Navigating Grief through Sculpture: Bobbi Meier’s Story

Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Hey, friends.
Welcome.
And welcome back to Nosy AFconversations about art, activism
and social change. I'm yourhost, Stephanie, and we are kicking
off season six of the show.While I'm prepping for the next few
seasons, I will be sharingsome special conversations that originally
aired on Lumpen Radio alongwith a past few episodes. So today's

(00:24):
episode features Chicago basedartist Bobbi Meier. And just a heads
up, this conversation toucheson sensitive topics, topics including
the death of a child. Soplease take care while listening.
That said, Bobbi's work isdeeply emotional and thought provoking,
using fiber and sculpture toexplore themes like power, repression,

(00:46):
and desire. I'm really excitedto share this conversation with you.
So welcome to Nosy af. Gottaget up, get up to the whole world.
You will win a winner. Visionof a star with a mission in the cause.
What you doing? How you doing,you're doing and who you are. Flex
yourself and press yourselfCheck yourself don't wreck yourself

(01:09):
if you know me then you knowthat I be knowing what's up.
Hey, Stephanie.
Graham is nosy. Oh, my gosh,Bobbi, welcome to Nosy af.
Thanks, Stephanie. I'm soexcited to be here.
So I'm so happy to have you onhere because you and I, we met back

(01:31):
in the pandemic. We took aclass together taught by artist Lynn
Basa, who's our friend, and itwas about sustaining your practice.
And one of the things thatreally stood out to me about your
work was how lovable it was.It was so colorful and squishy. And

(01:53):
I feel one of the things I'malways trying to, like, work on is
how I describe work. So I'mgoing to describe your work as squishy,
colorful towers. What do youthink about that?
I think that definitelydescribes a body of work that I made

(02:18):
as a reaction to the pandemicthat was shown at OS projects in
20. Gosh, was that 2023,maybe? No, it had to be earlier.
It was right as we were comingout of that pandemic time. And I
had this goal of making reallybright, colorful work that related

(02:38):
back to paintings I used tomake as a reaction to being cloistered.
And in this kind of situationwhere we felt, I don't know, so confined.
And it was like a way to bejoyful. Because the work previously,
just before that, not back topainting, that was a while ago, but

(03:01):
just before that, I had beenmaking work that was mostly gray
and black and was a reactionto being a caregiver for a very dear
friend who passed away andbecame memorials to her, but not
intentionally so. Then therewas moving from that darker time,
personally, to into thepandemic and then moving out and,

(03:24):
like, making this burst ofjoyful. I called them Sentinels for
innocence, meaning likeinnocent people, innocent children,
innocent adults that theywould be protectors, but playful
ones. And the titles, eventhough their innocence for sentinels

(03:44):
with each had their own uniquename, like Candyland or Coco, which
referred to a poodle I used tohave, and Misty, which really was
about a horse named Misty ofChincoteague that I used to read
that story as a kid. So it allkind of related back to childhood

(04:05):
memories and moments when Ifelt innocent and playful. So I'll
go with the squishy and colorful.
I love that. Moments ofinnocent and playful. And I feel
like now everybody's trying tobe more playful. That's like. That's

(04:28):
a word that people are justtrying to always infuse in the work
that they're doing. I'venoticed a lot, regardless of if they're
an artist or not. It's like,how can we be more playful? And I
don't know what it was aboutthe pandemic that shifted folks to
that, but, yeah, I'm glad thatit's like that now.

(04:53):
Yeah, it feels good. I mean,now we're react. Okay, I'll just.
I'm reacting, and I feel mostof my friends are to our political
situation. Not that I want togo down that path, but I feel like
the work that I make, and Ifeel this is probably true for a
lot of artists, is definitelyinfluenced by what's going on in

(05:15):
the world around us. So thepandemic, that was a big global thing
that came down to a personalsituation, and that's pretty much
with our politics. It's kindof the same idea where it's this
global situation that impacts,on a personal level. And how I deal

(05:35):
with it is through my artwork.And I can make it. That can be a
cathartic, cathartic reactionto all that, where I can play, make
play personally, but alsoengage other people in that action,

(05:56):
because that's been latelywith work and things like that. Or
even. Let's just. Yeah.Various talks on zoom and people
that I'm engaged with. Soplayfulness has come out of this,
dealing with the politicalclimate over time. I mean, it happened

(06:17):
during Pandemic. It'shappening now. And even before all
of this, when I first, when Iwas in graduate school, which was
2011, is when I graduated withan MFA from the Fiber Material Studies
department. And at thatexperience, I was able to start really

(06:39):
delving into why I make workand how it becomes cathartic for
me. And at that time, therewas. It seems like there's a tra,
Not a. Well, yeah, a tragedy,I suppose, in a way. My mother had
just passed away when I wasentered into that program, so that
definitely influenced my work.There's a lot of personal domestic

(07:04):
imagery and objects in thework. And then I started doing this
thing where the actualphysicality of twisting, binding,
stretching, moving object, youknow, like fabric or. What's that
stuff? Sculpey. You know,things play. And that's a play material.
Right. So I'm playing aroundwith that and almost as a meditation

(07:28):
as I'm taking the train orthings like that. And my mother.
I could ponder these thingsthat, you know, loss and things like
that. And art in itself can bejust an act of play too. That's okay.
And I think sometimes we gethung up as professional artists.

