Welcome to the first interview in a new bi-weekly series I am doing called Creative Types. This idea came about when I was thinking about all the amazingly talented people in my life and the people and their work that I am a fan of and constantly find inspiration from. First up is my friend Rosie Peri, who I came to know through some mutual friends in Chicago about 4 or 5 years ago (man, time flies!). Without further ado, here it is!
What inspired you to start pursuing the arts?
There was no singular moment. I grew up in a creatively charged household, where I was given the freedom and encouragement to be weird from the start, so it felt like a pretty natural progression. Funny enough, I didn’t direct this energy toward painting until college. Once I picked up that brush, though, there was no going back- I was in love.
You use people and food as the subjects of your work often, what draws you to this?
I suppose it has to do a little bit with convenience, but the main reason is I’m a nostalgic sap. The food and people I paint are usually images I associate with home (New Orleans), and a gateway to memories of a past life. Always chasing whimsy.
How do you manage working for your day job and working on your art/design work? Do you find anything helpful for managing your time?
I don’t! Kidding... kind of. Balance is an elusive beast.
For years, my own projects operated on a completely manic schedule. Meaning, I’d get tunnel vision on a project, to the exclusion of all else for a month. But be so burned out at the end that I wouldn’t make anything for 6 months afterward.
These days, I’m shooting for more consistency by treating my art as a second job and scheduling time into my calendar (which, if I remember correctly, you suggested I do- Thanks!). Sounds like a buzzkill, but it’s actually gone a long way toward evening out my productivity swings and keeping me on track.
Where do you find inspiration?
Everywhere, really. Conversations I overhear on the bus, things I see while walking to work, music, dreary mornings, strangers on the street, memories, daydreams, friends, art by other people, you name it. I used to just open the dictionary and point to words as a way of spurring something.
What is your workspace like?
A controlled chaos.
Lastly, what are your favorite things to do for fun?
Well, aside from the art, I captain a skeeball team (not to be confused with “I’m good at skeeball”), experiment with food (as in, for eatin’), drag friends to potentially terrible open mic comedy nights, as well as explore all the other bizarre outings Chicago has to offer.
I’m mostly just a bookworm with crayons, though.
You can find Rosie on these corners of the Internet:
