Questions from Candace Garlock
1. You two have been friends for a long time. Can you tell me where you met and your first impressions of one another?
Sidne - I met Elaine not long after she married Ben Parks and moved to Tuscarora. I was still living in Battle Mountain. She became one of the Wild Women not long after that. I didn't get to know her well until I moved to Tuscarora. I was (and am still) so impressed with her amazing ceramic textures and ideas about organic shapes.
Elaine - I've always been fascinated by Sidne's work. Aside from her amazing pastel and watercolor paintings, Sidne makes all manner of small experimental books and sculpture. When she first came to Tuscarora she showed me some pieces that have stuck with me for years. Sidne made little hand made books made from sliced bones with hand made paper pages and told me about another book she made in one day, where she took photos in nature of the whole alphabet. Photographed, printed and made into a book. I never saw that one, but I think about it many years later - Often when I'm walking, if I see a "letter" out in nature, I'll think of Sidne's book.
2. When I see the discs created by you two, I think of the awe prompt: Finding awe in the mark makings of the first person. Can you tell me a little bit more about how you are inspired by each other’s marks and creativity?
Sidne - When I get one of the disks Elaine has worked on I usually think they are terrific just as they are. Then I remember that I am supposed to incorporate something into what she has done. Which is already great. I don't want to diminish what she has done and I certainly don't want to add anything that doesn't enhance hers in some way. It's a real challenge.
Elaine - I agree this is a challenge - not wanting to screw up what Sidne has begun and trying to add something that enhances what is already there. It's also fun to work from what Sidne has started, there's a sense of play and experimentation.
3. Do you feel that this collaboration process is a bit easier because you have known each other so long? There is trust there?
Sidne - Definitely trust. And yes easier because I think we both start from the same frame of mind. I have no doubt that Elaine will make something great and fun to respond to. We don't talk to each other about the disks until after we have both worked on them so each iteration is a surprise. Which makes them more an art challenge than a collaboration. It is so interesting to see what she gives me so I can answer with whatever idea I end up with. I find the small size and the round shape of the disks add to the challenge too.
Elaine - Sidne and I talked about the idea of an art challenge rather than collaboration, since we don't discuss anything ahead of time. We definitely have the trust that the other person will have a sincere approach, having fun, trying something new. What is great about this project is that it creates the opportunity for a conversation between Sidne and I and an excuse to get together more often.
4. What in Nevada inspires you the most?
Sidne - That is hard to answer. I love the huge skies, the vast horizons, the geometric contours of the land. And the colors. Definitely the colors.
Elaine - The sky, day and night, the vast views and the hidden surprises that are always there is you get off the major highways. In my mind, the vast space here is good for the imagination.
5. Overall, how do you feel about collaborations? What motivates you to continue collaborating with other artists in Nevada?
Sidne - I really think the collaborations I have taken part in have not been true collaborations. For the most part they are challenges. A collaboration implies to me that the people work together to accomplish a common goal, and they communicate throughout the making of the work. Since we don't communicate about these disks until after they are completed, the process is more challenging than collaborative. But I like a challenge. I always hope I don't let the other person down with how I respond to their offer. And it also helps me to get to know another artist better which I like.
Elaine - In my art practice, I've had a true collaboration with one artist. I think a true collaboration is very difficult and takes a lot of commitment and conversation before you
even get started. I do enjoy an art challenge such as Tiny Awe, because I enjoy spending time with my artist friends and it's a way to get together and do what we love to do. This kind of group project is great for strengthening friendships and the art community.
Sidne Teske is primarily a landscape artist, working on location with soft pastels. Although she has no formal art training, making art has been a lifelong passion. She has lived all over Nevada, spending the last 20 years in Tuscarora. Her vibrant works depict moments in a landscape often considered barren and unlovely.
She is an Emerita of the Wild Women Artists of Reno, having been active for over 20 years. Her work has been exhibited widely throughout the state, including at Sierra Arts, Western Nevada Community College in Fallon, Great Basin College in Elko, Bristlecone Gallery in Carson City, and at Nevada Humanities Gallery in Las Vegas. Teske’s works are to be found in numerous public and private collections such as Nevada Humanities, Nevada Art Council, Renown Hospital in Reno, Interlochen in Colorado, Embassy Suites at South Shore Lake Tahoe, and Harrah's High Roller Suite at South Shore, Lake Tahoe,
Teske has taught art in many Nevada communities through the Nevada Arts Council Artist in Residence program. She continues to teach workshops on an irregular basis.
Elaine is a ceramicist and a Los Angeles native. She received her MFA from California State University, Los Angeles in 1999, then moved from a town of 14 million to Tuscarora, Nevada, a town of 14. Elaine’s most recent ceramic sculptures are created as impressionistic artifacts of the desert landscape. Her work has been exhibited at the Nevada Museum of Art, Oats Park Art Center, Marjorie Barrick Museum, Sierra Arts and The Holland Project. Elaine taught art for seven years at Great Basin College in Elko and twice received the Nevada Arts Council Fellowship Award. She is a sometimes instructor, and board member of the Tuscarora Pottery School and Double Scoop Art.
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