January 11, 2012 - Molly Elkind "God Lured Me with Art"
Molly Elkind is an artist who works with fibers. She says: “I love the tactility of it – the texture of those materials in my hands. I love the repetitive process of stitching, weaving or papermaking. I also love making larger works from lots of many small pieces. I was away from church for 20 years. I feel like God lured me back to a life of faith through art.”
In this interview, Molly talks about her personal creative process, as well as collaboratively creating through the liturgical art team at her church.
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Molly Elkind is a handweaver and mixed media fiber artist living and working near Atlanta. Her current passion is exploring the interaction of color and woven patterns in handweaving. Lately she has been dyeing and painting her own yarns and making one-of-a-kind woven scarves with Tencel, a sustainable fiber with incredible sheen and drape.
Molly Elkind earned an MA in Studio Art, with a concentration in Fibers, from the University of Louisville in 2002. Molly’s mixed media embroideries, handmade paper sculptures, wall hangings and collages, and artist’s books have been exhibited in juried shows locally and nationally, as well as being included in private collections.
In addition, Molly holds a B.A. and M.A. in English and taught this subject for many years. She says: “Circling everybody's mistakes and wielding a red pen as an English teacher was beginning to feel like a soul killing activity. I wanted work that could allow me to say yes instead of no. Yes to the possibilities. Yes to creativity. Yes to making mistakes and picking up and going on. Yes to that uncertain process of creating. Making art allowed me to do that. What I realized in the process of making art was that this was bigger than me. There was something else going on here besides my own brain and my own abilities. There is a creative force that is moving through me and that allowed me to come back to a life of faith.”
About Vanessa Lowry:
Vanessa Lowry is an author, entrepreneur, radio host, speaker, marketing consultant and graphic designer. She leverages nearly 30 years of design and marketing expertise to support book authors who are self-publishing. She is the weekly host of Art as Worship on EmpowerRadio.com and the regular guest host of Write Here, Write Now on BusinessRadioX.com. Author of three books, she plans to write a book based on the interviews collected through the Art as Worship radio show. Find out more about this project and Vanessa at www.ArtasWorship.net.
