Free Press: What is your major and concentration?
Nick Downing: My Major is Art and Entrepreneurial Studies with a concentration in sculpture. I also have a minor in art history.
FP: What year/class are you?
ND: I am a senior, but I am anticipating being back for another semester in the spring.
FP: What is the medium that you work the most with?
ND: I work in several mediums but the two that I work in the most are hardwood and steel. I really like materials that present a challenge and have some innate character. In the last few years I have also gotten into ceramics quite a bit.
FP: How would you describe your artwork?
ND: I would say that my artwork is largely based in craft. The part of art I enjoy most is the actual physical making of the work. It is a meditative experience for me. I love watching glowing metal take shape under my hammer or the challenges of revealing and working with the character of wood. I often create functional art. I really like the idea of integrating art into every day life, I have a mug that I made that I drink tea out of almost every day.
FP: Where do you get ideas/draw influence from to make your art?
ND: My inspiration can come from just about anywhere but I often find inspiration in nature and literature. I also love ancient art. Medieval reliquaries are some of my favorites and Japanese metal and lacquer work also. A few years ago I saw some miniscule seal stones from the Middle East that were thousands of years old, they are just tiny bits of rock crystal carved with these incredibly detailed and complex pictures I had never even heard of them and I was so amazed that something so exquisite could be almost completely looked over in all the art history classes I have taken. Discoveries like that fuel much of my creativity.
FP: Do you have any continuing themes that you find pop up in your work often?
ND: There are a lot of themes in my work I occasionally get obsessed with things and they will show up again and again. Recently it has been birds, roots, spirals and human hands. Through out the years, the human figure, animals of all kinds, and arcane imagery such as green men and Celtic knots have also featured prominently in my work.
FP: What are you currently working on (in your spare time, for class etc)?
ND: Currently I am working on refurbishing my forge, which I hope to use to do some advanced blacksmithing techniques for my independent study this semester. I am also assisting Professor Hewitt with a project he has in Brunswick in March, I have been back here for track since January 6th and in addition to the forge and the project with professor Hewitt, I have also made some small eating utensils for camping, but I dressed them up so they are fairly aesthetic. I also built a hilt for a fencing sword which I hope to use fairly soon, and I’ve been, with the gracious allowance of Professor Schneider, throwing lots of mugs as a fundraiser for the Art Student’s Union.
FP: How do you see your art fitting in after you graduate?
ND: I am really not sure exactly what I want to do after I graduate, perhaps volunteer for a while. I don’t think I want to be a studio artist, at least not right away, because I do not think I have the discipline, but I would really like to get a job in an arts related field, one that has regular hours and a steady pay check would be ideal. I have also considered going into art restoration because it has to do with science, history and art, which are things I am passionate about.
FP: How have you grown as an artist during your time here at USM?
ND: The professors here at USM have been wonderful in that respect, each one has encouraged me to explore a different aspect of my creativity. I admit that I have been resistant to a lot of it, but what they have gotten me to do (still-lives of mundane objects, projects where the only direction was something like the word “Hinge”) have done much to expand my horizons.
FP: Where do you want to see your work go? Do you have any plans, techniques, mediums you’d like to try or get into?
ND: There are always things that I want to try. For ceramics I would love to get into wood firing because I think that creates some really beautiful effects. I would also like to try glass blowing, I have done a little lampworking and I loved it, but I have never made any sort of vessels and I would really like to. I would also like to get into jewelry more. I have experimented with stone setting and silver work, but I have had very little formal training and that is something I think would really benefit my work.