(07:50):
Like, it's gotta be. Have areally serious, deep meaning, which
I think that happensintuitively. And what happened for
me is I went from being prettymuch an artist who worked with two
dimensional materials,painting, drawing, and then starting

(08:11):
to work with wood, plywood,and cutting it out in shapes that
were reminiscent of WilliamMorris and those people back. Those
craftsman type people back inthe 19th century. And some of that
also alluded to patterns I'dsee in my own home growing up. My

(08:33):
mom was really traditional inher decor and, you know, flowers
on the sofa and stuff likethat. And I started making work with
literally some of the scrapsof that upholstery fabric. And. And
it gradually became 3D. Iwould take bed sheets. And this was

(08:55):
still. What happened ingraduate school is that's a time
where you're encouraged as anartist to play. And so I started
using materials I had neverused before. And then I started using
bed sheets. And they were kidsbed sheets, because I have three
kids and that's been a hugepart of my life. And then I could
start with those bed sheets Iwas wrapping them around. I don't

(09:19):
know how I did this first, butpantyhose stuffed with fiberfill.
And sometimes I'd cover it,sometimes I wouldn't. And I was also
involved with photography atthe time. And I would take the camera
and zoom in on some of thesesculptures that were so tiny, they
were like the size of my hand,but maybe there was a tuft of fiberfill

(09:42):
sticking out of something. AndI zoom in with a macro lens and Then
it became otherworldly orbecame part of the body, or it looked
like a naughty thing youshouldn't look at. And I was really
intrigued with that. So thatexperience has filtered into the
larger three dimensional workI make now, where I'm twisting and

(10:04):
binding pantyhose intocontorted shapes that I can upholster
over to and then almost sculptit. Well, it is sculpting. It's sculpting
with a staple gun and pushingthe spandex fabric, that's the upholstery
fabric over the pantyhose andpushing it into make a crease or

(10:30):
a fold. That's provocative. SoI'm searching for that provocation.
I want the viewer to feel.Well, to question, to be curious,
first of all, to think, thisis a strange thing I'm looking at.
It alludes to maybe a part ofthe body that's a little bit naughty

(10:51):
or someplace I shouldn't bethinking about. And it's playful
too, and it's awkward, andit's all those things that we as
humans, I feel, especiallywomen. But I am a woman, so I can't
speak for a man. I just feellike there's a lot of body issues
for women. And I'm playing.I'm kind of riffing on that through
these bulbous sculptures thatI make.

(11:14):
So, yes. You had an exhibitionat Epiphany at the Epiphany Center.
It is. Is that what it'scalled? Epiphany center for the Arts.
It's a art space here inChicago. When your exhibition was
there, I remember going andlooking, and there was a woman that
saw your works that were onthe wall. You had these framed, smaller

(11:38):
works with like, there waslike wallpaper with the bulbous sculptures.
And she was like, oh, theselook like my knees under a desk.
Oh. Because it's like thefilling. And it was so funny because,
you know, it was like you saidyou would have, like this squishy

(12:01):
material in the pantyhose,right? And then it would be like
they're like warped. There'sfolded and all this kind of stuff.
And I don't know what she hadjust said there just made me laugh
because it was like, maybejust like if you put your fist like,
like the curve, you know,like, it could have been like a kneecap.
Yep, yep, Absolutely.
And I'm like, okay.

