Art AV Club: Ruby Palmer

In this Art AV Club we look at the works of Ruby Palmer and how her work allowed me to explore a whole new dimension in my art.

Art AV Club came about when I fell down a YouTube rabbit hole watching videos about Cy Twombly. Videos of artists talking about their work or art historians talking about artists’ work is a magical thing that we are so lucky to have access to FOR FREE on the internet. I particularly like to examine artists whose work moves me and how my work intersects with theirs. Join me for this week’s Art AV Club: Ruby Palmer.

Wood collage

These two very short videos are of Palmer talking about her process and some of the evolution of her process. They have a lovely survey of her pieces and it’s fantastic to hear her talking about how she works.

Unraveling Artist Talk

This much longer video is a group exhibition talk that Palmer was a part of in 2020. It was my introduction to her and her work. Once I’d seen it, I immediately went and found her webpage to ooh and ahh some more. The whole video is some amazing conversations with women who are making interesting work but if you are short of time, Palmer’s segment starts just after the 50 minute mark and runs to about the hour mark. She has another short section at the 1:35 hour mark.

Outside the canvas

Ruby Palmer holds a very special place in my development as an artist. The Unraveling artist talk was in my list of homework from Ty when I did my mentorship with him. Watching that talk exploded possibilities for me. I had been mentally stuck on painting on canvas for a long time. Canvas equaled fine art to me and it was holding me back. Seeing what Palmer and the other artists were showing in Unraveling allowed me to start thinking outside the canvas. I talk about that transition in my essay The Big Shifts. I am so thankful to artists who share about their work and their process. I don’t know where I’d be without their insights.

Go exploring on your own

I hope you enjoyed this Art AV Club. If you want to see more of her work you can check out her website or her instagram. I loved getting to know Palmer better through this Art AV Club and I hope you did as well.

If you have other artists who you’d like to know more about, share them with me so I can include them in Art AV Club.

*Both the header pic and the pic of me in the blue shirt holding my art were taken by Lindsey Marie Photography. If you live in North Alabama and need a photographer, I couldn’t give her a higher recommendation.