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March 2017
Interview Glory Tacheenie-Campoy |
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Glory Tacheenie-Campoy is unusual among southern Arizona artists. She works in printmaking, painting, and collage as her primary mediums, and her imagery is frequently abstract. In addition, she brings brings a unique cultural perspective because of her indigenous heritage.
SAN: Glory, you are a member of the Navajo Nation, and you grew up in northern Arizona. What brought you to live in southern Arizona and in Tucson?
Glory Tacheenie-Campoy: Interdisciplinary studies in American Indian Studies (AIS), and Fine Arts (sculpture and jewelry) at the University of Arizona. Married a Tucson native, stayed in Tucson, worked with elementary aged children and special education in public schools for several years. I retired early and devoted my time creating art, teaching art and volunteering with nonprofit organizations including Tucson Pima Arts Council, Central Arts Collective, Arts Genesis, Atlatl (Native Arts organization), Arizona Print Group, Raices Taller 222 Art Gallery and Workshop, and the annual Fall Open Studio Tour
SAN: Have you always been an artist, even from childhood, or is it something you came to in adulthood?
GT-C: I have always enjoyed making things. I grew up in a community where artists, builders, ranchers, shepherds, and farmers worked hard to survive. My family made clothes, moccasins, quilts, rugs, and jewelry.
SAN: Glory, you are a member of the Navajo Nation, and you grew up in northern Arizona. What brought you to live in southern Arizona and in Tucson?
Glory Tacheenie-Campoy: Interdisciplinary studies in American Indian Studies (AIS), and Fine Arts (sculpture and jewelry) at the University of Arizona. Married a Tucson native, stayed in Tucson, worked with elementary aged children and special education in public schools for several years. I retired early and devoted my time creating art, teaching art and volunteering with nonprofit organizations including Tucson Pima Arts Council, Central Arts Collective, Arts Genesis, Atlatl (Native Arts organization), Arizona Print Group, Raices Taller 222 Art Gallery and Workshop, and the annual Fall Open Studio Tour
SAN: Have you always been an artist, even from childhood, or is it something you came to in adulthood?
GT-C: I have always enjoyed making things. I grew up in a community where artists, builders, ranchers, shepherds, and farmers worked hard to survive. My family made clothes, moccasins, quilts, rugs, and jewelry.
Monotype
SAN: You work in collage, acrylic painting, and print making. Do you consider yourself primarily a print maker? Or are all three methods of equal important to you?
GT-C: All three are important form of self-expression and communication.
SAN: Tell us about your print making. There are many methods of making artist’s prints, among them relief printmaking (linocuts, woodcuts), monotypes, intaglio methods, screen printing and more. Do you employ more than one method? Do you have a favorite method?
GT-C: Building a relief, Intaglio, or monotype plate takes time .The reward is the final stage of printing the plate with amazing color and image on paper.
GT-C: All three are important form of self-expression and communication.
SAN: Tell us about your print making. There are many methods of making artist’s prints, among them relief printmaking (linocuts, woodcuts), monotypes, intaglio methods, screen printing and more. Do you employ more than one method? Do you have a favorite method?
GT-C: Building a relief, Intaglio, or monotype plate takes time .The reward is the final stage of printing the plate with amazing color and image on paper.
Etching
SAN: What process to you use when making your prints?
GT-C: Sketches, drawings are transferred to a plate or matrix. Some ideas are spontaneous and happen in seconds, minutes, and are quickly transferred to a monotype plate for immediate printing. Intaglio and relief plates require more time, and work. Some ideas might take days, weeks or longer to come to fruition.
SAN: How about your acrylic painting and collage works? What leads you to choose one of these methods of artmaking?
GT-C: Although rewarding the printmaking process can be labor intensive. Building a picture with paint and brush, and cutting and pasting paper, old prints, paintings, drawings to make collage art are respite from printmaking.
GT-C: Sketches, drawings are transferred to a plate or matrix. Some ideas are spontaneous and happen in seconds, minutes, and are quickly transferred to a monotype plate for immediate printing. Intaglio and relief plates require more time, and work. Some ideas might take days, weeks or longer to come to fruition.
SAN: How about your acrylic painting and collage works? What leads you to choose one of these methods of artmaking?
GT-C: Although rewarding the printmaking process can be labor intensive. Building a picture with paint and brush, and cutting and pasting paper, old prints, paintings, drawings to make collage art are respite from printmaking.
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SAN: Tell us about the imagery that appears in your artwork? Many of your artworks are abstract or close to abstract. From where do your ideas come for specific works? GT-C: Memories, and daily encounters with people and the environment. GT-C: How important is your native Diné culture to the development of ideas your work? GT-C: The Dine culture, family, language and respect for the earth are powerful elements and inspiration in my art. Memories and current events are important influences … SAN: You are a member of the Arizona Print Group and the Tucson Mountains Artist Collective. Are you active in any other art groups or galleries as well? GT-C: Yes.as members we volunteer at grassroots cooperative Raices Taller 222 Gallery and Workshop, and in the fall, I participate in Tucson’s Annual Art Trails Open Studio Tour with the several Tucson Mountain Artists members. SAN: There is an ongoing discussion about the state of affairs affecting artists in southern Arizona. Do you have any thoughts on what might make life easier for artists in southern Arizona? GT-C: Join arts organizations that support artists and arts communities…. Thank you Shane and Sonoran Arts Network ! Thankful and grateful for the support of my family, friends, mentors/teachers and arts organizations. |
Floating and Flying
Etching
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To see more of Glory Tacheenie-Campoy’s work, go to:
Arizona Print Group and Tucson Mountain Artists Collective Glory working in the studio. (left)
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