Meet Julie V. Garner | Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Julie V. Garner and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Julie V., why did you pursue a creative career?
I had no choice really. I needed to create, whether anyone else ever saw the results or not. I spent many years seriously making art, while engaged in an unrelated career path, that nobody outside my immediate family ever saw. It was many years later that I first put my art into the world to be seen by others. Since then my practice has grown and changed. What began with rusted metal assemblages gradually evolved into woven photographic tapestries. Fiber art underlies most of my work. Even the rusted metal sculptures were “sewn” together with wire. Over time I also came to understand how important art is in the world. I chose a career path in healthcare because I believed at the time that I needed to do work that had a direct impact on the well being of others. But, through my own experience with viewing and making art, I came to realize how important it is for individuals and societies for keeping a balance amid chaos, whether personal, political or any other kind. I feel art is a stabilizing force in the world.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I mentioned earlier that I am an ergonomic specialist. This is a field involved with making the workplace, work tools and work methods safer for people. I believe strongly that nobody should be injured due to working conditions. In the course of this work, I’ve had access to all kinds of places that I wouldn’t normally have, including prisons, factories, high tech, military bases and too many others to name. I enter each with a sense of exploration about how people interact with their environment and how the work environment influences their behavior. I believe this has had a large impact on why I find buildings so fascinating. Most of my weavings are of manufactured landscapes, focused on the common structures that surround us. I believe they influence us just as the work environment influences people. I also believe that structures hold their own attitude, or character, independent of what happens within them. So, as I approach a scene, I try to portray that character, or personality.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Well, I’m in the process right now of moving from Vallejo back to San Francisco. So which place should I choose?! I’ll choose Vallejo because I don’t think it gets enough good attention and it’s an amazing place. There’s a loop I like to take visitors on. If it’s Saturday we begin at the Farmer’s Market downtown because it’s a wonderful cacophony of people, music and food. Vallejo has been named the most diverse small town in America so you will find all kinds of people interacting together. I love this. Then we head over to Benicia to see the Armory building which is full of artist studios and other businesses including a vintage wallpaper workshop where they silkscreen Victorian wall paper as it was made originally. The setting for the Armory is beautiful, right on the water. Then we head across the bridge to Martinez for an excellent Greek lunch and a walk among the antique stores. Next stop is Port Costa, a one block town on the water that has one of the oldest hotels in America. Depending on mood we might get a beer at the biker bar across the street. From there we go to Crockett, home of the C&H Sugar factory (subject of my first woven photo tapestry) and an excellent art gallery. Finally we cross another bridge back to Vallejo and then a third bridge over to Mare Island, home of a decommissioned naval base. There are amazing, old industrial buildings, a dry dock and a nature preserve to take in. We end the day there at the distillery for a cocktail. I will sorely miss all of this when I move to San Francisco.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I can mark the most major development in my artistic path as being the decision to devote one day a week to taking a Fiber Sculpture class at the local community college. At the time I was very busy being a self-employed ergonomic consultant and had little time for outside activities. So the decision to take a full day every week was a huge one. The teacher in the class, Carol Beadle, was fantastic. We explored all kinds of fiber related techniques. It was for one of the class assignments that I chose to make a photographic weaving. I had been taking and developing photos since my teens and I studied various types of weaving, including tapestry, also since my teens. The weaving I made pulled these two passions together and changed the course of my artistic endeavors. Also in this class, I met a group of artists who have remained close ever since, meeting regularly to critique each others work and discuss all kinds of topics. I’m eternally grateful for them in my life. It’s been over fifteen years and we’re still going strong.

Website: www.julievgarner.com

Instagram: julie.v.garner

Image Credits
All photographs were taken by Julie V. Garner