Virginia Causey
NWDC is pleased to share the art and ideas of Virginia Causey in the latest NWDC Artist Interview.
Virgina Causey is a Pacific Northwesterner who has been influenced physically and visually by the Northwest landscapes, mountains, and waterways. She has been a working Metal/Jewelry artist and Art Educator for decades with a multi-faceted interest in the arts. Her work has been included in numerous exhibitions and shows. In addition to being a working artist/craftsperson, she is also devoted to the education field and was an instructor at Seattle Pacific University and Pratt Fine Art Center.
How were you introduced to art?
I believe that it was the first time I picked up a shiny beach pebble and swallowed it so I could keep it with me always. Later in life – in the fifth grade to be exact – I started lapidary and jewelry classes after school. This peeked my interest besides my normal crayons and paint, but it was truly the year of design classes with Russel Day (at Everett Community College) which started me down my artistic pathway in life.
Where do you find inspiration when creating new work?
I find my creative interest is not only what nature holds beneath my feet, but what is environmentally happening around us in our global community, as well as the unbelievable space photographs from the Webb Telescope. I find inspiration in the subtle reflection of nature hidden within shells, wood grain, clouds, minerals, leaf/bark patterns or space images to whatever pops within my visual or mental cosmic researching, which nurtures my creative inspirational palette.
What do you consider your greatest artistic achievement
I consider teaching as my most creative achievement, as it encompasses not only the passing of knowledge, but also stimulating and bringing forth new venues to express student’s awareness through creative processes. This is an achievement beyond what my artistic hands/mind have created, and these are stored within my museum of a home.
What is the quality you most like in an artist?
The refinement, ingenuity and the exploration of using existing and recycled materials to create the myriad of innovating art invigorates me. I love detailed art that incorporates outstanding technical and creative skills. I enjoy visually studying the antiquities artisan that focuses on process, where the object flows with artistic refinement.
Which living artist do you most admire?
I am a collector of present and past art...art and antiquities...so not just one artist stands out, but the artistic artist/teacher/mentors are critical to me. Larry Metcalf is a living artist, educator and mentor who I truly admire. Larry’s ability to continue to push his artistic envelope, his artistic palette and passion to constantly change to accommodate his physical abilities are a testament that his artistic being will never cease and leaves me in awe.
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
I would change my inability to create a daily artistic schedule to follow. It could be only ten minutes each day at 10 AM. whether it lasted ten minutes or eight hours. This would be a time for art and only art and not my usual artistic kaleidoscope way of facing the world.
What is your most treasured possession?
You are asking a person, “What diamond do you like out of this handful?” I have often wondered, “what one thing would I rescue during a disaster” (excluding people or pets) and I could not decide on one thing except me. Each treasure has a story, each a value, most are not replaceable, and some could make it through a disaster, but that one thing is still a mystery.
Who has had a significant influence over your work?
I have experienced life with many influential people, I continue to take classes and through them, my work may change. But to name one influential person is slightly impossible. Except my father who told me at a young age, “the only limiting factor in your life is yourself and there is nothing you cannot achieve.” His hands were amazing – large and calloused. His employment varied; during the war he was a steel worker at Bethlehem Steel, longshoreman, fisherman, electrician, international union representative and more. With those enormous hands, his artistic ability was not limited but limitless from carving, sculpting, weaving, painting or anything that I might ask him. He influenced me in life, but my later artistic endeavors were and are still a collaborative effort through a myriad of individuals.
How has your studio practice changed?
I work all over my house – in other words my house has become my studio instead of just one designated area. There are certain reasons I work in one area or another because of light, comfort, availability of materials or just needing to move. Before, not having the luxury of living alone, I kept to a small and compact space, but now it is everywhere.
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
As one experiences life and it unfolds before our eyes and other senses, we begin to attach feelings, thoughts, material things, and most importantly the incorporation of positive people to add influential and impactful meaning to this life through friendship. Along with our family and ancestors before us, friendships with other people are what shape our soul. I feel extremely fortunate that NWDC has become such a significant part of my own life experience. My ideal happiness comes from my involvement with people and life.
