For our second interview of the 2022 Delaware Fun-A-Day, we talk to artist Eric W. Zippe about his past Delaware Fun-A-Day experiences, some sage advice for new participants, and how he uses the challenge to explore new directions with his photography. Thanks, Eric!
We like to know how people are connected to Delaware Fun a Day - are you a resident, born and raised? What opportunities have you found being in the exhibit?
I am a native Delawarean and I remember seeing the Delaware Fun a Day come up in my Instagram feed about 2015 and I loved the concept so I entered the following year.
This is going to be your SIXTH year participating! Can you describe your favorite past Fun-A-Day project?
Delaware fun a day 2016 “Tree a Day”
Delaware fun a day 2018 “Texture Equivalents”
Delaware Fun-A-Day 2019 “Abstraction from Texture Equivalent Series”
Delaware Fun-A-Day 2020 “Kaleidoscope a Day”
Delaware Fun-A-Day 2021 “Remix Kaleidoscope”
It’s difficult to pick one favorite past project. I can say that the “Texture Equivalents” and the “Kaleidoscope a Day projects” have led two separate bodies of work that I continually expand on to this present day. The “Texture Equivalent” led to a body of work that was the basis for my Delaware Individual Artist Fellowship grant submission from the Delaware Division of the Arts. The “Kaleidoscope a Day” project based on two dimensional flat images are now being translated into laser engraved wood reliefs.
You are both a working artist and educator, what art projects or activities have you had students do during your years of being an educator?
I teach photography and Photoshop to college students. I have two favorite activities I like to have my students do when given the opportunity. One is to sit and photograph sunset and it’s entirety starting two hours before to an hour afterwards. This is an exercise in looking and noticing subtle changes that happen over time that we may not notice if we do not take the time and observe. Another favorite exercise for photography is to photograph a roll of toilet paper creatively. This teaches to take something everyday and call mundane and see it differently.
Please describe your 2022 project “Digital Tintype a Day”.
“A Digital Tin Type a Day” is based around me taking images with my iPhone using a tin type app that gives a realistic look of the historical tin type process in photography. I am a big proponent of the iPhone as an artistic tool. It‘s really quite amazing the power of these little devices give an individual for expression and creative artistic development.
As a well-seasoned Delaware Fun-A-Day participant, what advice can you give our newcomers? Is there any piece of advice that you believe would be a top priority for rookies to take a hold of?
My biggest piece of advice is when picking and choosing your project is to distill your idea and the process that you’re going to do every day down to the simplest possible way to achieve your end result. Making a project too big in scope or difficult to do daily can cause a lot of stress and frustration.
Do you find yourself using DEFAD as a testing ground for new directions your professional work is going? Or do you use the month long challenge to produce more work that fits within your current cannon?
I use DEFAD as a way of experimenting new directions, new processes, or a totally new processes then my current creative practices. This gives you the freedom to step away from bodies of work, or mediums that you feel quite comfortable in and allows for growing your creative capabilities.
Your work primarily features trees. Is there special significance to this?
Growing up on a farm in southern New Castle County my father would take us on walks into the wintertime and I became quite fond of the shapes of trees especially without their leaves. One of my favorite photographers is Elliot Porter and I’ve been inspired by the way he used chaos and symmetry. And the bare form of a tree has a lot of both. My great grandfather was a German cabinetmaker so woodworking and wood is in my DNA.
You were awarded a Delaware Division of the Arts Emerging Artist Fellowship last year, were you inspired by something special with the works you submitted for this? What does this honor mean for your career going forward?
But work submitted for my fellowship application started as a DEFAD project that grew in into a different more focused acquisition of images. The idea of equivalents but the photographer Minor White has been a huge influence on my abstract photography. The fellowship award provides a monetary compensation that is important to continue not work but equally as important provides validation and Note-oriety which helps expand my creative practice. I have also used other DDOA Artist opportunity grants to learn new skills and techniques. One of the most notable is learning laser engraving and cutting which has allowed me to totally expand into a totally different field and medium of art. We are very lucky to have a very supportive art community and and government organizations here in Delaware and I’m totally thankful for that.
Anything else you’d like to share?
Have Fun! DFAD is a great way to grow your skills. The act of doing continuously flexing your creativity over a month is similar to and athlete preparing for an event. Practice makes you better. Since I have a Photography background I’m always been reminded of this famous quote “Your first 10,000 photos are your worst” Henri Cartier-Bresson. This can easily apply to any creative endeavor and needs to be reinforced every time you start something new.
Where can people see more of your work?
Website: www.ezippe.art
Instagram: @ezippe
Also at Bellefonte Arts in Bellefonte Delaware, and in-person at various art festivals.
