the chance to go to Nancy’s north-side studio as she proceeded to get us drunk and paint us. Stay tuned we will keep everyone up-to-date with the status of our family portrait. Happy Mothers Day, Momma Rosen.
PF: Being Sam's mom, we know you pretty well, but others reading this may not. Can you start off by telling us a little bit about yourself. Where you're from, favorite yoga position, your favorite Post Family member, the best place to get lunch in your neighborhood?NR: I’m from Evanston/Skokie, Evanston high school grad, my mom’s a teacher my dad sold shag carpet.
I’ve been studying yoga for a long time, so the favorite pose changes all the time, just like my favorite post family member. But that Sam is awfully cute, don’t you think?
There are some lovely dining options near my studio (7002 N0 California Ave, Chi. IL), well there’s lots of interesting stuff on Devon my favorites are the vietnamese Ben Tre and a great dive called Louies run by a charming greek character named Kiki.
PF: How'd you get started as an artist? Did you go to school for art?NR: I started painting when i was five, studied with some wonderful people, and earned my BFA from Kansas City Art Institute.
PF: What's a typical day like for you?NR: A typical/ideal day for me........studio, paint, yoga, cook, sleep, repeat.
PF: You've really made your studio space your own. It's amazing the amount of work that covers the entire space. How long have you been working there?NR: I’ve been in my current space for ten years and have had a painting studio outside of the home for another additional 5 years.
PF: You do a lot of figurative work. Do you usually have models in the studio? How do you go about getting people to model for you?NR: I do have models often -- sometimes friends and acquaintances will sit. But, mostly I hire professional models.
PF: What sort of things inspire you to create? Is there any particular kind of music that you like to play when you work?NR: All thing inspire me, that’s the easy part. Keeping the music flowing is the hard part. I listen to an eclectic mix of cds donated by my children, models and friends and I talk with my friends for long stretches on my headset when I’m coloring in space.
PF: Ever run a marathon?NR: Life is a marathon, boys.
PF: You mentioned that when a person comes in to model for you, and you don't know them, that you end up knowing them better than you'd like to by the time they leave. What do you mean by this?NR: Having someone sit for you can be a pretty intimate experience, the majority of people coming to sit for me have pretty amazing lifes. My role as a painter can quickly turn into a best friend, teacher and shrink. i get to know folks pretty easily, people open up to me without effort -- it’s a blessing......and a curse.
PF: You explained that you'll sometimes have an unfinished piece up in the front of your studio for years before finishing. Do you give most of your work a certain amount of time to stay up before declaring it done? Do you do any work start to finish in one sitting?NR: I typically will not take a painting down until it is finished which means some are up for a few hours but some for years.
PF: Explain the collection of phones and headsets on the wall.NR: The collection of phones is a result of the phone torture test I perform on them until they become coated with paint and petrified. No water boarding though.
PF: I noticed some paper in your studio that had been gessoed but not painted on yet and it had random stuff stuck in it like nails and pastel labels. Is this something you do on purpose or is it just what the paper picks up through the process?NR: I work mostly on gessoed paper. at the end of the day i put all the paper on the floor and while I gesso it I mix in all of the crap lying on the floor. it makes for some interesting terrain.
PF: I know that Sam has always been very inspired by the work of both you and David. Did you have creative parents when growing up?NR: My dad was an amazingly creative guy. he just made stuff from nothing. His sister was an artist and she used to take me to classes all the time. My dad made little films with his four best friends -- they called themselves “the eight balls” and everything was an art project for Sydney Cohn. My mom...........she was a big supporter in every endeavor, she’s been teaching for 40 years and at this point doesn’t look like she will ever stop.
PF: What's it like preparing for a show? Do you wait until the last minute, or do you work steadily up to the deadline?NR: I’m always making work and they tend to come in bodies of work, natural groupings, so that is when a show typically happens -- so specifically when preparing for a show it’s just the mechanics; postcards, frames, hanging etc. But I do tend to become a nervous wreck closer and closer to the opening.
PF: Would you like to be the official mom of the Post Family?NR: Yes, I would be delighted to be the office mother of The Post Family.
Did all you boys call your mom’s today?
To check out the complete studio tour click here.
Happy Mothers Day, Mom! We love you.
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