Who are you and what do you make?
My name is Autumn and I am a visual artist and farm hand. I make prints, paintings, murals, tattoos now and again, and graphic illustrations. When I’m not making art or digging in the dirt, I write poems, rock climb, and travel.
How did you start making art?
I started making art when I was old enough to hold a pencil. I was an inspired little mind who was encouraged by teachers and mentors to keep drawing. From my first preschool finger paintings of butterflies the teacher sent home to be framed to my kindergarten drawings of how I imagined Zimbabwe and the Arctic to be, people kept saying how great they were. Perhaps as a tiny anxious kid I was pretty susceptible to these sorts of praises. Momentary prizes from Remembrance Day drawing contests and consistent arts awards in school keep me pursuing the world of visual communication. Not to mention being somewhat obsessed with any form of expression be it drawing, writing or dancing. Sometimes I wonder if I’d have had that kind of encouragement behind me in the sciences, I would be somewhere else in life but, one will never know! Unfortunately, you kind of have to take all the sciences for a while and I was only interested in plants. And slept through math. Haha. Maybe it’s just in my nature.
How would you describe your work?
I would describe my art as detailed and emotional, at least the more successful works. I’ve always gotten lost in line work and often had to dial it back for applications in print. Though I like the chance in bigger works to have space to explore more detail, except budget always gets in the way of this exploration. I appreciate when I get the chance to spend a lot of time with a work or idea and really fully apply myself to the themes and subjects present. I’d like if my artwork could bring you into a perspective or reality a little shifted from your own, create immersive feelings that really drew me to the art world in the first place.
What inspires you?
I’m inspired by concepts of home and freedom. I explore symbolism that describes certain places and chapters in my life and aspirations for the future. Even with commission work, I hope to connect to an aspect of the work that I can speak to personally. Otherwise, the work doesn’t feel authentic or worthwhile. My personal practice typically starts as paper collaged works or collected references both from my own albums or outside sources. I’ve had my grandmother’s National Geographic magazines around for some years now, cut up, glued together, and pinned to my walls. I’m inspired by plants of all kinds, houses and homey spaces, movement arts, and strong women.
What do you like most about being an artist?
What I like most about being an artist is the freedom to create your own life. I don’t fall into a typical career pathway with a strict schedule or routine so I have the ability to switch things up, drastically and often. I love that I can move locations, get side work to free up my creative flow, try something new, and jump country without a dramatic exit from some corporate job and responsibilities. I like that the expectations were low going in, like the starving artist trope has been with me from the very beginning so ever year when I make a liiiittle bit more from my art it feels like a win even though it isn’t much. I’ve also had the expectation from a young age that I will need to be frugal and adapt to this lifestyle because it is the one I chose. I read a lot of travelling on a shoestring books through my teens…
If someone likes your work and wants to see more, where can they go (besides the Museum GIft Shop, of course!)?
If you like my work and want to see more, follow my Instagram @autumnducharme. It acts as a sort of living portfolio. My website will be deactivated mid-January as it was too expensive to maintain. I also put up a few works for sale on Big Cartel that are always changing. This link is available through my instagram profile when I post new work. Keep an eye out for a Substack blog coming soon and subscribe to my inconsistent and well-spaced out newsletter or travel art mail via email: autumnducharme@hotmail.com.
Sticker sheets
Museum magents