We are so excited to introduce another talented artist to our Well + Wonder line up - Ellen Schuster. We've been eyeing Ellen's abstracts for a while now and are so happy to finally announce that this artist has joined Well + Wonder! Lucky for us, before her Well + Wonder debut, we were able to sneak into Ellen's studio to ask her a series of rapid-fire questions, and she was such a sport. Read Ellen's answers in the post below then help us in welcoming her to our roster by shopping her body of work in the collection!
What is currently on your nightstand?
TopoChico and The Enneagram in Love and Work (book)
Who is your biggest influence as an artist and why?
Around my studio I have taped images by my favorite artists - most of them female and most of those by Lee Krasner. People may most readily know her as “Jackson Pollock’s wife,” however, she painted before, during and after her marriage. I find her work and method more compelling than Pollock’s.
Tell us about your childhood. What is the most memorable moment as a young person?
I grew up in Austin with my father driving me to school every day. It was the seemingly mundane carpool dropoff that I most remember. As I opened the passenger side car door to run into school, he never missed a day saying, “You know one thing for sure? Daddy loves you!”
If you could only have one supply in your art studio, what would it be and why?
Palette knife because it adds such rich texture!
What is your favorite room in your house?
Describe it. Our screened-in porch, hands down. We host friends and family under whirling ceiling fans when the Houston weather isn’t TOO hot and/or humid, and by the stone fireplace when it’s cool. Bamboo trees line the exterior fence on one side; my daughter’s Goldendoodle — my granddog—plays in the small yard on the opposite side; and an occasional possum balances along the fence. This space is where we “do life” with our people.
What is your biggest score online?
All of our family’s jewelry (costume and otherwise) was stolen early in my marriage. So my biggest joy is finding amazing vintage jewelry for my three girls. Creating new treasures to pass down!
What is the benefit of buying art through a collective? What do you recommend for those that are new to buying original art?
My education at Baylor University, as well as my first career as an interior designer, make me particularly aware of the settings in which art hangs. Whether in a hotel lobby, a university office, an intimate dining room or a baby’s nursery, clients’ environment dictates the art. A collective like Well+Wonder gives a buyer such a wide variety of art to choose from — genres, colors, mediums, materials. You can truly enhance any setting with one website. That’s an efficient aesthetic!
If you have the entire day to spend in an art museum, which one and why?
MoMA. MY husband and I loved walking through for free on Friday nights on our way to dinner when we lived in NYC.
What is your favorite hotel and what makes it special?
La Valencia in La Jolla, CA! We have shared so many special memories here—talk about BEAUTY—the setting, the lobby, the views… Besides, you’re steps away from the famous soup at George’s and my favorite charcoal vanilla gelato at Bobboi!
If you were a lipstick color would you be red, pink, or clear and why?
I rarely wear it, but deep red. I tend to wear more neutral colors, but I want to LIVE a “deep red” kind of life — intensely colorful, intentionally present.
I can never get on a plane without….
sparkling water, laptop and headphones
How did you get into the world of art?
When I lived in NYC, I began enrolling in as many art classes as possible. .I have always loved art history and art but never imagined personally creating art.
What do you do to relax?
I love vintage shopping — it’s more the hunt for treasures than the treasures themselves. A local Episcopal church runs The Guild Shop in Houston and this is my favorite haunt. I regularly purchase cuff links and convert them into earrings!
When do you get the biggest surge of inspiration?
Unfortunately, mostly at 3:00 am
Prediction for the Color of 2020?
LILAC- I cannot get enough
