While many Californians are fleeing the West Coast for the Rocky Mountain Highs of Colorado, upcoming feature artist Molly Bounds has done the opposite. While relocating to another state always requires an adjustment to surroundings, doing so just before lockdown might give additional pause for reflection. While interviewing Molly Bounds about her creative process for our upcoming Summer issue, I was struck by her very endearing candor, humor and modesty, reflected in her contribution to Art in Uncertain Times. —Gwynned Vitello
"The use of my time and how I want to spend it, that has become clearer than it ever has been to me in the last few weeks. What if time is actually very short? Will I have said all I wanted to? Given the love I wanted to give? Have I grasped the joy which was readily available to me, overflowing and abundant? I’m no longer willing to suppress my capacity for experiencing joy! What might look like regression from the outside, could be exactly the case.
"(Like many) I am left to my own devices to fill my attention, and what does that look like? To be completely honest, it’s not painting. Or at least not the way I have been painting. It’s jokes, skits and sketches, toys and puppet shows. I played imaginary games way too long in life and have recently decided it wasn’t actually enough. With all honesty I wanted to be an artist because I wanted to avoid being an adult, and that was the closest I could get to being a professional kid. In the past I’ve learned to compartmentalize my varied interests and mute certain shades of myself, because that’s sort of what art school did to me. I thought I had to pick one. But my favorite artists never did pick one. Maybe these are not end times, but it sure looks close, or at least close enough to wake me from the idea that avoiding failure is more worthy a task than living fully and authentically. So I’m trying new mediums. For the first time, I’m excited to fail." —Molly Bounds
