Meet Claire Woolner | Artist & Performer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Claire Woolner and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Claire, what principle do you value most?
Right now I’m finding myself thinking a lot about where things come from and where they go. I.e. the 1000 years it takes for plastic to decompose. I can’t really buy a water bottle in plastic anymore without thinking about this. There’s a lot more that goes with that thought process–who is making the materials I use, what is their life like, how are the materials going to end up in 10 years, 100, 1000? So I guess you could say I’m thinking about my impact on the earth itself, but also on people around me (near and far). I’m also interested in how generosity of spirit works in my work. What is my work giving to the person on the receiving end? In the hanging pieces I’ve been making and the clothing pieces, the specificity of who they are going to serves as a great inspirator.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My life and career as an artist has taken me on so many different paths. One of the hardest things for me is the idea of “branding”. I like to do so many things, and truly feel that all of them are essential parts of my practice. I envy people who focus on just one art form and dive deep into that, but that really isn’t my story. In one year I can be doing comedy shows, writing poetry, filming a dramatic indie, sewing dresses, and writing a record. That’s just how I work and how I like to work. It’s not great for marketing, but its my truth. A part of this, I think, is that I adapt to where I am and the way my creativity manifests–for example, the last three years I’ve been primarily performing, writing and filming. At the start of 2020 I was performing 6 days a week in a show at The Wallis Annenberg Center for Performing Arts. That show closed on March 7th and the stay-at-home lifestyle began March 15th. I immediately got into action finishing a poetry and photography book I’d been working on, doing an interactive project with a regular creative partner of mine, Grace Lusk (with whom I wrote and toured a show the last two years), and then began spending more time in my studio just working with my hands. There weren’t auditions to go to or shows to get up at, so I started returning to what I had studied in college–sculpture. This is how it has always gone for me–so I guess my ‘brand’ is that I am an artist and creator. The medium is fluid. I’m starting to stop struggling with that. Probably the most important lesson for me has been trusting that I’m doing what I’m meant to be doing and I can only see a very small part of the full picture. I can feel like I’ve doing nothing, or like I’ve done so much–so really my perspective is constantly skewed. I do best when I stay present, and I find that when I’m doing that, my work is better, my relationships are better, and my connection to my creativity is clearer.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I’m from LA, so someone who had never come here would be in for a completely non-tourist version. If it were a non-covid-19-world, we would take the pch to John’s garden in Malibu, get sandwiches and drinks and chips, go to El Matador, hang at the beach, go home and shower because I hate the feeling of beachy-ness, walk down to York or Figueroa and have dinner, hang out on my back porch and watch the sunset. I get tired easily so that’s probably all for the first day. The next day we would take my amazing dog, DeerBoy down to York and get bagels from Belle’s, go to the Huntington garden and bring a Mary Oliver book and read to each other, that night go watch a movie at The Hollywood Cemetery. I’d be sure to hit the downtown museums and little Tokyo, walk around griffith park, probably eat a lot of vegan food, cook dinner at my house and sit outside, based on who my friends are, I’m sure we would have a project we were working on, so most of our time would be spent filming or working on that. I’ve stopped fighting the fact that I hang out most just by making. So we would be making things. I love the American Contemporary Ballet, so we would go see that and may be go to a weird fancy restaurant downtown. And probably just bike ride and walk. What a fun time.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I an say with 100% jump-up-and-down-ness that Ani Difranco’s lyrics have guided me since I was in 7th grade. I’ve recently gotten into listening to her again and everytime I do, I seem to remember more about who I am and what I care about–that helps keep me on track. I get very easily distracted by comparison and a seeking for outside approval, but whenever I’m operating from that place, I end up in the trash can–which, though uncomfortable is actually a good thing. Louise Bourgeois’ work has always tapped my heart and encourage me to just keep letting my hands do the thinking and talking. I also am lucky to have a community of amazing artists and creators who are some of my best friends, all of whom do amazing work as well. We help keep encourage and love each other, and say yes! keep going! keep working! and dumb jokes and faectime each other crying. For me, a community is essential.

Website: clairewoolner.com
Instagram: @clairewoolner @yuja_supply
Other: vimeo.com/clairewoolner

Image Credits
Doll photo, Alan Michnoff