Alaska State Council on the Arts: University of Alaska Anchorage Health Sciences Building
Entry Deadline: 9/7/11
The Alaska State Council on the Arts on behalf of the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) is requesting qualifications from artists for new interior artwork to be commissioned for the new Health Sciences Building in Anchorage, Alaska.
ALASKA ARTISTS ONLY.
TOTAL ART BUDGET $300,000 USD
Deadline for Entries: Received by Wednesday September 7, 2011 9:59 pm Alaska Daylight Savings Time.
Erin Osinkosky is an Anchorage artist work whose work I have admired since first seeing it when moving here. Erin is a unique person in that she is one of the most prolific artist’s I know but also someone who rarely shows her work. Hopefully her responses will help me to understand why this is.
What did you want to be when you grew up?
I wanted to be a missionary or an explorer. I wanted to live in the jungle for a while. Counselor, traveler, ranch hand. Still trying to figure this out.
As someone whose come to know Erin a bit better, I think I can safely say she’s already tried out many of these options.
Did you ever imagine being an artist?
Not really but I’ve always made things.
When did you decide to be an artist?
Art keeps pushing me to it. Every time I’m at a crossroads or feel uncertain about things, I choose art.
Favorite artist?
Many—Picasso, Paul Klee, Adolf Wolfli, Twins 77, to name a few.
Ideal day?
Coffee in the morning, then art and write. Afternoon, traveling. I’d be in a desert or island or foreign marketplace, somewhere new. Supper with family and friends in the evening.
Did you grow up with art?
I grew up with creativity. My family’s really creative but more verbally, performance. We were always making things. I’m the only one who compulsively makes art.
Why art?
I ask myself this frequently. My biggest challenge is to see art as my profession, to find purpose in making money from my art. I like what Picasso says “because at the moment we’re doing it, it makes us feel better. And that’s the main thing. . .I paint the way someone bites his fingernails—for me, painting is a bad habit because I don’t know nor can I do anything else.”
Jobs other than being an artist?
My first job was picking cherries. I worked at McDonalds maybe six months. Home health aid, housekeeper, took care of kids. Delivered pizza. Cake decorator, art teacher at migrant summer school camp. File clerk, caseworker, innkeeper for a B&B. Waited tables, sold makeup and skin care. Tutored writing and Spanish.
What research do you do?
I look for art online that inspires me. Art books at bookstores and libraries. I take along my camera.
Do you collect art?
Digital images on my computer.
What superpower would you have?
I’d be able to be in different places instantly without the travel time or having to fly.
Why?
So I could explore different places and be with friends and family and support myself at the same time.
Best advice?
A professor who always told me to keep being who I am, regardless of what it means professionally. My parents who have always supported in me in my decisions.
Professionally, what’s your goal?
To keep making art. To make my living from it.
Why do you do what you do?
It keeps me sane. Writing and making art each morning makes life make sense to me.
Process or ritual you go through before creating?
Coffee, read or internet, something mindless. Write then organize my desk. I need things tidy before I start, desk and brain.
Guilty pleasures?
Water, organizing, thrift shopping.
This answer is such an Erin response and she’s serious about it too.
Thanks for your responses Erin.
I’ve been fortunate to become a friend of Erin’s and feel very lucky in this regard. As you can see from Erin’s work, this lady knows what works and also has fun doing it. Thanks again Erin.
Erin has agreed to discuss her artwork with us in the very near future. In the meantime, here's a little teaser with one of her fantastic puppets!
1231 W. Northern Lights Blvd. #451
Anchorage, AK 99503
USA
T. 907 441-6059
wendy@gingellceramics.com
