CH // What is your creative process?
 
NN // I often start with sorting or organizing or cleaning, doing some mundane task that allows my brain to relax into a flow. From there I am able to move into a more creative task. I bounce between sketching, hand building with clay and making molds for pressing fiber pulp. The multiple processes help to keep my creative energy up and ideas flowing.
 

CH // When or where do you feel the most creative?
 
NN // Exploring new places often will spark creativity in me and pull me out of a rut. I am my most creative when I am mid project in my studio, I have my newest ideas in the middle of working.

CH // Has living in the Pacific Northwest influenced your work?
 
NN // My husband and I moved to the Pacific Northwest to get a little space and slow down the pace of life after living in LA for over a decade. I’ve had the opportunity to work consistently on my practice in a way that I couldn’t before. Life has less demands than it did when we lived in a bigger city which in turn has given me more mental and physical space to create. I have also pushed into darker and moodier tones which certainly is an influence of the abundance of cloud cover.

CH // Who is on your radar these days?

NN // I can’t get enough of listening to Django Reinhardt in my studio. The metal and shell objects by Alanna Burns. The table lamps by Adam D Miller.

CH // Tell us about one of your favorite pieces.
 
NN // “Intervals” is one of the first pieces I made using this specific pigment, and I love the saturation of the color. These paper sculptures in general were born out of the pandemic and a longing for exploration and travel. I took a lot of isolated drives around Los Angeles at the time and enjoyed getting from one side of the city to the other in under 20 minutes. I drove through all the canyons and was enamored by the winding roads and hairpin turns in contrast to the hard lines of city grid streets. I started pulling all the line work from maps of different parts of Los Angeles and California and working them into the paper molds. These pieces were a way of exploring even when the whole world was shut down.

CH // How do you know when a work is finished?
 
NN // For me, it is more of an intuitive feeling than anything else. Some pieces are never finished and just sit in my studio. Some pieces don’t ever feel right to share with the world and I keep them as reference points for future pieces.
 
 
CH // What is next for you?
 
NN // I am working on a series of sculptural ceramic lamps. I am still working out the shades but I am very excited to see them come together.