Meet our Gallery at Iona Artists: Fall 2015

We sat down with Artist in Residence Carol Bouville and Special Guest Artist Barrie Ripin to learn more about their creative processes. Check out their artworks on display in the Gallery at Iona through September 25, 2015.

Q: Describe your relationship with art. As you age, has your relationship changed?

Barrie: I think that I finally came back to the use of the right side of my brain after years of disuse. I did practically no art from college throughout my scientific career. My wife gave me a birthday present of a basic drawing class, which released my long suppressed love of doing art. Best gift ever! Now, it is my passion — hardly a day goes by that I don’t do art. I love to experiment and play.

Carol: I came to art later than most people — in my mid-40’s. After moving from the New York suburbs in 1992 and before starting a job here in the DC area, I started taking classes at Montgomery College. The more I studied and painted, the more it became a passion. After returning to work, I kept taking classes in the evening and then coming home and painting until way into the night and early morning. I eventually stopped working full-time so I could paint. Art has become one of the essential aspects of my life — both in the process of making art and in teaching it to others. As I age, I feel some urgency to keep working harder and experimenting more. I am continuing to learn, to enrich my life, and hopefully the lives of others.

Q: Why is creative expression important to you?

Barrie: Even though I didn’t think so for a long time, doing art has been much like doing science. It’s the process of doing it that is enjoyable, and when things go right, it’s the same reward system — the psychic pay of creating (or discovering) something new.

Carol: Everyone has something he or she can do well. That something becomes a source of strength, of pride, of growth, and of giving. For me, it is art.