[CT] You have had a long active life as an artist. At the age of 90, looking back over your creative life, how did it get started and develop over time?
[MEL] My journey through these last 60 years as an artist started when I was a mother of 2 sons living in a university community. The community was a resource for my growth - night time painting classes, backyard art sales, attending art events at the university. I socialized with a variety of creative people ( musicians, actors, dancers and visual artists). I observed the dedication and involvement that these people brought to their work and that impressed me. I learned so much from projects doing together - filmmaking, dancing, and costuming.
[CT] Yes, I had very similar college experiences. In fact I actively thought of the college as a resource for studio space, equipment, for conversations with other art students, incorporating wisdom and insight from my professors into my own way of thinking. All of that close quarters interaction with other creatives I found to be formative for myself. I still, to this day, have the words of several of my teachers come to mind when I am working. I went to college off and on from 1974 to 2009. As an artist you don’t actually need a degree. It is basically worthless since, as an artist you don’t plan to use the degree for getting a job. You just want the knowledge, the art community connections and the skill set. That is where the value is.
[MEL] My studio was a center for neighbor kids to make art. I learned from them - their natural approach to their art expressions.
My first exhibiting experiences grew from open studios - sharing with other community artists to joining an artist cooperative gallery. Eventually I entered art competitions and gained gallery representation. Through these experiences I wasn't saddened about rejections - the participation was the point - entering the big world of art.
[CT] I agree that you cannot take rejection personal. You only want to have representation by dealers that understand and are engaged in what you are doing. Everybody else doesn’t really matter, they are background noise.
OM.2022.011 - Mary Ellen Long - USA - LETTER OF JAPAN - collage on paper - 11.75 x 9 inches - gift of the artist
[MEL] When my children were in their teens I returned to college to earn degrees. The experience opened my eyes to various media - My painting and printmaking led to making artists' books and papermaking These forms of media educated me about mixed media and collage.
[CT] That make a lot of sense looking at your collages, there is clearly a true reverence for the book arts and papermaking and documents and it seems the foundation for your aesthetic.
[MEL] A move from California to the mountains of Colorado and travel experiences lead to involvement in environment art installations which has informed my work to the present time.
[CT] I love Southern Colorado too. You live in the Durango area, we lived in Pagosa Springs for a number of years then moved a little further south to the high desert. Nisa continued her education at UNM. Rosalia loved the mountains and the pine forest in the Pagosa Springs area and we spent many a day traveling the hour over to Durango where Nisa was born and where she went to school later for her freshman year at Fort Lewis College in Durango.
[MEL] I learned over the years that there is not one right way to enter into the world of art. Being an artist without school first was a perfect way for me. I was inspired by artists that I discovered through going to the art spaces, travel, and researching the art sections in libraries. Continuously soaking up art, having crushes on artists of the past or present.
[CT] I agree, every artist is self-taught in the end and must find their own unique way into the world of art and we are all talking to each other across the generations through our work. So, what would you say, what advice or suggestions or insights would you share with young artists looking to pursue their creative life for a lifetime?
[MEL] I would tell younger artists:
“Look at and study the art in the past and of contemporary times - weave other artists' ideas into your work.”
It is true that artists get their ideas from other artists. To young artists I say:
“Think about of your artmaking as a mediation - just solely for you alone.”
The joy and pleasure follows when you share your art with others - leaving a part of yourself and your discoveries for others to experience.
Mary Ellen Long was born in Los Angeles and lived in North San Diego County before moving to Durango, Colorado 34 years ago. A multi-media artist, she exhibits throughout the wide world of art. She received BA and MA degrees from San Diego State and has received grants from the Colorado Arts Council. Mary Ellen has been a featured artist at The Center for Book Arts in New York City and has been an artist-in-residence at Edgemont Highlands in Durango creating outdoor environmental art for 9 years. Her book art has been placed in collections such as the Sackner Archive, MOMA Library, UCSD Special Collections, The Athenaeum in La Jolla, California and the National Museum for Women in the Arts Library. A recent retrospective “Journey of the Artist” was shown at Fort Lewis College Art Gallery in Durango, Colorado.
https://www.maryellenlongart.com/
Conversation with Cecil Touchon, Summer, 2024
