#71: Erin McCluskey Wheeler: It's Just Paper!

I loved how Erin talked about being an art cheerleader for her students! Her mantra of “It’s just paper” and encouragement to play and explore without getting stuck on unattainable ideas of perfection were so helpful. She shared such great advice around piecing together a career as an artist, which feels connected to piecing together her gorgeous collage work. A game changer for me was her goal of 50 rejections per year. What an incredible mindset shift that creates - going from mourning a rejection to celebrating it as part of a larger goal!

Erin McCluskey Wheeler is a painter, collagist, writer, curator, and teacher based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Erin works in many series at once and across disciplines in painting, collage, works on paper, prints, and poetry. Each medium with its different qualities, allows Erin to explore ideas about memory, language, color, and place, while retaining a unified voice that reflects on the power of color and connection.

Erin has a BA in studio art and art history from Beloit College, and an MFA from California College of the Arts. As an undergraduate, she did an intensive study of traditional brush painting at Kansai Gaidai University in Hirakata-shi, Japan. Erin is a faculty member of the 92nd Y School of the Arts in New York City and teaches collage and mixed media classes throughout the Bay Area. Erin has shown extensively in galleries across the country and her work is represented by the Roaring Artist Gallery, a virtual gallery showing the work of visionary women artists. Erin’s artwork is licensed and sold through West Elm, Minted, Target, and Samsung. She has won multiple awards for her visual art and poetry including the top prize for poetry from Northwind Arts in 2021. Erin is a founding member of The Collage Stop and the Art Brand Alliance.

Blog Post with links and images: https://www.teachingartistpodcast.com/episode-71-erin-mccluskey-wheeler/

@erinmwheeler on Instagram

www.erinmwheeler.com

. . .

Follow: @teachingartistpodcast

@pottsart

@playinspiregallery

Check out the featured artists: https://www.teachingartistpodcast.com/featured-artists/

https://linktr.ee/TogetherWhileApart

Take the audience survey: https://iter.ly/bnrm2

Art Educators' Lounge meeting registration: http://arteducatorslounge.eventbrite.com/

Submit your work to be featured: https://www.teachingartistpodcast.com/featuredartist/

Book an Art Critique Session with Rebecca: https://www.teachingartistpodcast.com/mentor/

---

Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/teachingartistpodcast/support