Amelia Eldridge

Artist

"In this time of increased global sadness, I would hope that people who do not normally make things can start doing so to fill the time they have, and empty their mind even just a little bit."

What are you working on?

I am currently working on a body of work inspired by my recent artist residency at CreateSpace Wales, and my subsequent time spent traveling and exploring the folklore and land of the ancient Welsh culture.

Has your work shifted in response to the pandemic? How?

My work has not really changed in response to the pandemic, in either its themes or methods of creation. Most of my work is created in more or less isolation, either within my room or outside in the woods, etc. I often talk to the things that I am making because they are alive to me. That said, I do consider myself to be very lucky to live out in the country, and to be able to just wander into the woods without encountering anyone else in the process. Since I only just got back from Wales, in most respects I still feel like my heart and mind is in West and North Wales, so spending time alone really helps to cultivate those feelings.

What is the role that art can play in helping us confront our new reality?

I think creativity can provide an important outlet for people during this time. My work has always functioned as a way for me to process my thoughts, feelings, and environment, as well as helping me to get out of my head and transcend into the sensual world. In this time of increased global sadness, I would hope that people who do not normally make things can start doing so to fill the time they have, and empty their mind even just a little bit. This doesn't even have to be making "art" per say, but finding something worthwhile to create and get their hands into, and to see through fruition. People have been doing it since Before Common Era. It can be scary at first, but it doesn't have to stay that way.

Amelia Eldridge is an artist living in the woods north of Baltimore, MD. Her work is concerned with the structure of the human form, and most recently its relationship to the spirits and textures of the natural world. See more of her work here.