In a little house on a little street in our little town, right in the living room, is where local artist Marcy Voyevod has her studio. Not for an overstuffed couch and coffee table with fancy magazines. Rather, she has a tall table with trays and cups holding brushes and the tools of her many trades. There are lamps and books and a lovely view of her front yard from a window through which afternoon sunlight shines.
Elsewhere in her house there are amenities of comfort, but she seems to be making a statement: The prologue to her home is where creativity happens. It’s Marcy’s heart on her sleeve, in a sense. That theme runs into the dining room, sans table, upon whose walls her works of art hang, making the space a museum borne from the work done in the preceding room. There are fascinating paintings, collages, altars, and nearly magical books with hidden windows and pockets and quirky, thrilling covers.
But enough of my words, showing off to try to match her brilliance. Instead, her words, pictures, and some insight into this remarkable creative person in 5Q4: Marcy Voyevod.
1. You not only paint, but create books, and 3D art from found and collected objects. Do those come from different creative muscles, or is it all the same for you?
Definitely different “muscles.” Making altars is very spiritual and intentional. Collage is an escape. Books help me to figure out what I’m painting or going to paint or my new year’s intentions. Painting is mainly getting lost in the medium and finding my way to express what I’ve been personally working on or how the events in the world affect me. Encaustic is the very sensual smell of the bees wax, the heated medium and what I paint on, the texture, and the way the layers become more and more of what I feel.
2. I’ve seen and been moved by your art; what is it about your work that inspires passionate fans? Can you speak to the unique connection between artists and admirers?
Many people who see my work tell me stories about what they see, sometimes trying to see something “real” like a rabbit or a face or a building. I love hearing those impressions. Sometimes people ask me what the painting is about and I’ll give a little background, like I did about the large painting that is how we can change the world to make a better place for everyone. I don’t like to talk about the intention too much because I would rather people feel what they feel and either they like it and buy it or move on. Sharing my process can be fun and connect the admirer better to the piece. Definitely a unique vibe.
3. Your daughter is also an artist, a writer. Have you two ever collaborated on any projects?
We tend to stick to our own formats and give each other gifts of our work. We did collaborate on the story I wrote for her when she was very young. We both did watercolor or crayon drawings and I had everything printed so it became a completed book. It was about a little girl who was always asked what she wanted to be when she grew up when she was at a party with her mother’s friends. When she went to bed an “angel” came and flew her out of her window and took her on a journey where she got to see her bubby who had passed away and many aunties and animals. All of them gave her gifts to help her in the future. There was a lot of symbolism from the Tarot, things we studied, objects I have from my family. A very sweet story.
4. Beyond being a creative person, you are also someone with strong views on peace and the environment, and you work with several community groups. Do those projects and passions ever shape your art?
Yes! I make these little cards I give away. I started out with Balance, then Peace, then Hope, then Love. They are small collages. I did some paintings during the pandemic using whatever I had at home—dirt, tea, coffee grounds, lace, shellac, wax, writing, collage materials, cardboard. Many paintings after Ukraine was attacked and one after the attack by Hamas. I’m donating some paintings for a yard sale the AFF4CL (Alameda Families and Friends for Collective Liberation) are having in October for children in Palestine.
5. The author E.B. White famously said that all he ever wanted to say in his books was that he loved the world. Can you summarize your art in any way similarly, do you have an underlying message?
Oh boy, that’s complicated. I guess I would say there is absolutely no way I could live in this world without doing art and sharing it with people who appreciate and love it. “Success” means doing it, sharing it, and hoping the right people will buy it and love it like I do. By the way, there is nothing more fun than seeing my sold work displayed at someone’s house, especially when I had forgotten about it.
One thing to say: There are times when I’m looking through older work and find something I completely forgot I did, and thinking “Wow! I did that!” and not really remembering doing it because I was so in the experience that it just poured out of me.
Gene Kahane is the founder of the Foodbank Players, a lifelong teacher, and former Poet Laureate for the City of Alameda. Reach him at [email protected]. His writing is collected at AlamedaPost.com/Gene-Kahane.
