Ask the Artist Series No. 01: Emily Tucci
Ask the Artist is a Q&A blog series where Sarah Jackson interviews artists about the work they do, their creative process, and the joys and struggles they face as an artist and a person. Each blog post focuses on a single artist in the Phoenixville art community.
Nature has always been the impetus of inspiration for Emily Tucci. Growing up, her pets were always considered members of the family, she and her husband embrace a vegan lifestyle, and her entire master’s thesis focused elephant conservation and the psychology and ethos behind poaching. As an artist, illustrator, and designer, Emily has transferred that love and care for nature into her artwork by drawing inspiration from the world around her and incorporating natural materials into her pieces.
Read the Q&A below to learn about Emily’s process, the pieces she’s most proud of, and how she hopes to grow in 2024.
Sarah: Where do you draw inspiration for your art?
Emily: It starts with a specific animal that I’m drawn to. I’m really into the geometry and the anatomy of animals, and I’m always amazed by the fact that the colors that exist in birds and fish and plants are colors that don’t exist anywhere else in nature. Humans have to create them in a factory to try to mimic them. Color is a really big thing for me, but I also love the textures of nature. When my husband and I go on a hike and I find dehydrated flowers or stems, I get fascinated by the imprints that they make and the textures that they feel like in your hands. I’m very much into the tactility of things!
S: What about your process has changed over time?
E: I learned that if something doesn’t work, I’ll figure out how to make it work. Plan A will never work, and plan B will probably never work either, but once you get to plan H, that's where the good stuff happens. It’s all about the love of failure. I kind of adore it when something doesn't work. Normally, when something doesn't work, I can use what I’ve learned from that process in another project, and it leads to other ideas. As a teacher, I try to communicate that. I teach in a college prep school, and even in middle school they’re like, “No, we cannot fail. My sketches have to be perfect.” So, I try to teach them how to draw ugly drawings and to not be precious with anything.
S: What’s a rewarding part of being an artist?
E: I care a lot and emotionally relate to things that I make in a hundred-and-fifty percent empathetic way. There was a point where I had all my animal wildlife sculptures in one area in my studio when I was in grad school, and I would come in and when I’d see them, I’d say hi. They’re my friends! I made them, and I love them. I truly love and am protective of and cherish my work, partially because I work with animals as my inspiration and I’m so passionate about animals in all aspects of my life. I love having people specifically ask me for portraits of their animals because I know that they love them as much as I love all animals.
S: What piece or collection are you most proud of?
E: I started doing more abstracted dehydrated flower stem paintings, which came out of a therapy process. I carry a lot of anxiety, so I just try and find a way to make that useful because when I feel like that, I’m the least useful person and I'm not benefiting anyone around me. So they're very in-the-moment, reactionary, tactile carvings into the material that are part of my therapy. They’re a part of me trying to visualize and make sense of the things that I'm feeling. I've never really done work like that before, and I’m so proud of it.
S: What would you tell your past artist self?
E: Calm down and just breathe for a minute. When I go, I’m like the Energizer Bunny windup toy, and I just bulldoze. I’m kind to literally everyone but myself. The things that I think and the things that I say to myself are not beneficial for me in any aspect, especially my heart, and they make me fearful to take risks or fail or screw up and be embarrassed. I feel like I carried that anxiety around for years. But I’m going to screw things up, and it’s going to happen, and I will figure it out. So that’s my advice. Calm down.
S: What’s one thing you hope to accomplish in 2024?
E: I want to have my first client for wedding design stationery! I did all my own wedding suites, and I did all of my sister’s, who’s getting married in May. So, now I want someone to find me through my website, contact me, and start collaborating. Because what I create is all about personalization. I don’t like doing, “Oh, I think this is pretty, don't you?” I want you to tell me about you. I want to know what your love story is and what you care about, and I want that to be in your wedding illustration.
S: How do you protect your energy as an artist?
E: I'm an intense introvert, so teaching and managing 300 kids is a lot. I find the act of going out at night during the school week very hard, and on weekends, I’m trying to be social because I know I should be. But really all I want to do is be at home and work on all my little projects at once. That's my time to make art. And so when we have too many weekend plans, I actually get angry. I don't want to do that, I just want to draw! Leave me be. So, my boss made a really good suggestion where he said, “One hour after school every day in your studio, that’s your art time.” If I don't make a single thing and I just think, that counts. If I want to work on multiple different projects at once, that counts. I’ve really been trying to do at least an hour every day and make that my working hour.
Emily will be participating in the Green Olive Arts Residency in Morocco this summer, and you can find her work on Instagram @foxandwillowdesign_emilytucci or check out her website foxandwillowdesign.com
This interview was conducted by Phoenixville-based writer and editor Sarah Jackson. Visit Sarah’s website to learn more about her work and how to get connected.