(12:26):
I recently had an experienceat the Driehaus Museum, where I'm
showing work currently in agroup show called Materialities.
And there's a large Whitesculpture that is simulating marble.
It's based on materials thatare in the mansion. And this piece
has lots of inundate, youknow, folds and creases. And it looks

(12:50):
like bodies, a tower of bodiesthat are struggling, and they're
covered with white fabric. Andto me. And I intentionally do this
when I'm folding, putting thepantyhose onto an armature, and then
I know it's going to getcovered up. I want to make sure there's
bumps and texture showingthrough. So I intentionally will

(13:15):
tie off the pantyhose so thatit'll make a little bump that looks
like a nipple or somethinglike that. To me, they're very much
about the human body. So thiswoman comes in, and she's just looking
at it. She's like, first ofall, she said, well, what am I supposed
to think? I said, well, Ican't really tell you what to think.
What do you. What do you see?And she said, well, I see an elephant

(13:40):
trunk over here, and I see ateddy bear down here. Do you see
that? Like, well, no, but ifyou do, that's okay. And I felt like
I got the sense from the wayshe was looking at the work that
she was too embarrassed to saywhat she really saw, that it was
more like, oh, I'll go to thesafe place, and that's okay. I'm

(14:03):
perfectly fine with that. Ithink part of this, for me, making
work like this has been alittle bit of a social experiment.
Yeah.
You know, to see how people.I'm curious how people will react
to it. And there's that end.And then there's the mat, who came
in, like, a few minutes laterand said, hey, I need to tell you
something. I'm like, oh,what's. He said, your work makes

(14:25):
me happy, makes me feel happy.And that's great. I want people to
have a feeling when they lookat the work.
Yeah.
And that's important to mebecause I like to look at work like
that. Work that makes methink, that's not just a one off

(14:46):
that. Oh, that's a prettypicture. And then walk away, you
know?
Right. Yeah. And I think Itotally, you know, feel exactly how
that gentleman felt, you know,that your work makes him feel happy.
Cause I feel happy when I lookat your work. It is a happy place.
Oh, good. I think that's sointeresting, too, because some of

(15:06):
it comes from a really sadplace. There's a black chair that
I made in 2017 when I did theHyde Park Art center center program,
and it was. I wanted. I hadthis idea that I wanted to do an
odalisque, you know, in thiskind of bulbousy way. And I felt

(15:30):
like I needed a chaise loungeto start with. So I've been working
with furniture now for a whilewhere I take the furniture and engulf
it in these forms that I'm.Soft forms that I make. And my friend
really best. If there's a bestfriend as a grownup, she was a best

(15:51):
friend. So she was sick. And Imean, I knew that she knew that we
didn't know what was going tohappen, but she was always a huge
supporter of my work. And shehappened to be going for a walk slowly
outside with her husband andshe happened to see her neighbor
walking out of the house witha child's green upholstered blind.

(16:13):
Green upholstered chaiselounge. And she texted me this picture
and she's like, hey, do youwant this? And I said, how much?
She said, it's free. Myneighbor's getting rid of it. So
Sandy is her name. And she.She turned me on to this chaise lounge
that ended up. Over the courseof a year, as Sandy was getting more

(16:38):
and more sick and I was goingback and forth between Hyde park
at the art center and way outin the western suburbs to where she
was, that piece started toemerge. It sat in the studio for
a long time, just as thisgreen sofa that my dog would lie
on. And then over time, I hada student intern for a couple of

(17:02):
weeks and I said, here's whatyou need to do. Strip off all the
upholstery and get everythingoff of it. So then it was the springs
and the form and it just. Itwas bare. So it removed that previous
history and now it's. Istarted building this form that turned
into a muscular lookingpleather covered. It's not really

(17:28):
pleather, but it looks likeit. Black sofa or chair? Basically
it looks like a chair. Thesprings are revealed. There's pantyhose
stuffed into that, there'spantyhose around it, but it's covered
with this amazing spandex thatlooks like leather. And I learned
how to tuft. So. Okay, tuftingis. Yeah, it's putting those using

(17:53):
a needle that's about 8 to 12inches long. And it was a very. It
was a wonderful experience inhindsight, you know, the whole making
of it over time and. And thengiving a talk in the Hyde Park Art
center like three days afterSandy died. And that's when it was
revealed to me what that piecewas about, because prior to that,

(18:16):
it was just the making, thecaregiving, and then here it is.
This thing has become amemorial to that experience and to
that friend. So the work, Ithink, does definitely. I want there
to be humor in it and thisplayful nature. And then a lot of
times, it comes from a deep, adarker place.

(18:39):
Yeah. It reminds me of comedyin a way. You know, like, comedians,
like, they'll tell thesewonderful stories and these jokes,
and then sometimes when you,like, in an interview with them,
they'll tell you where thestory originated. And it's, you know,
sometimes. Oftentimes, likesad beginnings, you know, or like

(19:00):
a sad story that they've endedup finding humor in.
Right, right. Yeah. There's abackground that we don't know unless
they share it with us. SoFelix Gonzalez Torres, his work.
I forget the title of thatpiece with the candy in the corner.
Do you know what I'm talking about?
Oh, I do know.

