Drew Steinbrecher
The ART of IMPROV
Today we welcome fiber artist Drew Steinbrecher. Since a young age Drew has relished in making and creating. This creative desire led him to study graphic design at university and he has worked professionally in that field for 20 years. He is an avid knitter and photographer and currently lives in Cincinnati, Ohio where he continues to work as a designer and teach a high school color guard. A man of many creative talents! Last year I met Drew at Quilt National as a fellow exhibiting artist, and having long admired his work on social media, was so excited to get to see his work in person. His vibrant colors and the movement of his composition was so inspiring to me. I am so happy to have him share with us here. Let us learn more about how improv has impacted his work and process.
Sketch Book Drew Steinbrecher
What does working improvisationally mean to you? How would you define the ‘Art of Improv’?
Working improvisationally is allowing a piece to go where it takes me. Understanding that sometimes you will go down a path that will lead nowhere and other times you will go down a path that will lead to new discoveries and that both paths lead to growth.
Have you always worked improvisationally?
No. I had always wanted to have total control over my work from the inception. In design school, a professor once told me I needed to let go and not be so rigid.
Long story short, I discovered improv quilts online about 10 years ago. That finally led me to try working improvisationally.
Do you work improvisationally, consciously, intentionally? If so, how do you begin? If not, how do you find yourself getting there? How often do you work with improvisation?
I used to work 100% improvisationally on my large quilt pieces. But recently I have found myself going back to the computer and working through a piece before I put anything on the design wall. It might change once I have something on the wall, but the initial work I do in Adobe Illustrator. This also allows me to work through the piecing/construction of a complex pieced quilt.
On my smaller fabric pieces and mono prints, I still work improvisationally. On the mono prints I usually begin with either printing solid color on a blank piece of paper, making marks with ink, or printing posturized photos manipulated in Photoshop on an ink jet printer.
Because I can move quickly with smaller mono printed pieces, I have learned that not all pieces will work, which has been a valuable lesson. I sometimes go too far and end up with mud. Oh well… I just try again on another piece. It has allowed me to let go, try new things, and ultimately gain knowledge about the medium through experimenting.
Because I have recently begun working with paint/monoprinting, I have been trying to rein myself in and stop before I go too far. I might come back later seeing a piece in a new light and work on it a bit more.
Line Study 9 Drew Steinbrecher
Please share a bit about your process. Do you have methods to getting started? Do you have tricks to getting unstuck? Do you have motivators to finishing up?
I have no issues starting something new. Especially with mono printing and collage… the process goes quickly so I can have good results in little time. Even with a blank piece of paper it’s easy to get paint on it right away, which always leads to something.
Unfortunately, I do have trouble finishing pieces, especially quilts. There are a lot of quilt tops folded up under my studio work table that I should quilt!
Where do you find inspiration? How do you use it?
I have always found inspiration in the chaos and energy of urban environments… graffiti, old walls with torn posters and crumbling paint, dirty and grimy surfaces, power lines and poles, signage, crumbling concrete.
What advice would you give to someone interested in trying to work improvisationally. Can you share some good advice that you received that helped you become more comfortable this way?
Just go for it. Understand that it takes a while to learn how to work this way and that your first attempt will not be good. Keep going.
One Off Three Drew Steinbrecher
How would you finish the sentence, ‘What if, . . .?’
“What if I had unlimited energy and time?”
What are you reading, listening to, watching, or any other inspirational obsessions you would like to share?
I am currently obsessed with Instagram (I know I shouldn’t be online so much.) Social media can be so negative and Instagram is a happy visual place where I can find loads of inspiration and information.
Currently listening to lots of great podcasts… Art Juice, Art Biz Podcast, Laura Horn Art Podcast, Learn to Paint Podcast, The Earful Tower (because I love Paris.) I also like books on tape… right now I am listening to Pride and Prejudice. I love watching cooking and travel shows and I love RuPaul’s Drag Race and Schitt’$ Creek!
Thank you Drew for sharing with us, I loved hearing about your process shift, starting with a planned design on the computer, and have loved watching your evolution with the mono prints, which I so love by the way! I love Instagram just for this reason and agree that it such a lovely, inspiring place to wind down with at times, and struggle myself with not staying there too long! If only we did have unlimited time! And do;’t get me started on ENERGY! If we had more of that we wouldn’t have such issue finishing things now would we? I share this struggle as well, starting new things is never a problem for me either. I really look forward to seeing how your work with mono prints translates to cloth, it is fascinating to watch from afar, thank you for sharing and inspiring, always!
To learn and see more about Drew and his work, visit his website here and take a moment to check him out on Instagram here.
Crossroads 12 Drew Steinbrecher