Here at Segullah, we’re giddy about our new issue of the journal. We love the essays, articles and poems; and Lee Bennion’s artwork makes the print edition a thing of beauty. We can’t quite believe our luck to have Lee Bennion, one of the most highly-respected and well-loved contemporary LDS painters, as our featured artist. It was my pleasure to interview Lee over the last few weeks, and from a writer’s perspective I appreciate seeing how Bennion’s approach to visual arts also applies to writing and other creative pursuits. Her website, Horseshoe Mountain Pottery, showcases her art and gives readers a glimpse into her life.

It’s obvious from looking at your art, with its landscapes and nature images, that you’re a “western” artist. How does being part of a rural community in the west influence your life and work?

Where I live is a huge part of who I am. Probably almost as big as my family is a part of who I am. There are ups and downs living within any community or groups as there is in one’s family life. I love you calling me a “western” artist as I think of myself as a westerner. I grew up in California’s Central Valley in a town called Merced. It was a lot like Orem where my husband grew up, both agricultural towns that by the time we had graduated from high school had become giant strip malls. We both were disillusioned by the change in our hometowns and wanted to find a place that would hopefully in our lifetime stay a quiet small town.

We chose well in Spring City. I still love it here and express gratitude to God every day that I live in this beautiful place that has clean air, water, views, access to the mountains, and a sense of history that I can connect with. Living here, raising my family here, has had a profound influence on my life, our lives, and my work.

You went back to school and finished your BFA after having your girls. How did you balance school and motherhood?

It was tough, but I loved it. I tried going back to school in September of 1977, just a few weeks after my eldest was born. After two weeks, I dropped out. Commuting from Spring City, trying to nurse a baby and being a greenhorn mom and full-time art major just wasn’t working. Something had to give and it was a no-brainer that it was school. Those motherhood instincts and hormones are very powerful and good. I was learning tons being a mother. I also read a lot during those years that my two oldest girls were small. I had only taken my first painting class the last semester before I dropped out, and I was still very intimidated by it and didn’t have the courage or drive to make time for it with my life as a mother.

In 1983, my husband decided that he was going back to school for his MFA. My heart leapt and I instantly decided that I would return to BYU as well to finish my BFA. I didn’t need the degree so much as I wanted to get back to drawing and painting, and I knew that school would be a good jump start for me as I am a diligent student. It worked. By the time I graduated in 1986, I was working enough and integrating it in with my life that I knew that I wouldn’t stop when I was done with school.

Who were your early influences and your influences today?

Ella Peacock was a dear friend and mentor to me when I first moved to Spring City. She taught me how to stretch canvas and tone them, how to properly clean and care for my paint brushes and most importantly, how to construct and carve frames. She was also a great example of someone who integrated her life and her painting. She also couldn’t care less what people thought of her, and was a bit of a loner, although definitely a part of our community. I related to her better than I did the young women my age in town. She was my best friend here for years. I have always admired Minerva Teichert too. I didn’t know her, but I sure love the way she lived her life.

When did you feel you hit your stride as an artist?

I feel like I have hit my stride many times, and then lost it for a while and then come back further ahead down the trail. When I was out of school I hardly produced any art work other than a few sketches of my children. I was terrified going back, thinking I would be way behind all these students who were immersed in school. I quickly realized that my skills had not diminished and that my work was better than it was when I had left it. I also had an advantage over most of the students. Their biggest problem was “What do I paint or draw?” I had no problem with that as I had a rich and full life to draw upon.

What is it like to be in your studio? Set the scene for us.

Right now I am using Ella Peacock’s home as my temporary studio. It is still very much as it was when Ella lived there. Her easel and last unfinished painting are there in the corner. Sometimes I feel like she is there, itchy to talk to me and paint on that canvas. Every September the local artists group hosts a studio tour. My studio, along with about 20+ others, will be open that day. Go to http://springcityarts.com/ for more information.

Would you be able to break down your process from inspiration to completed work?

Somewhere along the process of painting, I let go of who or what I am painting and let it dictate to me what it needs, how it feels. I know this sounds weird and that the painting doesn’t have a personality, but I have to let go of what I think it should be and what I see in the photo or sketch I might have used to get started, and react to the line and colors and let it become a painting, not just a resemblance of someone or something. I want to let my feelings about that person, place or thing bubble up through the paint by how it is applied, the color choices, everything!

Sometimes this happens very freely and quickly. Other times it is a struggle. I love starting paintings. That is usually easy and fun. Finishing is sometimes harder, knowing when to stop. Does it really need that last touch? Sometimes I just don’t feel right about something and will scrape off huge areas when I have had a canvas against the wall in a finished state for a while. That is hard to do, but I am mostly relieved and happier with the results. Sometimes it takes a while to figure things out. I usually have about four to six pieces going at a time. I often figure out what I need to do for one painting while working on another.

How would you encourage LDS women to develop their creativity, either in the visual arts or in other creative avenues?

Do prod your self out of idleness. If you have that urge to write, dance, paint or make music and it just isn’t fitting in, try to figure out how you can. On the other hand, don’t beat yourself up if the time is just not right for these things and you don’t feel a burning urge to do them. Don’t let others dictate what your time frame should be. If you are immersed in raising children, enjoy it and learn all you can from it. You will know when it is time to start weaving back into your art. Some are just able to do the two together all along. We are all different. Listen to your soul and what brings you peace and joy.

I know that when my first two girls were young, I really didn’t think about painting or drawing much for about five or six years. But as they got a little older, I was feeling the need and used school as a way to get going again. Motherhood was totally satisfying for me as a woman, and as an artist. All good things will work for your benefit and find expression in your life somehow. I like that line “All truth can be circumscribed into one great whole.” I look at art and life this way. Art is what comes out of that receptacle of truth and light.