(19:22):
It was that. It's the bodyweight of his partner.
Yeah. Let me actually look it up.
Yeah.
Oh, it's called UntitledPortrait of Ross in la. Wow.
Oh, yeah. Okay. So I want to.Can we talk about that for a minute?
Yeah, yeah, let's talk aboutthat. That's a really, really moving

(19:47):
piece.
It. I know. Even thinkingabout it makes me want to cry.
Yeah.
But also in a happy way. So,Felix Gonzalez Torres, untitled Portrait
of Ross in la. The first timeI saw that piece was when I was still
teaching high school. Ibrought my kids. It was at the mca,

(20:12):
I think. Yeah, it was at themca. And. And we're walking by this
piece, and the kids are allexcited because it's candy and they
can take a piece. And then wetalked about it, and that's all they
saw at first. And so we had totalk about it and the title of the
work and what? Every time theywere taking a piece, they were taking

(20:36):
a piece of his partner,basically, because they refill it
every day so that it's alwaysthe same weight and then it's removed
over the course of the day.And the kids, I mean, they were kind
of freaked out that art can belike that. Do you know what I mean?

(20:59):
And for me, that work is sodeep and meaningful in a seemingly
simple way that that's what Iaspire to, even though I'm making
things that look like thesecrazy nouveau baroque objects. Yeah,

(21:20):
but he has. He's been aninspiration, for sure.
Yeah. Yeah. His work.
His work.
That piece. I remember myselftalking with friends, being younger,
just eating the candy. Off ofthat. And then one day we looked
at what that piece was, and itdoes stop you in your tracks. Yeah,

(21:48):
yeah, it is. Yeah, it is themost. Mm. It's just very, very. It's
just something where you'regoing, like, so casual talking. Oh,
yeah, let me get. Cause, youknow, for the listener who haven't
seen it, it's, you know, candythat's in the corner, and it's just
a bunch. A bunch. It's almostas if like a dump truck just poured

(22:08):
a bunch of like, cinnamon disccandy, peppermint candy into the
corner. And so you just get itand you're like, oh, yeah, I'll take
a blue one. I'll take a pinkone. You're just picking your colors.
And then you read about it andyou're just like, man, that is terrible.
This is terrible. You're like,we're just casually eating this candy.

(22:30):
Also, it made me sad thatFelix lost his partner. You know,
it made me sad about aids. Youknow, all of these things. It's just
like, dang.
Right.
Artist Victoria Fuller at her.She has a show up at Governor State.

(22:55):
Yeah.
Yeah. And have you been. Haveyou seen that work?
Not. Well, some of it I'veseen in person. I did not make it
down to the show.
Okay. Well, there was you.Maybe you've seen this work. But
she has this rhinoceros piece.
Yeah.
And it is a piece where you goin for the listener, you go into

(23:18):
the gallery and it is thislife size rhinoceros and you see
it, but it takes you a minutebefore you get there because there's
a bunch of other artwork tosee. So as I'm browsing around at
the artwork, the rhinocerosfalls over. And me and this other

(23:38):
gentleman stopped and lookedand it just folded over. And so when
I get to. Is about the laststanding rhinoceros of this particular
rhinoceros species and himpassing away and how now the. That
rhinoceros species is extinct.

(23:59):
Yeah.
And it's like. It's just. Itjust. I just sat there and just stood
at it and I'm just like, dang.You know?
Right.
So, yeah, moving pieces likethat just. It just stops you in your
tracks.
It does. I had a show at NorthPark University about a year, a little

(24:24):
over a year ago, and the workwas all these. I call them portraits.
They're tapestries or actuallyneedle points that are repurposed
that originally this ties backinto partially into the black chair

(24:47):
I just described. Because whenI went to learn how to do the tufting
I went to.
See.
Upholsterer in Berwyn whoSabina Ott was using, and her. This
is kind of a convoluted story,but her mother's chairs were there

(25:08):
to be reupholstered diningroom chairs. And so the dining room,
the vintage cloth had beenremoved and was kind of tossed aside.
And I'm talking to Mario, theshop owner, and he's the one that
told me, oh, these belong toyour friend, who. She recommended
that I go to him. Anyway, Isee those pieces of fabric, and I

(25:28):
said, are you gonna just tossthose? Oh, no, she wants them back.
So the long story short is Iasked Sabina if I could have those
if she wasn't gonna use em.And at first she said, no, no, I
think I'm gonna keep them. Andthen within a month, she said, you
know what? You can have those.Those chair backs in the bottom.

