10 Questions with Emily Church

1. If you could have one superhero power, what would it be?

I have always thought it would be amazing to speak and understand any language. To communicate with anyone in the world. As it is, I don’t really speak a second language though I’ve studied French and Italian and in New York I’m always encountering people from other countries. I am in awe of those who speak five or more languages. My super power would be to speak them all. 

2. Do you collect anything?

In my studio and home I have collections of shells, corals, stones, and dried bits of plants and nature. I love the shapes and forms found in nature and they inspire my work. 

3. What was your first job?

Teaching art classes to little kids out of my parents’ garage every summer as a teenager. 

4. Which famous historical person would you want to spend the day with?

I would like to spend the day painting with Charles Burchfield. I’d love to hike out into nature with him and hear him speak about how and what he sees as he paints. 

5. If you could time travel, would you go to the past or the future?

I want to say the past because it would be interesting to see the world before it became so overrun with humans and pollution, but I am also curious to see if and how we solve some of our problems in the future!

6. Have you ever disliked something and then changed your mind?

Olives! I hated them until I was traveling in Italy with two friends working on an art project. We hiked up through the olive groves to see the basilica in Assisi. For lunch we bought olives and bread and cheese and took it back down to the train station to eat while we waited for our train back to Florence. This was the first time I ever liked eating an olive and now I love them. 

7. Do you think dreams have hidden meanings? 

I don’t think the meanings are so hidden. It seems clear that our dreams are ways of processing our daily anxieties and problems and often try to help us solve issues we can’t quite solve while awake. 

8. Do you believe in reincarnation?

I think it’s such a compelling idea. I want to believe in it. Sometimes it feels like it makes sense, like when you meet someone that just seems wise beyond their years and experience. An “old soul.” I practice yoga and reincarnation is a huge part of that, however, I am a skeptic. I try to let the ideas wash over me with no judgement and keep an open mind to all possibilities. 

9. Where do you go when you need fresh inspiration?

Lately I’ve been diving even deeper into my daily life, drawing moments from my everyday experience in colored pencils at my kitchen table at night. Trying to find and connect threads and just take pleasure in drawing. 

10. What’s your go-to guilty pleasure?

Not sure it’s guilty exactly, but I drink a lot of coffee and I love to get Mexican cappuccinos from the taco shop on the corner by my studio. They put sugar and cinnamon in, which I don’t usually do on my own!