#sparkchamber 053022 — Ruthie Moccia
Spirit and energy fill #sparkchamber today as we welcome artist Ruthie Moccia. Her last name is pronounced matcha like the tea, and her vibrance lives up to the imagery. She lives her life in the moment, off the beaten path, following her instincts until she meets up with something or someone fascinating. In her own words:
After getting an undergraduate degree in art, I found the field daunting. Teaching art to grades K-12 left me exhausted from controlling students, and hoarse from talking so much. I switched to the drawing boards and light boxes of Hallmark Cards, Inc., where I performed color separation for print preparation … and realized I did need some kind of human interaction.
The solution? Back to school, where I earned two more professional degrees in psychology. I met great people, had my own office space, and helped whoever came to me. I was a good psychotherapist because I’m creative. I never adopted the psychobabble, nor the newly named trends based on ancient good sense. I brought art as therapy to my clients when it helped our understanding.
I loved all of that for nearly 40 years while I produced my own art on the side. I kept my camera and my paints busy and enjoyed creating signs or special party invitations for friends. It was like having two careers, and many times I wished for another body.
Now, in retirement, I have the time and inclination to become more absorbed into the art community and to share my work; even put it up for purchase. I love it when I feel free to let my days flow and put my energy into any aspect of the arts I choose. It’s a lovely life.
1.] Where do ideas come from?
I have a feeling that ideas come from a longer process than we perceive. I imagine an idea growing to be like an odd-shaped tapestry being woven randomly with different colors and textures of thread coming together. The weaving happens over time and perhaps subconsciously. Those threads are spinning out from everything we know, everything we feel, and everything we see. When enough threads have gathered, something vaguely recognizable begins to form. As we observe, inside and outside ourselves, we recognize what is growing and build on it with what is relevant and current for us.
Maintaining a state of flow is important throughout this entire process. Flow leaves us open for serendipity which throws things together in an unexpected but fitting way to expand our world and our world of ideas. It makes us feel as if we are in the right place at the right time. It makes us feel “seen.” Our growing tapestry becomes a living thing within us. When we speak it, or try to show it, it becomes an idea.
2.] What is the itch you are scratching?
I have a restlessness that constantly needs to be conquered or satiated. Travel can take care of it but it’s costly in time. [At one point of extreme restlessness, which was the result of burnout, I traveled for several months without settling in anywhere for more than 24 hours.] I believe it comes from a need for novelty or to find something different from what I know.
Creating in paint or words or pictures brings something new into the world and I get to enjoy that. It is actually all “play” to me. And, isn’t it true that all work and no play... At any rate, it’s important I make time for play, or an itch can become a rash.
3.] Early bird or night owl? Tortoise or hare?
Usually I find it hard to stop on a piece once I’ve started. I’ve painted through the night, but as I’ve aged I've also learned to keep a healthy sleep schedule. When time is a luxury I don’t have, I keep a piece going by doing a little at a time when I can work it in. I’m slow-paced by nature. I might be a “night-tortoise.” A deadline helps, and as one person said, “As time approaches termination, effort approaches infinity.”
4.] How do you know when you are done?
I catch myself smiling as I work. It feels nice to smile so I stop working to guess what it is about, then realize I’m smiling because I like how the piece is turning out. I’m finished at that point. To go any further brings disaster!
