Interview With Artist Cherie Lee
Congratulations to Cherie Lee for earning her place as a Finalist in the Boynes Artist Award 10th Edition!
Who are you?
I'm a self-taught, Philadelphia born-&-bread artist with a long background in both traditional and modern mediums, usually applied untraditionally. Paint covered bodies more frequently than canvas, and 35mm photography became the basis for electronic image editing. Nothing close at hand was safe from alteration, and I was frequently in trouble for scratching, cutting or etching into whatever item or surface fell close to hand.
The selection of eggshell as a focus was as much by accident and circumstance as anything else. Had I access to tools, it might have been wood. Glass and metal-work have always called to me, but as a distant, luring whisper, with no direction attached.
With the 4-dimensional versatility of eggshell-as-canvas, I was able to create a variety of works with on-hand materials. They could be painted or dyed, decoupaged or adorned, outside or inside. Besides dying Easter eggs, my first piece in this medium was a diorama inside of a chicken egg, carved with just a drill bit (no drill). It would be 35 years before I acquired the tools necessary to be able to share the amazing qualities and capabilities of the large, sturdy ostrich eggshells they way they deserve to be.
Choosing to focus on family, then becoming disabled early in my children's lives, relegated my studio practice to a quietly closeted continuation, only emerging from its proverbial shell within the past several years.
What inspired you to utilize sculpture as a medium?
Growing up 'disadvantaged' gave me the tremendous advantage of having to get, well, creative. Art supplies couldn't always be supplied, but an appreciation for what you had certainly was. Some inspiration would come from necessity: "I need something I don't have, how can I solve this problem with what's around me?" Others from sheer boredom or lack of stimulation: stare at a blank wall long enough and even the smallest crack or flaw will become endlessly fascinating. We so easily overlook our surroundings, and our most valued treasures, assets and resources, to the point of periphery, until they become so invisible to us that we forget they're there. Sometimes, we even feel burdened by them, and think of them as useless, or trash in the way.
I have the firm sense that the closer you look at something, the more interesting it becomes. Looking at things directly helped me see them both as the wondrous things they really were, but also for the endless potential they all represent. How to make something already amazing better became a kind of mental game, a puzzle to solve. Never underestimate the transformational power of a bent paperclip!
As such, most of my early work involved found or reclaimed materials, attempting to turn something ordinary into something surprising. I think it's, in part, an effort to help others re-experience a sense of wonder, a refreshed appreciation for the undervalued, a joy in the "ordinary" or "mundane". I'd like to offer whatever small glimpses beyond the veil of ennui as I might, like a bell ringing in the dark.
How would you describe your ARTwork?
To me the eggshells represent the inseparable nature of strength and weakness, a balance of positive and negative, and a celebration of the humble and unrecognized. Working on eggshells is an exercise in controlled tension, where getting to completion without cracking up is the puzzle to be solved. With a goal of testing how much can be taken away from something and it still maintain its integrity, the work is a metaphor for, and celebration of, difficulty and adversity, demonstrating that even in that rigid and fixed space, the potential for boundless beauty exists.
Can you discuss the inspiration and thought process behind your finalist work?
This piece was created at a turning-point in my life and career, after unfortunate circumstances forever and unexpectedly separated me from family, friends and home-state. A self-taught, professionally 'closeted' artist with no affiliations or contemporaries known to me, I struggled for years in isolation and ignorance leading up to my first professional 'recognition': an artist residency in a large, inclusive facility.
Within minutes of my arriving, one of their many honey bee colonies swarmed, an amazing phenomenon in which a robust hive splits to form a new colony. It's one of nature’s most dazzling displays of coordinated behavior, and an honor to have witnessed.
Whatever piece I was planning to work on in my isolation before arriving was instantly forgotten in the buzz of this symbolic welcome. Here, there were shared values and visions, coordinated efforts and advancements. Here, the sums were greater than each of their wonderful parts.
Here, I felt seen and heard, wanted and appreciated.
Here, I felt home.
I could think of nothing better to commemorate, and no better way to commemorate my own time, than to memorialize this new community-driven hive –– carefully carved from a single cell, intimately aware of its fragility and strength all the while.
"The larger your beloved community, the more you can accomplish in the world.” - Thich Nhat Hanh
This piece is currently on display at Philadelphia’s Woodmere Art Museum in its 82nd annual juried exhibition.
“Community"
Hand-carved ostrich eggshell on genuine honeycomb and resin base
By Cherie Lee
Can you walk us through the technical steps of creating your finalist work?
The layout is designed directly on the egg. A great deal of attention is paid to the balance of negative and positive space, focusing on the viewing surface, but with the 'other side' always kept in mind. In many ways, these pieces are all about balance.
Incising ostrich eggshells for both function and storytelling is an ancient craft going back 60,000 years. Using high-speed rotary equipment the likes of which my predecessors could scarcely conceive, combined with a contemporary perspective, I pick up their work, painstakingly carving tales of man's daily existence into the very metaphor for life and rebirth, itself.