(25:50):
She was sick. And she was. Sheknew she wasn't long for this world,
so. And we. We were just. Ourfriendship was at that blossoming
stage. So it was, yeah, reallysad that we lost her for sure. She
was an amazing, amazing forcein Chicago. So I felt privileged
that she gave me these chairbacks and seats, and they sat in

(26:15):
my studio for a long time, andI finally. I took them to the cleaners
because they were, like, kindof full of cat hair and stuff like
that. So I got them clean,brought them back, and happened to
have a. An oval. What do youcall it? No, it was a stretcher for

(26:35):
a painting. You know, insteadof a rectangle, I had these ovals
that I collected, and I tookthe piece, which was an oval, and
turned it upside down so thatthe. The back structure of the needle
point was showing. So. So itbecame more abstract.

(26:57):
Oop. So sorry to interrupt,but we have to take a quick break,
and we will be right back withour conversation with Bobbi Meyer.
The journey towards liberationis messy af. And honestly, we're
here for it. Hi, I'm TinaBrown, a feminist life coach.
And I'm Becky Mollenkamp, afeminist business.

(27:18):
Coach, and we're your hostsfor Messy Liberation. Join us for
conversations about currentevents, politics, pop culture, and,
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Messy Liberation, availablewherever you listen to podcasts,
including the biggies, Apple,Spotify, and YouTube. We are back,

(27:41):
and let's continue ourconversation with Bobbi Meyer.
And then that turned into awhole series from that moment of
me Searching for using firstthe materials that Sabina so generously
gave to me. So that's. Thatwas so moving because her mother's
passed. Her mother had passedaway. She was sick. I. We're the

(28:05):
same age. We were exactly thesame age. We grew up on different
sides of the country. But itjust made me think a lot about similar
circumstances of growing up,what that would have been like. The
world was like. Stuff likethat anyway, to have those works.
It took me on this trajectoryof making these. A whole series of

(28:29):
12 ovals that aren'treferencing specific people, but
they feel like they're guestsat a dinner table and they have a
human. They have a story totell. So there's. The titles are
something like Girly Girl andPunk Rocker and Church Lady. Just.

(28:55):
They each have their ownunique personality. And then there
are people. The reason I bringit up is because at north park, they.
I had the opportunity to showall that work together with a table
that I made from work that Imade at the Kohler residency to sinks
that also. Those werereferencing my own grandmother's

(29:16):
matriarch centerpieces formatriarchs. Is that work? And there
was an artist talk, and I gavea talk. It was mostly to students,
but there were about five orsix older adults that were present.
And a woman who I didn't knowat all, she said to me, did you lose
a child? And my husbandhappened to be there, too. And we

(29:42):
both looked at one anotherlike, is she clairvoyant? So this
is something. I mean, I don'thave a problem sharing it. I just
was shocked that sheunderstood something in my work,
told her that there wassomething deeper there. And the work.
We did indeed lose a baby whenI was seven months pregnant. Whoa.

(30:08):
Yeah. She was born prematurelyand lived for two days. And listeria
was the cause, so she wasn't.She was fine until I contracted listeria,
which is a type of foodpoisoning you've probably heard of.
It affects people that have.
I'm sorry.
Yeah. Thank you. So that was,you know, the power of art to move

(30:32):
people. Because she pickedthat up. I did not say anything about
that in my statement or in mytalk. And it was shocking and amazing,
too, you know, And I think itcame from part of that work. And
I don't think I use this term,but maybe I did. It had a. A pantyhose

(30:54):
frame around it, and some ofit stitched in such a way that people
have called those little.These little nubs baby toes. And
they do kind of look like that.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Even though that work soundstragic, it's really. It's. It's got
humor in it too. And. Yeah, yeah.

(31:14):
It's just like, wow, I'm sohappy that you're actually speaking
more about your work in thisway because. Excuse. Excuse you,
Stephanie and that gentlemanat Driehaus. This is not happy work.
This is personal and, youknow, very. Yeah, it's really deeply

(31:34):
personal and about friendshipsand relationships.
Yes.
And it's cool to see, like,how connected to your work you are.
You must be, like the bombfriend to have. You're like a really
good friend.
That's true. But you know that.

(31:56):
Yes, I do.
You are, too. There's peoplethat you just feel an instant connection
to. I do, anyway. I mean, youwere a person like that for me. And,
you know, just people that aregenuine, they. You know, that they're
not giving you. They're nothiding, really. I mean, we all have

(32:16):
certain things we keep toourselves. Like, I don't go around
telling that story I justtold, but I'm not afraid to tell
it. It's a reality.
Yeah. Yeah. And thank you.Thank you for sharing it.
Oh, yeah, yeah.
With us. Yeah.
Like I. I said, I had threechildren. They're all well into adulthood.

