Wall Street To Art Interview With Miriam Schulman

Miriam Schulman

Hi Miriam,

  You had a successful career on Wall Street in finance, what led you from that into becoming an artist?

   "I worked for a very successful hedge fund that imploded famously in 1998 and forced me to rethink my values.  When I was expecting my second child I decided to 'take time off'.  However, a year after he was born and I was contemplating a return to the corporate world the World Trade Center was attacked and I took that as a personal sign not to go back to that world.  I have always been creative and created artwork continuously as a child, through college and beyond so it was a natural transition.  There are many artists who followed this path such as Gauguin, who was first a stock broker.

   Where did you study art?

   I studied Art History at Dartmouth and took studio classes there as part of the major.  I also studied with masters in watercolor such as Charles Reid and Mel Stabin.

   How did you find your Voice (style)?

   My voice is continuing to evolve.  I am not afraid to experiment.  Free hand drawing is the best way to discover your artistic voice.

   What are your sources of inspiration?

   I am very fortunate to have some of the world's greatest art collections only a short train ride away and I take advantage of that often.  I find myself inspired most frequently by nature and its opposite the city.  The human figure and portrait as well as the materials themselves.

   What would you like to have people feel when they see your paintings? your collages?

   I want my art to make people happy.

   Do you follow a defined routine/schedule (i.e. paint only in the morning..etc.)?

   In order for me to have a productive day, I need to exercise as soon as my children are sent off to school.  After a vigorous exercise class, and a shower, I take care of my online marketing efforts.  I usually settle in to my studio around 1p.m. and paint for a few hours.  In the summer, I get to paint longer because the light is better and I have less responsibilities for my family.

   Do you have any advice for people who want to pursue art and have a successful career in it?

   Don't give up.  Tenacity is the key."

Sonatina Forest By Miriam Schulman

See Miriam's beautiful work at :http://www.SchulmanArt.com and http://schulmanart.imagekind.com and her Etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/mimistudio

  

Jewelry And Life Inspiring Ideas

An article in one of the many jewelry making magazines I read really caught my attention. So much so that I had to get the book the article was based around. This was a quick (2 page) article of little parts of the book Art and Fear by David Bayles and Ted Orland, 122pgs, Image Continuum Press. These two photographers have hit the creative nail smack, dab on the head! Yes, I had to get the book and I agree it's good. Allow me to give you an excerpted sentence or two from page 118: "In the end it comes down to this: you have a choice ( or more accurately a rolling tangle of choices) between giving your work your best shot and risking that it will not make you happy, or not giving it your best shot-and thereby guaranteeing that it will not make you happy. It becomes a choice between certainty and uncertainty. And curiously, uncertainty is the comforting choice."

What they are saying about creating art (jewelry,painting,photographs, etc.) applies to everything in life; Life is an Art in my opinion.