Aperçus Quarterly 2.1

So needless to say, allowing students to work in my studios (as well as Doug’s stained glass studio) hascreated a dynamic space that benefits from other people’s energies, which fuels my own creative energy. This inturn keeps me from feeling stuck or caught in my own head about a body of work, since I have the luxury of askingfor objective points of view on a piece I am working through. The result is that I am less self-conscious.LH: During our tour of the 29 Palms Creative Center & Gallery I realized what a prolific and multi-faceted artistyou are. Block printing, oil painting, life drawing, book making…you do it all. Many of your pieces employmultiple mediums at once…I think specifically of the collaged monotype, “Floating Joshuas.” Have you alwayssaid “yes” to multiple mediums or this a more recent burst of inventiveness?GG: YES! As long as I can remember, I have always been an artist who gets into a huge mess! I enjoy the processesof multiple mediums, which invites my creative spirit to experiment with a variety of techniques and makedifferent marks. Also, I am a bit of a newlywed lover, in that I enjoy the feeling of a fresh process. This desirepushes me to learn more and to keep reinventing myself, which I believe is the heart of a true artist.LH: How important, in your opinion, is a formal art education for a working artist? You’ve gone back to schoolfor an MFA in printmaking, right? Has this inspired you to teach?GG: For me, formal education has given me the tools and confidence that I lacked as a child to make [art] a career.Ironically, when I graduated in 1995 with my Bachelor’s degree, I left feeling fed up with formal education becauseit made me think too much about what I created. So I revolted against the conceptual aspects of art-makingfor a long time. Then I decided to return to school for the exact reasons I felt fed up years prior. Again, my studiesat Academy of Art University for my MFA is challenging my expression in a fresh exciting avenue that is allowingme to bridge the gap between my mindless expressive self and my thoughtful, conscientious expressive self.Maybe I was too young to appreciate my brain in 1995, hee-hee?Now, I feel my brain is serving the work, resulting in satisfying expression without my brain getting inthe way of the freedom to express. And since the program is all online, I am finding it very satisfying to be taughtagain, and I am happy to report it is making me a better instructor for the art classes I teach at the Creative Center.LH: What project(s) are you currently working on?My commission projects for the summer involve painting a mural, making photo albums, collaging a ceiling withmaps, and to tile a mosaic on a lamp post. But for the fun of it, I am in the midst of making a pottery sculpture tohelp me practice the wheel and to quench my thirst to work three dimensionally. With any luck, the sculpture willbe an added attraction here at the Creative Center compound, where I also rent a couple other studio spaces tolocal artists. As a matter of fact, one of the larger studios is available for rent, and I am looking forward to gettingthe shoes filled with another positive creative energy.LH: What events and classes are in the works for the 2012-2013 school year?GG: As always, the Creative Center will be “working hard for our play,” with local and traveling students of allages in any medium they choose. Students can take lessons in the pottery and painting studio, stained glass studio,and printmaking studio. My only requirement is that every student leave with a big smile and the knowledge thatthey can succeed in whatever they put their minds to. As an instructor, my goal is to build confidence and inspirethe imagination in our world of infinite possibilities.www.mbcac.orgwww.29palmsinn.comwww.gretchengrunt.comwww.mojavedesertlandtrust.orgwww.29palmscreativecenter.com50