(32:41):
And the little baby, Rachel,who died, she was the second of my
three children, of my fourchildren, actually. So I don't know,
the children in grad school,there was talk about, well, what
influences you? And I'm like,I thought, well, my family's super
important to my art making.And the advisor was a guy, and I

(33:07):
don't think he got it. Hedidn't have kids, and he wasn't mean
about it or anything, but hewas just like, oh, well, I don't
see how your family could bethat influential in your work. And
I thought, well, they're notmaking the work, but they're certainly
influencing the things that I make.

(33:30):
Yeah.
When the kids were. When theirtoys were all over the house and
my husband was gone a lot, andI was working full time and trying
to still make art and makingdeals with myself to make a drawing
a day. And I did that for twoyears that picked up on drawing.
Like, oh, there's this crazytoys that the kids had that look

(33:54):
like aliens and stuff likethat. I had two boys and a girl,
so we had all kinds ofgendered toys around the house.
Yeah.
And that really started offmaking. I was making work that was
more. Well, it was definitelypersonal and also, well, I don't
know, more important in A way.But they were paintings of like Pokemon

(34:16):
on my bed sheets. So. Yeah. Imean, life is sad and hard and it's
also funny.
Yeah.
So, yeah, I try not to losesight of that in the work that I
make. It's gotta have somequirkiness, you know?
Absolutely. Yeah. But alsolike, I think too, it sort of plays

(34:40):
into, you know, you, youalways greatly identify and not that
you shouldn't, but yet you'relike an artist mother, you know,
and that's a, that's a bigthing too, is like being an artist's
mother and sometimes folkseven, because now your kids are adults,
but you still are a mother.Right. And so. And you still are

(35:02):
active in those spaces. But Ijust feel like it all makes sense
because of hearing you speakabout your work and how it all ties
into the work that you'remaking, the relationships and experiences
that you've had, it just all.It's all coming together. I like
that.
Yeah, thanks. I do too. Ifeel, well, now I don't have to do

(35:27):
the full time teaching gig, sothat gives me more freedom to make
work. And it's almost a littlebit. I'm at a point at the moment
where this big show atDriehaus is coming to a close and
like, what's next is. Yeah,I'm just thinking, well, get back

(35:49):
to the studio and start justdrawing. Don't freak yourself out
about it.
So speaking of your work atthe Driehaus that is currently showing,
you have had your work shownin a lot of respected venues such
as the John Michael KohlerArts center. And it's been at Miami

(36:10):
Basel Art Week, currently atthe Drie House. I'm just curious,
what's it like, you know,what's it like to have your work
at all these fun, respected places?
Well, it's great. It feels.Yeah, it feels really good. And I
keep reminding myself, don'tfall into that imposter syndrome

(36:31):
trap. Yeah, I've worked a longtime to make something happen and
this is the type of thing Iwant to happen, to be in respected
places and I don't know, aprofessional. Right. Recently I went

(36:53):
back to the old school where Iwas teaching as a visiting artist
where I used to teach in highschool. And my former department
chair, she said, oh, what areyou doing? Because. What are you
doing now? Because I'm, quote,retired from that job. I said, I'm
a professional artist. AndI've. It just popped out of my mouth.

(37:15):
It's like, I don't want that.There's specific People that I've
worked with in the past thatthink you know art, even if you're
a teacher, if you're a teacherof art in a high school especially,
you're not really treated asan artist. You're a teacher and you
know how to make some things,but you're not considered an artist

(37:38):
in that world. And I alwaysfelt that I'm an artist educator,
not an art teacher, which issemantics, I know, but it felt like
I'm educating these kids aboutart. I'm an artist. And that was
always really important to mewhen I was teaching high school that

(38:01):
kids would come in and I'dsay, this is your studio, you need
to treat this place withrespect. You're in here to make your
work. And we could, sure, wecan have some chit chat back and
forth, but this is, I don'tknow that I use the term serious
business, but I wanted them totreat the space with respect. Now,

(38:23):
with a 14 year old boy, maybethey're not gonna do that so much.
But by the time they were 18,the kids that really wanted to be
there were there. So I'm notquite sure how I went down this path.
But how did I know we were.
Talking about being aprofessional? About how you've had
your work in respected venues.
Oh, right.

(38:43):
Which makes me, which makes methink you know the term professional
artist. And I asked, I'm gonnaask this question because I know
that there are listeners thatwill want to know if you, if you're
an artist, what makes youprofessional? Like I think I would
call myself professionalartist as well. You know, like, is

(39:05):
it just the, you think, justthe way you carry yourself, the way
that you focus on your work,is it that you're trying to exhibit
your work? I don't thinkthere's a wrong answer. I just wondered,
you know, for the person who'slike driving, maybe they have their
job and they have, you know,they have their art practice. How
would, what would you defineas someone being a professional artist?

