contradictions. And I think my drawings show that, they’re humorous and kind of light, and on the other hand there’s the underlying tone of seriousness, maybe some foreboding at times . . . . CSQ: Do you ever get frightened when you're doing drawings? CCS: No, never. CSQ: Do you know the experience I ’m talking about? CCS: When I do a drawing of something, I’ve already faced it. When the drawing comes out, it’s no longer frightening. I think it’s frightening to other people, at times, but not to me. CSQ: What are you referring to? CCS: I think that some of the imagery, especially the dogs, are frightening to people. Sometimes they look violent to people. Maybe it’s because they can’t understand, then it becomes frightening. I think people want to feel comfortable and want to feel safe. Sometimes my drawings are not safe . . . a lot of artwork is not safe. Safe in that it’s easy to look and know exactly what you're seeing. r “I THINK THE WORLD, RIGHT NOW, ISA VERY UNSAFE PLACE, AND I THINK THAT IS REFLECTED IN THEARTWORK. I KNOW THAT I ’M AFFECTED BY IT.” Above: Tea For Who. Below: Summer’s Catch CSQ: How come the dogs figure so prominently in what you're doing? CCS: Originally they had to do with the relationship I saw between dogs and women, in this society. You’re either the pet or the worker — there to please men, or work for men, but never quite the equal. Originally the people weren’t even in the pieces . . . they were just dogs. And then as time progressed,. I saw the dogs more as something inside of myself . . . a part of myself that needed to be expressed but that as a person I found difficult to express, verbally say. So I put a human being in the drawings as myself, as my physical self, and then the dog became that which was being expressed. CSQ: Earlier, I was trying to pin you down on whether the dog meant something different in one place than in another place. In this drawing, the dog doesn't seem very beaten down at all. CCS: I don’t think of myself being an unequal person, and the dog being an unequal entity. I really don’t bemoan my existence as a woman at all. I think sometimes it’sdifficult. And I think that being a man is difficult in many respects too. I’m not trying to portray the downtrodden at all. And you're right, in each drawing, the dog and the person, in their reaction and interrelationship with each other is different from the next piece. CSQ: To what extent are these dogs also just two dogs ... that are part of your life? CCS: That's part of it too. because a lot comes from watching my own dogs react, to myself, people around them, or to each other. Dogs cannot hold back their emotions. The way they feel is always out there. If they love you, they’re all over you. We are conditioned to inhibit. So I see that in my work, it is the part of me that can be expressed without any inhibition. CSQ: Your drawings that I've seen all seem to relate to domestic activities. At least they take place in a house . . . lots of floors and walls. CCS: Originally I did that because I wanted to work with my background 26 Clinton St. Quarterly
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