Art maker: Peggy Klineman, abstract artist

Peggy Klineman loves manipulating raw material, but her artistic pedigree is considerably refined: She received an MFA in ceramics from the Rochester Institute of Technology, worked in design in New York City and later studied painting at Cooper Union and the Art Student League of New York. Before moving to Worthington in 2015, she had been mixing oil paint with wax to create what she calls “gestural abstract canvases” and works on paper.

“These works were inspired by nature,” says Klineman. “I explored the connection I made with a specific place and a particular moment in time when the light and ambience touched me.”

In more recent years, Klineman has developed mixed-media paintings based on shredded paper, a medium she explored in an exhibit in April at the Hampden Gallery at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Hamsphire Life: Describe the work you’ve been doing of late.

Peggy Klineman: Preparing to move from New York to Massachusetts, I had to shred sensitive documents such as tax returns and financial statements that had accumulated for years. I intended to recycle them, but in the process I had a light-bulb moment: shredded paper could be an excellent raw material for my artwork, especially since my studio would now be in my home and I didn’t want to live with oil paint odors and fumes. 

HL: What is your creative process like?

P.K.:  I am an intuitive, process-oriented art maker. The work progresses as colors and shapes unfold, and I respond to what is developing before me. Sometimes I make a mess, and other times it flows quite easily. A big part of the process is studying the work to understand what is working and what isn’t. And, building upon what is.

H.L.: What do you do when you get stuck?

P.K.: I put the work aside and come back to it another day with a fresh eye.

H.L.: How do you know the work is done?

P.K.: I just know when it looks right and I can’t see anything else I want to do to it. This can be after studying the work over the course of days or weeks. On occasion I will come back to work a year later to rework it if I am unsatisfied with it.

H.L.: What did you do most recently that relates to your art?

P.K.: I participate in a weekly figure-drawing group that keeps my eye sharp.

H.L.: Why do you make art?

P.K.: I am compelled to make art. I love the creative process.

— Steve Pfarrer

Peggy Klineman’s website is www.peggyklineman.com.