(39:31):
Well, I think there's twolayers here. The first thing for
me, and I've noticed this forsome other folks I know that are
artists, is to get to thatpoint where you call yourself an
artist. Because I think ittakes a long time to kind of, oh,
I'm an artist, that's what Ido. That's. I don't know, it's a,

(39:54):
it's different than being.Well even than being a teacher. The
teacher. Oh, I don't, I, Idon't know. I just. For me it Was
like when I could call myselfan artist, I, it felt like an elevation
in a way. And the pro part,maybe that refers to like you're

(40:14):
a pro. That means you're anexpert at it, which we all know.
I mean, when are you anexpert? But I think to the outside
world, to say I'm aprofessional artist takes you outside
of the Sunday painter realm.Like, I'm not a hobbyist. This isn't
a hobby for me. And thathappens even now. People, they know

(40:34):
I'm the work I'm making andall that. But it's hard for some
laypeople to get out of thatnotion of the Sunday painter, the
craft person, that kind ofthing. And I'm not dissing that role.
It's just, I think, no, not atall. I guess that's where I'm coming
from. Maybe that's anantiquated term, professional artist,

(40:57):
you know.
No, I think sometimes itdepends, I think, you know, I feel
like if I'm at like a familyparty and someone asks like, oh,
are you? What do you do? And Isay, I'm an artist. And they, they
might take it to thinking thatI'm just like sketching in my notepad
while I'm getting my hairbraided. And I'm like, no, no, no,
I like, no, I'm professional.I'm like serious about this. Okay,

(41:21):
so maybe it's likeprofessional slash serious. Yes,
I might sketch while I'mgetting my hair braided, but it just
doesn't stop there, you know?So I like how you said that. How
you just simply said it's nota hobby for you. So look, if art
is not a hobby for you, thenjust say professional artists or
don't say professional artist.I was just curious about that. I

(41:43):
have because I'm so into artand film and culture. I had a mentor
who's like, you need to find ahobby, this art outside of this,
outside of this find like anon art hobby. And so I took up flying
little planes, the planes youtake out into the field, Radio planes.

(42:08):
Oh, cool. I've done that yearsago with my dad. That's so great.
Yeah, and it was funnybecause, you know, speaking about
like relationships and peoplemoving you, a woman from my Bible
study, you know, unfortunatelyher husband passed and he used to

(42:28):
fly radio planes. And I waslike, I need a hobby. And I was thinking
about this and she's like,great, you can have his planes. He
has so many. And she didn'tgive me all of them, but she gave
me the plane. That I use, youknow? Cause she's like, well, he
has, like, had, like, acommunity and stuff like that that
would love to have his planesand, you know. But she gave me a

(42:52):
good beginner plane. And atthe field, there's a man who is he?
I would call a professionalradio plane pilot, because he knows
all about it. He, you know,shows you the ropes. If something
happens, he's there, you know,like, he breathes this stuff, right?
Versus I am the Sunday radio.I'm the Sunday radio plane.

(43:15):
It's your hobby, girl.
Yeah, it's my hobby. So, yeah.Where he's like. But he's there to
share and be kind. But, like,when I see him, I'm like, oh, yeah.
No, he's serious. He travels,you know, has his friends he meets
up with.
He knows what he.
Y' all are. Yeah. I was like,oh, you're a professional. And he

(43:36):
might not want to be calledprofessional, so. Yeah, maybe. But
I'm like, no, you are. You,like, are pro at this stuff, you
know?
Yeah. You really know whatyou're doing. Well, I do have a secret
hobby. I don't know if it's a secret.
Oh, you do?
I do. I grow African violets.Like, I have.
Oh, no way. Oh, wow.

(43:59):
I have, like, my house. Myhouse in Miller. I've got so many.
I've got a great porch forgrowing plants, period. But the violets
love it. And I just. It goesback to my grandmother because she
grew African violets, and shegrew so many. She had this table.
I was so. To me, it was huge.I don't know. Probably wasn't. I

(44:23):
was little, she had a wholetable with pebbles all over it because
she had all these plants, andshe would actually sell them to the
flower shop down the streetbecause her violets were so beautiful.
So that's. It's kind of aninherited thing. Hobby.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I love. I think about, youknow, Charlotte, who's the woman

(44:46):
from my Bible study. I thinkabout her and her, you know, and
her late husband. Like, I've,like, she's passed his hobby down
to me, you know?
Yeah. I think that's great ina way.
So I think that that's reallycool, you know?
Yeah, definitely. Definitely.I know. I keep thinking I should
have a show. I don't. SomehowI could integrate violets into. I

(45:08):
have a solo show coming up,and I'm like, how can I incorporate
violets into that? I don'tknow. I've been photographing them
with a macro lens. I mean, itgets. I Don't want to be trite. You
know, flowers are. They're soeasy because they're so beautiful.

