What is the best thing that I love about my work? I love painting and collage and also working with clay. I like the focus that it takes in order to be fully present with the work. There is a connection made to some other source.I like the surprises from a series of combinations. I love my color and my gesture. Have you heard the word AXE (pronounced Ashay) ? I think it is a Japanese word for first gesture. To me, that is the backbone of the piece. If I get that first movement right, the rest falls together pretty well. I love pattern and interlocking shapes also, so it is a combination of those things that keeps me involved.
What is my idea of perfect happiness? I love a day that includes watching things grow, gardening, art making, laughing, time with my husband and my bunny, good music and good food. I love a day at home with a breeze, watching birds and squirrels, feral cats and opossums and all the lively things that make a garden a special place.
What is my greatest fear? Car crashes and wild fires. And not getting my carry on luggage on the plane.
What is the trait that I most deplore in myself? I have a hard time remembering everyone’s name. please remind me how we met.
Which living persons in my profession do i most admire? Yayoi, the polka dot painter, David Hockney and Mark Bradford
What is my greatest extravagance? Right now, I am loving cashews.
On what occasion would I lie? Lying is difficult because I would have to remember what I said and to whom. I think I would go with the lie of omission. And that’s what’s called editing.
What is the thing that I dislike the most in my work? Keeping track of it all. I like to make collections and groupings of series. Sometimes it’s too hard to organize it.
When and where was I the happiest, in my work? I liked to make big work, at least as big as my arms can reach either way. I really enjoyed painting the 18 foot canvas in three parts I call “Trifecta”. I painted it outside in my Venice garden studio with brushes, but also mops and brooms in three sections unrolling it like a scroll with eight feet visible at a time. That was a blast.
If I could, what would I change about myself? Having the energy to meet and collaborate with more interesting people. Just today I saw a beautiful video of dancers interpreting a painting. That would be great, to get dancers to interpret one of my paintings. I had a great time getting my paintings made into clothing and accessories online last year through VIDA , Fine Art America and Spoonflower.It would be great to actually get out there and meet the people who can make that happen.
What is my greatest achievement in work? In the 1990’s I created a series of paintings called the “UNStill Life” series. Extracted from that was my “Fiesta “series of lively Unstill Lifes. I painted 1000 original paintings in this series and they were sold thoughout the United States on many projects and to galleries. I still hear from people who find one and want to know all about them.Simultaneously I created 1000 collages in my “Personal Archaeology” series. This was an effort to find the surface of my table desk in my Venice studio. Never found it until I moved. These circulated in a similar way, love seeing one pop up. Many were printed for hospitality projects. It was great.
Where would I most like to live? Exactly where I am, Los Angeles, West Adams.
What is my most treasured possession? My health.
What books influenced my life and how? Books about my favorite painters. I loved De Kooning, Vincent Van Gogh, Matisse and Raoul Dufy. I like the kind of line, color and space they use.
Who are my favorite writers? I enjoyed reading the Southern American author Flanery O’Connor and Texan, Larry McMurtry. I love the graphic novel “Over Easy” by Mimi Pond. She has a new one out too and is doing a spoof on Zsa Zsa Gabor and her Prinz.
You Only Die Once. What music would I listen on my last day? Jimm Juback songs, the soundtrack of my life. I have posted over 40 videos of him set against my paintings singing his original songs on my Joyce Lieberman youtube channel. There is one of me in a sparkly silver dress singing the Marlene Dietrich song “Falling In Love Again” but otherwise all the songs are by my husband Jimm Juback.
Who is my hero or heroine in fiction? Superman and Wonder Woman
Who are my heroes and heroines in real life? Firefighters, Martha Stewart and Isadora Duncan
Which movie would i recommend to see once in a lifetime? The Princess Bride or Jean Cocteau’s La Belle et Bete, The Beauty and the Beast, so beautiful and spooky.
What role plays art in my life and work? Big role, my life has been centered around the practice of making art and living with my husband,who writes songs.
Who is my greatest fan, sponsor, partner in crime? Probably my husband, the ever funny and charming musician Jimm Juback.
Whom would I like to work with in 2018? I’d like to meet a designer who would like to print my paintings onto fabric and canvas in a larger way than I have been able to do with VIDA, Spoonflower and Fine Art America.
Which people in my profession would i love to meet in 2018? I’d like to meet more designers who actively want paintings for their interiors and more curators who would be interested in selecting from my vast collection of artworks to make collections to show.
What project, in 2018, am I looking forward to work on? Been having some trouble with my knee, healing nice and slow so I am admiring movement.
