Food & Drink
Nancy Guppy Interviews Visual Artist Joey Veltkamp
Nancy Guppy gets nostalgic with Seattle-based multidisciplinary visual artist Joey Veltkamp
By Nancy Guppy March 12, 2014
This article originally appeared in the April 2014 issue of Seattle magazine.
!–paging_filter–pJoey Veltkamp is known for making art that highlights the beauty of comfort—such as his drawings of striped blankets, paintings of bears with rainbows and his sweet ceramic ghosts. In his new show, emThis Is Not a Protest. It’s a Celebration!/em, he premieres a series of handmade quilts and flags (one, an homage to Pussy Riot; another, embroidered with Nirvana lyrics) at ArtsWest. 4/17–6/7. a href=”http://www.artswest.org” target=”_blank”artswest.org/abrstrongbrLOCATION: /strongCupcake Royale on Capitol Hill, a Monday morning in JanuarybrstrongVELTKAMP’S DRINK:/strong 12-ounce drip, blackbrbrstrongNG: /strongGive me the elevator pitch for your show of contemporary quilts and flags. nbsp;brstrongJV:/strong It’s a protest. It’s a celebration. It’s got feminism. It’s got gender expectation. It’s gonna be a weird one.brbrstrongNG:/strong Did you have a blankie as a kid? brstrongJV:/strong The closest I had, and it probably influenced my quilting, was my Aunt Anna made me a Star Wars quilt. It’s the only thing I have from my childhood, so I always pull it out when I’m sick. brbrstrongNG: /strongYour work has a strong edge of nostalgia. Do you long for the past?brstrongJV:/strong Yeah. I was a kid in the 1970s, and we had Grizzly Adams and all these sun-filtered commercials, plus that Coca-Cola song “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing.” Everything was good in the ’70s. brbrstrongNG: /strongYour work also has a soft sensibility. Are you in touch with your feminine side?brstrongJV: /strongOh yeah! If there were a box that I could check that was 50 percent man and 50 percent woman, I would check it. brbrstrongNG:/strong What do you see when you look in the mirror? brstrongJV:/strong I see a lot of beard. A lot of fur. brbrstrongNG: /strongIf you could be a superhero, what would your superpower be?brstrongJV:/strong I don’t have a lot of room for negative talk, so my superpower would be making people feel better. A real-life Care Bear. brbrstrongNG:/strong What would you want written on your gravestone? brstrongJV:/strong I wouldn’t want one. It sounds too permanent. Just throw my remains in the air, or turn them into diamonds and make all my friends wear them./p
pstrongNG:/strong You had a midlife crisis at 40—what was the result?brstrongJV:/strong The result was I was able to slow life down. I got involved with a program on mindfulness that encourages you to work on one thing at a time./p
pstrongNG:/strong Would you attribute [midlife crisis] more to your mother or your father?brstrongJV:/strong I would say my father. When I was 7, I fell off a horse and broke my arm, and the response was “Let’s go shoot guns, because that’ll make you feel better.” At 42, I’ve come to understand that he did the best he could./p
pstrongNG:/strong Did you use recycled fabric?brstrongJV:/strong I work with new and used. I’m pro-recycling, but some people are like, “I don’t want to sleep with clothes from someone I don’t know!” so I’ve learned to put more of the recycled stuff into the flags./p
pstrongNG:/strong If you could enforce one rule or one law, what would it be?brstrongJV:/strong Turn signals. Using turn signals. It drives me nuts./p
pstrongNG:/strong When do you know something someone else has made is good?brstrongJV: /strongThe obvious way is when I see something and I want it. The other way is when I hate something, because there’s a good chance that in two years, it’ll be my favorite thing./p
pstrongNG:/strong Are you a leader or a follower?brstrongJV:/strong I’m adopted and have always felt like an alien, so I’ve had to carve out space for myself and my interests. I just wanna do my own thing./p
pstrongNG: /strongWhen do you know something you made is good?brstrongJV:/strong The joke answer is when it gets enough likes on Facebook. The real answer, and the best measure with the quilts, is “Is it weird enough?”/p
pstrongNG:/strong Are you afraid of dying?brstrongJV: /strongThere have been points in my life where I’ve been down enough to think, “What would it be like to be dead?” but then you have summer in Seattle and you think, “Oh my God, I’m not going anywhere!”/p
pbrNancy Guppy showcases Seattle artists on her show, Art Zone (a href=”http://www.seattlechannel.org/artzone” target=”_blank”seattlechannel.org/artzone/a)./p
Follow Us
Book Excerpt: Old White Man Writing
Seattle resident Joshua Gidding examines his own white privilege
In his book, Old White Man Writing, Seattle resident Joshua Gidding attempts to come to terms with his privilege. Gidding grapples with the rapidly changing cultural norms in 21st-century America while examining his own racial biases and prejudices. As Manhattan Book Review notes: “Old White Man Writing is an introspective deep dive into an eventful life…
Glacial Expressions
Local scientist and painter Jill Pelto spotlights climate change in a multi-artist show at Slip Gallery
The divide between the arts and sciences is long-fostered and well-documented. From elementary school onward, children are often singled out for their penchant for math or artistic ability and guided toward classes — and later careers — that align with their right or left brain tendencies. For Jill Pelto — a local climate scientist, painter,…
How Taproot Theatre Survived A Financial Crisis
Theatre is planning for its 50th birthday next year
Karen Lund vividly remembers that sinking feeling she had in the fall of 2023. That was when Lund, producing artistic director of Taproot Theatre Co., first realized that the financially strapped, midsized professional theatre in the Greenwood neighborhood might not survive. The theatre had already weathered the worst of the pandemic, but costs were mounting….
Humanities Washington Fights ‘Midnight’ Cuts
Nonprofit loses previously approved federal grants with little warning
The letter came without warning, like a slap in the face from an invisible hand. Humanities Washington CEO and Executive Director Julie Ziegler had already been talking with peers in other states, and she readied herself for the blow. The National Endowment for the Humanities (think DOGE) had terminated her nonprofit’s previously awarded federal grant…