Irene Neuwirth: You’re wildly creative and, ever since I was a little kid, I knew that I was going to do something creative, too. I’d go to every dinner with paints and paper.
Geraldine Neuwirth: I’ve learned so much from you — your discipline, your way of dealing with people, the way you express yourself. There’ve been moments for me as an artist that were very hurtful and disappointing, and you’ve helped me feel my way through it. In any creative field, you deal with so many rejections. You think, “I feel good about my work, but is it really as good as I think?”
I.N.: I sort of enjoy criticism. I like making things better. I’m interested in what people want to see, and then I do my version of that.
G.N.: That’s the difference between being a jewelry designer and being an artist in the studio. I just try to stay with my own vision and not be influenced. I prefer comments only when I ask for them because someone whom you respect could say something that stays in your mind and ends up changing the piece.
I.N.: I’ll have clients say to me, “I’d love to buy one of your mom’s pieces, but I’d like it small.” You’re like, “I won’t do small.”
G.N.: Or I do small, but it’s different from what they’re looking for.
I.N.: I was starting to post a lot of your work on my Instagram, and my clients and friends were inquiring about it there. Now I’m teaching you how to use Instagram, and I’m constantly like: “Don’t flood the internet with pictures five times a day! And there’s a spelling error!” I drive you crazy with all of these things.
G.N.: You don’t drive me crazy. If I feel you’re right about something — and usually you are — it’s very helpful. To me, everything is about making relationships with your art. Social media is part of that. If you’re not connecting, there’s really no life force.
Interview has been edited and condensed.