(45:31):
I don't know. It's a question.
We can make a parking in theparking lot of the show. I can be
out there with my fanny packon, selling African violets like
your grandma would when shesell it to the store.
Cool. Okay. There we go. It'llbe a summertime activity.

(45:55):
Yeah, that would be great.
That's funny.
Oh, my gosh. Well, Bobbi, thishas been great learning about you
and your work, but before wego, I wanted to see if I can just
ask you a couple of littlequick, corny fire round questions.

(46:15):
These are little yes or noquestions, and I just.
Okay.
So are you down to have alittle nosy round with me?
I'm totally down.
Okay. So do you have pets?
Yes.
And then would you ever be ahousewife on a reality show?

(46:36):
Probably not, but I don'tknow. It would take me out of my
comfort zone, that's for sure.
Yeah. Oh, my gosh. Thereshould be, like, a real. That would
be a fun, like, real artisthousewife show somehow. Like, my
gosh. And then last twoquestions. Have you ever won a contest?
Oh, you mean like a. Give mean example. Anything, I guess.

(47:03):
Like, if you've won, like, araffle, like, say, put your name
on a hat and win a raffle.
No, not really. I mean, I feellike going to color was winning.
Oh, I've won that kind ofthing. A residency spot. Yeah. You
know what I mean?

(47:23):
Yeah. That's interesting tothink about residencies as raffles.
Yeah, kind of.
I mean, I hope it's not atotal crapshoot, but.
Yeah. Yeah. And my lastquestion is, have you ever or would
you ever skydive?
Never.

(47:43):
Never. Okay, that's.
That. No, I don't like that.
That's not a comfort zone.
Not at all.
So maybe you'll. So maybeyou'll be a housewife, but you definitely
won't skydive, right?
That's true. Yeah. I didn'teven like being lifted up like kid

(48:06):
dads do or parents do withtheir kids. They throw the baby up
in the air. I would if youever seen that, you know, and I would.
Yeah, I've seen that. Yeah.
I would scream. I did not likeit, even as a baby. So I don't like.
I know. I don't know what itis. I don't like Ferris wheels. And

(48:28):
what's the other one thatgoes, you know?
Oh, yeah, I know. Like the.There's, like, that carnival swings
ride that just like.
Yeah. Any of those carnivalrides. Yeah, I. Yeah. I don't know.
It's. And I'm at an age whereI'm like, I don't care. I don't need
to like that. You know, Idon't want to jump out of a plane.

(48:53):
Right.
I get it.
Yeah.
Well, hey, before we closedown, is there anything else that
you think we should touch onor anything you want to tell the.
The.
The world here?
I feel. I don't. I just feelreally honored to be part of the
Chicago art community. I justfeel like this has been a wonderful

(49:16):
year for me personally, andI'm happy that I live here.
Yeah.
There's just supportivepeople. A lot of supportive people,
and that's felt. Yeah, thatfeels really good. And I do have
a solo show coming up in thefall that'll be at Wabachi.

(49:38):
Oh, yes. Okay.
College. Yeah. So I knowthere's wonderful. Yeah. I think
that's what I'm thinkingabout. What am I going to show there?
So maybe it'll be Africanviolets blown up. I don't know.
Maybe.
Who knows?
That would be fun. Wow. Oh, mygosh. I love it. Well, you know,

(49:59):
on behalf of the Chicago artscommunity, we are so glad that you
live here.
Oh, thank you very much.
Yeah.
Stephanie, you've been great.I'm really excited to do this, and
I don't know. I didn't knowwhat to expect, and it's been fun.
I did expect fun.
Oh, good.
I'm so happy. I expected funand laughter from you, for sure.

(50:24):
Oh, that's great. That's goodto know. Thank you. Thank you all
so much for tuning in to NosyAF on Lumpin Radio. I am Stephanie
Graham, and if you areinterested in Bobbi's work, you can
find more information abouther at her website@bobbimyer.com
please stop by Lumpin radio.Check out nosy AF there, as well

(50:46):
as all of the other sister andbrother and friend shows. And I hope
you guys enjoy today, and Ihope you are doing something restful
and enjoyable, playful even,dare I say it. Hopefully you guys
have a great rest of the.
The day.
How many times can I say that?And yeah, see you guys in a few weeks.

(51:07):
Bye.

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Summary of the episode

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Chapters:

• 48:23 - Reflections on Fear and Art

About Bobbi:

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Navigating Grief through Sculpture: Bobbi Meier’s Story