Today we traveled to the Queens home of Roy Gussow, the most famous artist I’ve ever met. He is nearly 89 years old and still working. Some of these pictures are from his studio. Gussow’s home, garden, and studio are filled with maquettes of sculptures, tools, bits of trees and shells, and artifacts. It was fascinating to see the process of how he “draws” a project out using cardboard and wood.

His work is non-objective and very smooth so I asked him questions about concept, theme, and titles. Yesterday at the MoMA I had decided that titles can make or break a piece. But today, after seeing Roy and his daughter Jill’s work and talking with Roy about how he feels about art, I think I agree with Roy. If a piece is good, if it makes you feel or think or react, it should do so regardless of the title. Most works of art aren’t strong enough to stand on their own without a good title. People walk through museums and spend more time reading the cards next to the painting than actually looking at it—I know because I do it too. But when I think about how I want people to see my work and about the work I really love, I want my work to stand on its own.

Jill Gussow’s work is mixed media: fabric, photography, painting, metal, and found objects. It is close to the kind of work I see myself making in the future. Most of her work is centered around the walks she takes outside to deal with her emotions, which I can definitely relate to. She even collected rocks compulsively for a while—which made me think of all my days on the beaches of Orcas Island. Her work reinforced that there are many ways to approach photography and creativity and that we can and will evolve as people and as artists.