Rapid River Magazine: How would you describe your work and where do you think it fits within the sphere of contemporary art?
Matt Tommey: I describe my work as nature inspired sculpture that uses basketry and a variety of unique surface and assemblage techniques as my language of expression. I’m not sure where that puts me within the contemporary art world. Quite honestly, I don’t give that a lot of thought. I try to make things that I love and that resonate with my clients that originate within the simple elegance of the natural world. That process has served me well over the last 23 years as a maker.
RRM: What initially captured your imagination about fiber art?
MT: I grew up in middle Georgia and was a part of the Boy Scouts. I spent my days riding four wheelers, hiking through the woods and paying attention in great detail to the things around me in the natural world. But love for nature quickly evolved into what I call “a compulsion to make.”
As a kid I was always making something and so when I serendipitously found a book on basket three as a college student at the University of Georgia in the mid 90s, baskets or he gave me a language to express my love for nature. It was a very natural transition.
I always loved the fact that I could walk in the woods, harvest some very rough materials and within a matter of hours great something a beauty that others would enjoy. That’s simple pleasure is still at the center of why I am an artist.
Natural fibers in particular have always interested me because of my easy access to them here in the mountains and my love for processing and handling natural materials. You can take something very rough and refine it to a form that is unrecognizable to the untrained eye. I love having conversations with people as I tell them that my baskets are made out of things like kudzu and other invasive plant materials. Their eyes widen, they gasp and always say “wow, I’m glad somebody finally found something to do with all that kudzu…”
RRM: Who were your early influences and how has their art influenced your work?
MT: When I first started making baskets, I got a lot of inspiration from traditional Appalachian style basket makers. I love the simple elegance of the functional forms and made those kinds of baskets out of vines for years. As I transition into sculptural work, I’ve gotten a lot of inspiration from ceramic artists who create interesting vessel forms and nature inspired works that mimic pods and nests. In particular, the work of Dorothy Gill Barnes, Michael Sherrill, Alice Ballard and Polly Adams Sutton I have significantly influenced my current work.
RRM: What was your route to becoming an artist?
MT: My journey to becoming a full-time, vocational artist began , Like many artists, by doing my work as a hobby. As my interest and mastery a basketry continued to develop, I began selling my work a few times a year at community shows.
After moving to Asheville in 2009, my work began to receive more critical acclaim and be collected and commissioned by clients around the country. That metamorphosis allowed me to transition into creating art as my full-time vocation. Now most of my work consists of commissioned pieces for luxury mountain homes here in western North Carolina and the upstate.
RRM: How has your work developed since you began and how do you see it evolving in the future?
MT: When I began making baskets, I enjoyed replicating the traditional Appalachian rib baskets. As I begin to master those forms, my I is begin to look deeper into nature for inspiration, no longer simply as a source for my weaving materials. I’ve always said that for me, every basket begins with a walk in the woods. Initially that walk was centered around sourcing locally available materials for my baskets.
As my artistic voice matured, I began to use those walks as sources of inspiration for new sculptural forms. Every time I would see a nest, a pod or a river rock nestled in the woods I would see baskets. I just took all the limits off of what baskets were traditionally supposed to be — functional containers — and began to see it as a language for expression through which anything was possible.
RRM: Tell us a bit about your process and what environment you like to work in.
MT: Although much of my inspiration comes from the natural world. I create my work in my studio located in Asheville is River Arts District. I am really blessed to have a large studio space and gallery where I can create, display my work and interact with my clients in a meaningful way.
Over the years, one of the most special parts of my creative process has been my interaction with my clients. Nowadays, I have the opportunity to visit with my clients in their homes, discuss our collaborative vision for their space and even Harvest materials from their property.
This connection between the land, my clients and my work is particularly meaningful for everyone involved as it allows me the privilege of creating work that is unique to the client and they are home. It really is a privilege to be trusted by interior designers, architects and clients to create pieces that reinforce I rustic yet elegant aesthetic in the home.
Matt Tommey
matttommey@gmail.com
(404) 538-5173
www.MattTommey.com