In a self-masochistic way I enjoy the process of making newsletters. The problem solving involved with determining how the letter will be folded mailed and opened. What the will the reader see first, second, third? I enjoy the puzzle, very similar to composing a painting.
This particular project I feel fortunate to have been involved with was for lack of better words was action packed. Late night edits , calls and zoom meetings with team members from California, Oregon to Georgia and Massachusetts. Often intense and always productive.
A project I worked on that never made it to fruition. Although I was disappointed that it never progressed to a final solution I was happy with the iterations that evolved.
1. Meaning in my work is generated more from an emotional
response from within myself or in response to someone else and the gifts they
share. I have never been real active in
trying to make social or political statements with my images. I tend to be more
introspective.
2. My images are more than mere decoration. They are deeply
immersed in thought and concern, for not just tactile and visual relationships,
but interactive relationships with the viewer. Most of the time they are
intended to be meditative.
3. If I were to say they had a sound, it would be the quiet
silence of falling snow.
4. I predominately use acrylic because it is such a
versatile medium. From creating transfers onto acrylic skins, or mixing
additives to create textures, opacities, and transparencies, acrylics are
uniquely suited to manipulation. The ability to play cook or mad scientist with
the paint suits my temperament well.
5. I often think of the elements in my paintings as floating
somewhere in the beyond. I am a traveler randomly passing through.
6. Simple yet complex, so small in the universe yet worlds
within themselves, contracting and expanding images tend to bring my mind to a
place of welcomed introversion.
7. It is my hope that wonderment is passed on to the viewer.
8. From the primitive to sophisticated, the one thing I hope
comes across to the viewer is my intense love for painting.
9. Some pieces I intend to associate with the primitive more
than others.
10. At the same time I do enjoy a little playfulness amongst
the elements.
11. Titles are interesting to me. Is it suitable to
permanently place upon an image a specific command for interpretation that may
or may not fit within our literate world? Depending upon the piece and whether
or not its intended association is more introspective or narrative, it may have
a formal title or simply “Untitled”.
12. Titles often give instructions to the viewer. This can
be helpful or harmful. It is my belief
that not all images function in the literate world. I do not always want a
title to dictate to the viewer how it should be perceived. It is a visual
conversation.
13. The process of
building stretchers and stretching canvas or Lycra is equally important to me
as making the final painting. For me it’s all about the process of working from
start to finish. I find that not only is it meditative but as the stretched
canvas develops towards completion, I also develop towards a readiness to
paint. There is a joy I get from building the structure that I am going to
eventually make into a painting. I believe this gives me a deeper connection to
the final product and as an artist, that my work and myself are intertwined.
Clay Custer has been
pursuing the arts his entire life. As a child his family had the portrait
artist Thorton Utz paint their family portraits. Memories of Utz critiquing his
scribbly child drawings and offering encouragement to, “Keep drawing, never
stop”, have persisted throughout his life. After this unique experience as a
child, Clay knew he wanted to be an artist. Eventually Clay earned a BFA in
Drawing and Painting from The University of Georgia, an MFA with an emphasis in
Painting from Utah State University and recently an MDMFA in Media Design from
Full Sail University. Clay has taught at several universities, colleges, and high schools in
Utah, Tennessee, and Georgia.
