Amy Brier in conversation with David Lawton
Having heard from contributors and readers all over about the beauteous cover art for great weather for MEDIA’s 2021 anthology Paper Teller Diorama, we decided to introduce you to the creator of that art, Amy Brier.
Amy Brier has pursued a lifelong interest in the arts, leading to a BFA in sculpture with an emphasis on study of the human figure as well as an MFA in sculpture. She is the founder and Director of the seventeen-year-old Indiana Limestone Sculpture Symposium. Her work can be found on the Indiana University campus, at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine and The Jewish Museum in New York City, and in private and corporate collections. Website
David Lawton: Amy, it’s very nice to get to talk to you and introduce our readers to your work. In a sense, sculptors reveal the poetry buried in stone. Who were the sculptors who inspired your studies, and why?
Amy Brier: I like what you say about poetry and stone! I am inspired by stone carvings of the antique world, mostly. And with my carving partners. I am interested in natural form, narrative, and the shaping of light.
“Prague” by Amy Brier
David Lawton: Early in your career you worked in the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, one of the most amazing structures in New York City. Can you tell us about the work you did, and how it helped your development?
Amy Brier: My work at the cathedral gave me the skills and the love of Indiana limestone. I worked three years full time by hand, then three more years with pneumatic hammer. Malcolm Gladwell states that ten thousand hours are needed for mastery. I worked twelve thousand hours!
David Lawton: You did your graduate work at Indiana University, and you have stayed in Indiana and established your business there. What is it about Indiana limestone and the community of carvers who swear by it that is so special?
Amy Brier: Indiana limestone is the country’s building stone, it is the fabric of our monuments, landmarks, and important buildings. It is also made up of things that were once living, it carried this energy. It is soft, and homogenous, you can carve it at any angle, making it a pleasure to work. About my carving partners… I have two friends who I have collaborated with. Our latest is our best so far. Here is the prose poem I wrote about how we do it:
Carved by three of us over two and a half weeks. Had the theme but not the imagery to start. The story developed as we worked. The narrative came full circle by the end of the carving. None of us had claim to any one thing, nothing was sacred. "You see it, you carve it". Discussions happened, other times a statement was made by one and accepted by all. And then there was the moment when one by one we were done and walked away, happy. And then we all had a Gin and Tonic.
David Lawton: See how the poetry reveals itself! The Roliqueries series of interactive art that our cover image derives from: where did the idea originate and how have people reacted to them?
Amy Brier: Grad school is great for thinking and reflecting. I was thinking about Mycenean cylinder seals, which I love looking at. People enjoy them very much, just being able to touch the stone is exciting.
David Lawton: The Prague figure which is the specific Roliquery featured on our cover is inspired by carvings in that city’s St. Vitus Cathedral. It seems such a complex figure. Would you mind telling us what inspired you about it?
Amy Brier: Prague is a mix of my play with a few small carvings I found on door jambs, and fractal patterns, and just fun with geometry. There are five faces hidden in the foliage and pattern, some more obvious than others. Part of the game is to find all the faces.
David Lawton: Well, I'm going back to the cover to see what I can find. Thanks, Amy!
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Paper Teller Diorama is a thrilling collection of contemporary poetry and fiction from established and emerging writers across the United States and beyond. The anthology also contains an interview with San Francisco poet laureate, Tongo Eisen-Martin.
"These annual anthologies and other work by great weather for MEDIA are an admirable contribution to arts and culture."- The Compulsive Reader
Submissions for our next anthology open October 15, 2021.