A strong interest in concepts such as positive and negative space (and circumstance), ‘empty’ versus ‘filled’ and the delicate balance between strength and weakness all direct my work toward minimalist subtractive sculpture, where I question how much can be taken away from something and it still maintain its integrity.
Using the common and easily recognizable egg as canvas, an ordinary, overlooked and underestimated material otherwise discarded, I test its notorious fragility by emptying it further, slowly grinding away at its surface, removing more and more of its solidity, as the tension in the surface (and the studio!) grows while I push it to its limits, revealing its true strength and its vulnerable beauty; leaving just enough behind left to tell the story.
A bit of a purist, I do not "treat" or finish the eggshells with anything other than a UV spray coating, to protect discoloration of the shells as they age.
What do you hope to communicate to an audience with your work?
I'd like us to embrace curiosity like it were a liferaft carrying us to the other shore. Bringing this curiosity when we encounter new people-ideas-things, "familiar" people-ideas-things, and even our own opinions and biases expands our compassion and empathy in direct proportion. If the only tool I have on hand to achieve that end is a single piece of paper, a stiff piece of wire or a cracked eggshell, then I'll make it the best damned piece of paper, wire, or shell it can be.
Can you talk about your biggest learning experience during the process of creating your work?
The extent to which something is a failure is determined only by how tightly you are clinging to a story of it. It's the willingness to let the story change as the piece does that defines its success or failure.
My most poignant example would be the fate of the “Shell of Shells”. Designed and waiting for 4 years before I was able to land my first artist residency (the only opportunity I have to ply my craft), determined to complete my most challenging piece to date, I drilled furiously, all day, every day for a month. I tested my material, my tool and myself like never before. It reached completion without a flaw, and I swelled with pride. Wanting to share it right away with friends and family back home, I set it up right away for its debut photoshoot, only to watch it roll right off its pedestal, crashing down to the floor.
It became my most beautiful piece, right when it did.
(It would have been less painful, if I had known that at the time).
“It's Just A Scratch"
Hand-carved ostrich eggshell
By Cherie Lee
Can you discuss your biggest success since starting your artistic journey?
Every day I don't cut off an ear is a success! Thinking in terms of successes can make you fearful of failures, and those are the leaps forward which propel growth. Rather than putting an ill-defined goal on a hazily distant horizon, I believe it's what I do in this very moment which determines the direction I'm moving. It's the choices made in each moment which steer the direction that. Sometimes, it really can be as small as just getting out of bed. If that's the success you're having right now, don't compare or diminish it - celebrate it for the momentous victory it is. Then, reward yourself with another (and another...).
“A Delicate Note"
Hand-carved ostrich eggshell
By Cherie Lee
Can you share with us the best piece of advice you you wish you had known at the start of your career?
Breathe in. Breathe out.
All else is distraction.
“Shell Of Shells"
Hand-carved ostrich eggshell
By Cherie Lee
As a finalist, do you have any advice for artists who want to apply for awards, competitions, residencies, etc.?
Vet where you submit to well. Understand the 'who's, 'where's and 'why' you are submitting, and prioritize those that will benefit and advance you most. Keep your intention and direction in mind, and don't feel a pressure to overextend yourself. If any of these opportunities are good, they almost always come back around. Keep those in sight until the time is right for you.
Artists edit: With no additional connection to the Boynes Artist Award outside of this application, I wanted to add that my recent dealings with this fine organisation beautifully underscores my sentiment stated above. Eager to advance the careers and experiences of artists worldwide, a Boynes Award goes beyond a simple exhibit, and offers opportunities to expand in meaningful ways. The help and support received from them has been laudable, and exemplifies the finest in artistic support. These are the values to seek and share.
“The Some Of My Parts"
Hand-carved ostrich eggshell
By Cherie Lee
What projects are you working on currently? Can you discuss them?
HOORAY! Exciting new directions and diversions are plowing an entirely different and unexpected path into uncharted territories! The R.A.N.T & R.A.V.E Initiative began as my first immersive installation of larger-scale sculptures of diverse construct, returning to my origins of reclaimed materials in an effort to reclaim my origins of birthright. Asking us to recognize abuse, neglect and trauma, the project has evolved into a public awareness and empowerment campaign working in conjunction with the children and families most impacted and the agencies who serve them.
With a hopeful launch date of April, 2025, I look forward to the process ahead. Stay tuned for more!
SNEAK PEAK!! RANT & RAVE Initiative
By Cherie Lee
What is your dream project or piece that you hope to accomplish?
The long, windy path of the R.A.N.T and R.A.V.E Initiative is the process I'm most vested in for the immediate future. On the far side of that I foresee a return to the eggshells I so enjoy, already itching to explore new processes and experimentation.
“Uplifted"
Hand-carved ostrich eggshell
By Cherie Lee