Becoming an artist at 60 +

Some steps I took and some things that just happened.

You´re not too old! Female artists bloom at your age and even much older! That remark from an artist I had just met changed everything. It was the start of a series of synchronicities that all pointed in one direction: Take your art seriously.

If you are where I was only a few years ago, having turned 60 and regretting that you didn´t become an artist when you where young, then this is for you. I´ll share a little on my background, as well as the steps I took to the place I am today.

I was lucky, and grew up in a very creative and art interested family. When I was young, I considered applying for the art academy, but never got around to it, as other interests took over. Over the years I have worked as a news reporter, I have run a guesthouse and retreat in Greece, and I have written several books about Greece and Greek food. When I was almost 50 I took a bachelor in nutrition. Then I started writing about food and health, as well as teaching Mediterranean food cooking classes, plus started a business with a friend harvesting sea weed for food. I´ve had a short stint in a public agency as well as working as a teacher in a public school. And I ran a pub in a tiny island off the coast of Norway for a few years.

I used to say I don´t know what I want to be when I grew up. Or maybe I was suffering from shiny object syndrome, always searching for something more interesting or fun to do. One could also characterize it as being a renaissance person, someone who is gifted and skilled in many areas. (Too many).

However, all these years one thing has been consistent in my life, and that has been creativity. Sewing, knitting, stitching, weaving, drawing, painting, papier mache. Creativity is the strongest force in my life. It drives me nuts if I don´t have anything to make with my hands and I´ll hurriedly find something I can create.

I remember when staying with relatives when our baby son was severely ill at the hospital (and I was not allowed to be with him). I made Barbie clothes for the daughter in the house, from an old sock and some sewing thread. I just needed to make something, anything, not to break down.

Just after my 60th birthday, I moved to a mountain farm in Sierra Nevada, Spain, following the love of my life.

It felt like everyone I met here was an artist. Real artists, who got up in the morning to start their creative work in their studio. When my new friend told me I was not too old to become an artist, I believe it stirred a longing inside me that I didn´t even knew I had.

Maybe this is what I am meant to do?

Shortly after, another artist friend sold a painting to a collector in New York. She was over the moon, of course. I was very happy for her, too. That night I dreamed that I made this - and the next day I made it:

It now hangs in her studio. The encouragement I got from my friend after I gave her the picture, became one more factor that pushed me towards working more seriously with my art. Yes, I know, outside flattering shouldn´t be necessary, but sometimes it might be just what you need.

I don´t know where my love of textiles origins from, but I have always loved making stuff from fabrics. Anything from dolls, doll clothes and stuffed animals, to blankets, pillows and pictures. Here´s one of my first textile art works, made 50 years ago:

I knew I wanted to work with textiles, but my inner devil kept telling me that this is just handcraft, it is not proper art. I sort of had this idea that application and stitching was something women would sit down to do after the dishes were done and the kids put to bed. More or less just to pass time. But when the devil needs to be contradicted it will:

Watching the TV news from Norway there was a story about the new main exhibition in the National Museum in Oslo. An artist I had never heard about: Britta Marakatt Labba. And what does she do? She stitches! (I later got the see the exhibition. It was mind blowing. She is just amazing, the way she tells stories of the Sami people and community through stitches).

This confirmed that stitching can absolutely be art.

It felt like I was given permission to get going. So I gathered all my materials (I have alway collected fabrics), my bits and pieces and turned the guest room into my studio (pushing the guest bed into one corner, just in case).

Here are some steps I have taken, that I hope will give you inspiration and ideas:

Coming to terms with age. The age I am now is just perfect for what I want to do. Like you, I have a life full of experience to draw on. I am much wiser than I was 40 years ago. I am calmer, more in touch with myself. I have more peace.

After the remark from my artist friend about age, first thing I did was to google female artists who started out late. And of course my friend was right: Grandma Moses probably tops the list, as the most famous. An other example is Italian Isabella Ducrot, who didn´t pick up a brush until her late fifties and who flowers now in her nineties. Laura Ingalls Wilder started writing when she was 65. And not to discriminate, age is no excuse for men, either: Alfred Wallis started painting in his 70s, after his wife died. Bill Traylor was 85.

Reading the life stories and looking at the art these artists made, helped me realize that age is more an advantage than the opposite.

Creating a dedicated space to work. This changed a lot for me and I know other artists who say it´s essential. My studio drags me in. I used to sit wherever there was space, which often meant pushing my creative urge aside as it would be too much hassle to make room to work. Now, I can do ten minutes while the food is cooking. I often sit in my studio for a few minutes before I go to bed, just to look at my ongoing project.

Showing up. Getting a dedicated space, also meant that I have to use it. I live on a vineyard and sometimes have to help out with farm work. We also do wine tastings and cooking classes, as well as running an airbnb, so it´s not like I can spend all day working on my art. But I have realized that consistency is the key to developing. I also see it as a way to my goal, which is to make enough income from art to be able to let go of other jobs. I am not working in my studio every day, but most days. Sometimes just for an hour or two. But I show up. Regularly.

Developing a style. This is a tough one. When I first had made the decision that I want to become a textile artist, I had no idea on what to make. I live in a beautiful landscape, so I made some landscape pictures. And since I love cooking, I made some picturing food. And then some yoga inspired pictures. But they were not really me.

Luckily, I came across Louise Fletcher´s Art Tribe (no, I am not an affiliate or being paid to write this) and got tons of input which made me take a big leap forwards (at least it felt like that to me). I unstitched and recreated many of my former pictures and finally had something I could say that I love.

Another helpful tool has been following The Artist´s Way by Julia Cameron. I have been slowly working my way through the book (as I usually tend to rush things). I find it extremely helpful to write morning pages (tough I do not always manage to write them first thing in the morning). I try to combine writing with meditation, and even if that take an hour out of stitching, I feel that I get so much back. Less unstitching. I get hunches and often dream pictures (and lately: textile sculptures). It helps me to connect with my inner feelings and express them in my work. Which your own style is all about, I guess.

Developing a style takes time, of course. I just feel like I am on the way, that something is happening (as opposite to making the same pretty pictures all over). Again, consistency is a key.

Learning. Since I didn´t go to art school, I spend time learning the stuff I imagine they teach there (usually by watching You Tube videos): How to use color. Composition. Art history.

I got myself a sketchbook and started to draw (again, following You Tube videoes). And on my own: My coffee cup. My feet. My dog. Drawing with my left hand. Without looking at the page.

Finally, while working, I listen to interviews with artists or podcasts about art.

All in all, at least I am starting to feel like an artist now.