Meet Evelyn Politzer | Visual Artist. Communicating with yarn, thread and fabric

We had the good fortune of connecting with Evelyn Politzer and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Evelyn, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
Being an artist doesn’t feel like a choice I made. It feels rather like an ingrained way of being. I realized that I was serious about pursuing art as a professional career when I would constantly daydream about what to make. On nights when I can’t sleep, I stay up thinking about art- things that inspire me, things I want to make.

When I was college-aged I wanted to study art and architecture, but because of the political state of my home country I went to Law School instead. Every time I would move to a new country I would have to restart my law career from scratch. So I felt that life was giving me a push to follow my true passion, when I finally moved to the US I could officially study Art, and pursued my Masters in Fine Art in Visual Arts.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I believe what sets me apart from others is my loyalty to hand-dyed wool as a material, while at the same time constantly finding new ways to use it. Although I use traditional ways of forming cloth, I either use them at large scales, or mix them with self-taught techniques that I develop through play and experimentation.

This hand-dyed merino yarn comes from my country of birth Uruguay, where wool is indispensable to the livelihoods of many people. It simultaneously comforts and excites me to be around this material I have seen constantly since I was a child. It challenges me to think of new ways to use what I already have and know so well.

I am proud of the techniques I’ve developed through experimenting. These include: painting with yarn and drawing without paper. At the same time, I am always trying to learn established techniques such as wet felting, which I did a lot of in 2023 to prepare for a large installation at the Art Gallery in Terminal 2 of the Fort Lauderdale Airport.

For me there is constant joy in making, in finding new solutions and applications, and the challenges that go along with them.

I use my art to communicate messages about the beauty and fragility of the natural environment. Womanhood and motherhood are also recurring concepts in my work. I wish to communicate the interconnectedness of nature and its systems. I don’t care much about people knowing things about me, rather I hope to convey these messages. I am just one person, but, like my installation about raindrops shows “Every Drop Counts.”

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I’m going to answer this question specifically oriented around art. First, I would recommend the classics: going to the PAMM, Perez Art Museum Miami, The Bass Museum of Art, The ICA, Coral Gables Museum, etc. But more personally, I would urge my friends to go to private collections such as El Espacio 23, The Rubell Museum, The Margulies Collection, etc. There is Art in Public Places everywhere and of course there are private art galleries in every single neighborhood. Miami is a very busy and exciting city when it comes to art related places to visit and once you are here you want to visit them all!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My mother was the first inspiration towards creativity in my life. She embroidered in a very painterly way, loose and in different directions. She was mark-making in a very regimented traditional medium.

My shoutout also goes to my husband, who supports, loves, and encourages me as an artist and person, especially in times of self-doubt. As well as to my kids who, not in vain, call me a “free-spirit.”

Finally, I am thankful for FAMA, Fiber Artists Miami Association, a collective I co-founded together with two other local artists, for showing me the power of the group, the scale of which I could not have reached as a single artist. FAMA’s mission is to educate and advance fiber arts as a contemporary art form.

Website: https://evelynpolitzer.com

Instagram: @evelynpolitzer

Facebook: Evelyn Politzer

Other: https://Vimeo.com/evelynpolitzer

Image Credits
Daniel Portnoy Photography