Cheyenne Weaver
‘Perfectionism’, 2020, ceramic and white-wash made with limestone from West Bouldin Creek, 20 x 14 x 11”
Describe your artistic style in three words.
Research, material, place.
What's inspiring you right now?
I've been listening to interviews with Robin Wall Kimmerer and reading her books, both Braiding Sweetgrass, and Gathering Moss. She's a bryologist, member of the Potawatome tribe, and founder of the founding Director of the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment. She has forged a path for merging a career in science with a deep respect for the land, which has created a much more expansive way of knowing the world. A perspective based on reciprocity, respect and the potential for greater intelligence through deeper connection with the non-human world. She's completely fascinating.
What do you do when you're feeling uninspired?
It changes frequently! Right now I watch Nova documentaries, read a wide variety of books, take walks in nature to learn about a new native plant, and then practice a specific kind of creative meditation. I find that making room in my head for quiet contemplation is the best way to access deep intention and a clear path forward.
Tell us something unique about your process.
I realized recently that my research is very separate from my process, which is materials-driven and non-linear. I have a hard time wrapping my head around a sculpture until I've started to work with the materials and listen to them. The conversation we have then determines how I move forward. Often times it's not clear to me why I'm making something until much later in the process when it becomes apparent that it connects with an idea that was sitting below the surface. I try to follow my intuition and produce without over-thinking, and then eventually things pop into place and the meaning, research, and instructions for finishing it all materialize.
What advice do you have for other artists?
Try to detach from all the ways you think you should go about making work and just follow what's exciting. Your intentions will find their way into it. Your work has to be in service to your life, otherwise it becomes a chore. We're not artists because we expect to make much money, so it has to be something you really love doing and care deeply about spending time with. I've found that the best work I make comes from doing it out of love and values, not obligation.
Free Air, 2020, watercolor on paper, wood, brick from West Bouldin Creek, 22 x 15 x 3”
Iridium layer formation; degraded subsoil clay with pollen and molar, 2019, ceramic (including clay dug from the Dairy Queen in Pojoaque, NM), 24 x 15 x 8”
Iridium layer formation; sea-level inundated clay subsoils with six-pack rings, 2019, ceramic and paper clay, 20 x 15 x 8”
One Day Only, watercolor on paper, wood, brick from West Bouldin Creek, 22 x 15 x 3”
Wall 1, 2020, brick found in West Bouldin Creek during lockdown and made from local clay, lime mortar and purple acrylic, 17 x 12 x 4”
Wall 3, 2020, brick found in West Bouldin Creek during lockdown and made from local clay, lime mortar and blue acrylic, 23 x 22 x 3”
An act of nuanced dominance, the sculpting of rock by soft bodies 25 thousand years earlier, and the red stain of ground flesh, 2019, graphite on paper, rock and cochineal beetle, 25 x 37”
An act of stark cowardice, Phobos; moon of Mars and God of fear, and the science of spectroscopy in searching for the molecular signatures of life outside our own, 2019, graphite on paper, prism and dead moth, 25 x 37”
The Yellow Wallpaper, 2019, watercolor and iron gall ink on paper, 6 x 22.5’
Cheyenne Weaver (b. San Miguel de Allende, México) is a multidisciplinary artist working primarily in sculpture and drawing. Weaver grew up in Austin, and has spent time in NY, SF, and LA. She received a BFA from CalArts in 2004 and a Masters in social design from AC4D in 2011.