KARI BELL LANDS IN TAOS
RETIREMENT CAN BE TRICKY. The transition to a schedule you can call your own may be both exhilarating and terrifying. Some people intuitively know what’s next for them. Taos artist Kari Bell started strongly, following a 30-year academic career teaching Spanish language, culture and literature classes. Bell said she’s always been passionate about the arts. “The feeling I experienced when I took my first painting class was peace. It is what center’s me. When I was young, I wanted to be a college professor. I wanted ‘the contemplative life.’ Read, study, write, pass on knowledge, etc. But academia is not contemplative at all. It’s repetitive work laced with politics.”
Tempo caught up with the artist still unpacking boxes from the Denver move to Taos with her wife, Sandy Pierce. Here are the edited responses.
What brought you to Taos, what sustains you here?
Years ago, I applied for a summer Fulbright workshop on Brazilian studies offered by University of New Mexico based at the Taos Ski Valley. It was a tiny place, just a small building, to gather. Long days of classes with weekends to explore the area. Taos was a treasure. I never forgot the town, the people, the climate and the art. It was my introduction to living in the Southwest.
In 2014, my wife and I abandoned the East Coast for the sunny climate of Denver and we rediscovered Taos. It became the place we needed when we wanted to escape urban life. Denver became more polluted, noisier, congested with traffic and people. We began thinking about moving some place quiet where I could continue to paint and my wife could play piano at any hour of the day. And Taos called us. We spent a year looking for the best setup for two creatives and eventually settled-in. With COVID-19, it’s been hard to integrate into the community, but we know a few folks and we know this pandemic will not last forever.
After decades in a career in academics, you picked up a paintbrush and began your artistic journey to now. What advice would you give your younger self?
That’s an interesting question. I was raised by parents who grew up in the depression, who were separated for four years by
WWII, who built their lives on consistent hard work and ‘made it.’ Nobody in that middle-class generation went out to dinner, to movies, galleries or even browsed bookstores. Kids didn’t have karate on Tuesdays and soccer on Thursdays. Parents worked, scrimped and kept their kids ‘in line.’ They provided education and by golly, you didn’t get to choose art or music or things that wouldn’t give you a career. Be a teacher, something to fall back on in case you didn’t get married.
So sure, what I should have done was rebel, stand up for what I wanted. But what I wanted wasn’t on the table. I did rebel, but after college and a year of work. I fulfilled the dream of a 10-year-old when I packed up and went to Spain, because I had a date with Spain. Spain was my proper introduction to art with all the amazing museums, art through the centuries at my fingertips, and I indulged. And that younger self kept a mental portfolio, revisiting them, reading, studying, dreaming a little, sometimes incorporating them into classes. Without knowing it, art was my silent sideline gig. My advice – listen to your inner voice and don’t quit.
What is your creative process?
My process is like a superhighway with ideas flowing all the time until a moment comes when an exit says ‘get off here.’ This germination of ideas is ongoing, but I always sense when one is coming to fruition. A realist painter is to an extent dictated to by the veracity of what they see. For me nothing is off-limits; what I see is my truth. Helen Frankenthaler said, ‘In art, rules are meant to be broken.’ I take that a step further. Breaking or bending the rules releases my creativity.
How does an artist navigate the art world with integrity?
‘If you know your values, there are no questions’ – It is my mantra for living with my decisions. I am fortunate that I don’t have to sell my work to live, so I can be rigid in my approach. I won’t paint 25 panels of the same design with different colors in three days to satisfy a gallery. I paint what I feel about what I see. If I can’t do that, produce what satisfies me, then I stop painting.
What do you do for fun?
Besides painting, my wife and I love to travel and can’t wait for this pandemic to be resolved so we can address our list of places to visit. Our pups are the epitome of fun and activity, especially when we do shorter stints on local trails. We both enjoy hiking, going to galleries, live music, exploring mom-and-pop restaurants, meeting people and enjoying new experiences. We are both avid readers and love discussions about books and the world. I am the house cook, always in the market for new vegetarian or vegan insights, while my wife Sandy is skilled at addressing the smaller maintenance jobs around the house.