Meet Lena Ruth Schwartz | Artist, Performer, & Educator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lena Ruth Schwartz and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lena, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
Ever since I was a child I have always been reaching my tentacles towards different disciplines in art. I would hop from drawing to knitting to acting to singing to guitar and piano, and then back to crochet or ceramics. I have always felt the need to expand, to keep trying something new, drawn to handicraft and storytelling. I was also very lucky to have been raised in a family of artists, in New York, a city full of art . My father is a classical bassoonist, my mother is a photographer, my aunt was a jazz singer performance artist, my other aunt is a mixed-media artist, and my uncle is a painter. When I was at Skidmore College, I discovered fiber arts. Having grown up a knitting and crochet enthusiast, I was amazed by all of the disciplines within the umbrella term, “fiber arts”. So much more to explore with dyeing, sewing, screenprinting, embroidery, and when I found tapestry weaving and wearable art, I fell head over heels. I’m amazed at how art can captivate and move people, and my intention with my work has always been to stir something within the viewer or listener, to make someone feel.
I also have been teaching Fiber Arts classes at a few schools in New York. Sharing my love for craft with young and eager kids has been tremendous. Once they grasp a new technique, they are in the zone, quiet and thoughtful. One of my students called it “fun meditation,” connecting deeply to the therapeutic and repetitive nature of fiber art.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My art is ever evolving, but consistently tactile, narrative, and personal. I am an emotional crafter. Fascinated by the physiognomic process time has on the body, my tapestries are attempts to weave age, magnifying and exploring how reality may be seen. I memorialize the snapshots of time that seem so excruciatingly important to me. Realistic portraiture in tapestry is a tedious and difficult undertaking, but I love the process: dyeing the wool, blending my palette, and creating something with just threads. My crochet wearable art is an armor in which to perform in, each piece representing a theme of protective milieu. From crocheted plastic bag outfits to Uterine Armor, to connections to trees and ancient textiles, my inspirations float between the fibers, soaking up my flitting climatic and anatomic paranoia. I have always felt at home representing the natural world, connecting the figure to nature. Currently, I am working on a new full body wearable art piece to represent chronic pain, and I will develop a musical performance piece to accompany it. I like to hone in on the minutia, and push the boundaries of a medium, and I think I am unique in my connection to music, using song as an additional layer in which to share and explore lilting anxieties and whimsy. My obsession with weaving led to my developing painful repetitive strain injuries in both of my hands. I had to cease all weaving, crochet, guitar, piano– all hand functions for a year. It was a loss of identity, and I didn’t realize overuse could cause such pernicious effects. During this time, I began to rely more on my voice and created an album with Evan O. Adams titled aptly, “Hold My Threads,” (because I cannot). If one path gets all muddy and you get stuck, sometimes you just have to forge off in a new direction. Having a chronic pain issue has been difficult to learn to live with, especially as a textile artist, because the work takes so much hand power and time. I have had to learn how to slow down, to take frequent breaks, fix up my ergonomics, do yoga, and have good posture. All one can do is try to “use” it. It has made me more attuned to my physical self and opened up a new understanding and empathy for all that suffer from the burden of the body.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
My favorite museum to visit is the American Folk Art Museum, a wonderful, small (and free!) museum on the upper west side. The Met Cloisters is another beautiful museum all the way uptown, if you’re interested in Medieval art. While we are talking uptown, some good pizza is Mamma’s Too, and great desserts at the Hungarian Pastry Shop. And if you make your way downtown you can get some pierogies at Veselka, or pancakes at Golden Diner. If you go to Brooklyn, check out Lagoon, an exciting shop full of handmade entirely sustainable wearable art.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
It has been really wonderful to get to know different artists in the scene: I particularly want to thank Jordan Segal, Isis Davis-Marks, Yasmeen Abdullah, Defne Tutus, Vandana Jain, and Katherine Earle for embracing and including me in the flux. I am so inspired by all of your incredibly detailed work, so lush with materiality and palpable emotion. I also want to shout out my musical collaborator Evan O. Adams and the rest of the cmntx crew for taking a chance on a wacky weaver like me. And of course my mom, Jill LeVine, who has always been my wisest, most cherished collaborator, and the brilliant photographer of all of my work. I don’t know where I would be without her.

Website: https://www.lenaruthschwartz.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lenactivity/?hl=en

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lena-ruth-schwartz-6aab02191/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@lenaruthschwartz8332/featured

Image Credits
Jill LeVine