Artist+Writer+ (model)= Harvest

Harvest Henderson is a trifecta.She's an artist,writer and model
(sshh, don't tell her I told you that). Which means, that not ony is she talented and intellectual.She is beautiful as well.

Do you have a collection?
I used to collect unicorn figurines when I was little; I wish I still had them. What was I thinking, giving 20 perfectly good glass unicorns to Goodwill? So stupid. I have only a modest art collection at this point: A photograph by a friend gifted to us at our wedding, a drawing by another Portland artist acquired in a holiday art swap, a small sculpture a Vancouver artist sent me in the mail, a couple of paintings of my husband's that I wouldn't let him sell.

Where is your favorite place to create?
I work on the floor. Chairs bother me.

What is your favorite building?
The Portlandia building downtown. Notre Dame. Frank Gehry's Weisman art museum in Minneapolis. My new house.

If you could have invented anything, what would it have been/or be?
Post-it notes. Like Romy and Michelle.

Name three things you would like to do before you die?
Ok, since I only get three, I have to make them really broad: 1) Publish several books, become a radio celebrity, show well-received installation work in many cities. 2) Travel to or live in 30+ countries in SE Asia, South America, Africa, and Europe. 3) Live to be over 100 together with Scott, in love and in great health, surrounded by happy passionate family and friends. I think that would do.

What do you need to create art?
Time. Motivation. Acceptance that some of it is just absolute shit, and it still has a purpose and a benefit.

What's your favorite piece of art hanging in your house right now?
Well, they're not hanging at the moment because I need to get them framed, but right now I'm partial to the 8 drawings on foam core panels that Scott commissioned for our anniversary this spring. They were done by a local comic artist named Kaebel Hashitami and they tell the story of how we met and fell in love.

Do you collaborate with others?
I've tried collaborating with my husband, but we're both control freaks and work at very different paces. I think our styles are complementary if we can get past that eventually. I'm easing into casual, collaborative mail art with Ellen George; the first couple times I sent her something and she modified it and sent it back, I got my feelings hurt, thinking "Why does she send everything back?" Ha!

Do you work on more than one piece at a time?
Yes, depending on deadline and medium. With paintings, I have several going at once for long durations; with installation, it's usually fast and dirty.

Do you share your work with others before it is finished?
I'm not even 100% keen on sharing it once it *is* finished half the time...

Do you listen to music while you're working? If so what?
Yes. Something I can sing along to. Usually something upbeat to try to keep self-doubt at bay.

If you could be commissioned by anyone who would it be and what would you create for them?
I really have no idea. I guess I would find it interesting to be commissioned to create a creative sanctuary space for someone... I'm interested in how interior spaces affect the way people live and work.


How do you know when something is finished?
When it's what?

What or who influences your work?
I steal little pieces of things I see in good design... metaphors or lines of text from books... illustrations from old encyclopedias. I love Chinese candy wrappers. I love repeating patterns, especially of circles. I'm pretty impressionable and I think I soak a lot in from the work of others that I see around town or in publications. I tend to glob onto something I like and mull it over for a long time before moving on. I've been crushing hard on Motherwell's 'Elegy to the Spanish Republic' series for about a year now, though it's not at all evident in my work. There's also a Willy Heeks painting at the PAM that I'm pretty crazy about.


What is your favorite museum, gallery, place to see art and why?
I have a soft spot for the Walker Art Center in my hometown of Minneapolis. I used to take the bus to work in Uptown past the Walker almost every day, and I loved reading the Lawrence Weiner text installation on the side of the building like a daily mantra: BITS & PIECES PUT TOGETHER TO PRESENT A SEMBLANCE OF A WHOLE. They finished their renovation last spring, doubling their space, and I dig the new design as much as I dig the programming. I've seen some great stuff there, from a show of Hannah Hoch's collages that totally inspired me in college to an incredible retrospective of work by Huang Yong Ping this past winter.

What has been the most unique thing you've used to create art with?
Probably the most interesting tactile experience for me was putting together an installation made of fresh sod; it was fun learning to cut it with a sharp knife (lost a little bit of fingertip, but such is life) and I got to get really muddy. Plus it smelled awesome in the gallery.