Edith Crever; “Musician and His Cat”

Artist Feature: Edith Crever / Art / Class of 2023

By Madison Alexander

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"Musician and His Cat" by Edith Crever

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Edith Crever is an artist and a St. Mary's Academy senior. Asked about her piece "Musician and His Cat," which was published in Escribe Maria's 2021-22 print magazine, she said, "In all the chaos of the past two to three years, what I, and I’m sure many others, have craved the most are tranquil moments. Those quiet moments of quiet contentment. For me, I find those moments in music, art, my family, and my pets. In many ways this painting was only for me. I made it for myself. Both the subject matter—the figure who is my family member, the rainbow of arrogant colors which I could not resist using, the representation of music and feline companions—and the act of painting this piece were purely for my own amusement and quest to find the calmness I tried to portray."

For Crever, creating art is natural, a lifelong practice: "This process is as old and familiar to me as my first words." When beginning to create a piece, she balances planning and spontaneity, leaning more towards one of these extremes depending on the specific work she undertakes. "Most of my work is done from my imagination," she tells Escribe, "though some of my most recent works are based on photographs." These images, "aged photographs from albums tucked away in [her] grandmother’s apartment," have served to inspire various pieces, including "Musician and His Cat." However, the finished product is always unique, "almost unrecognizable" from the reference photo—Crever makes additions, changes, and other creative decisions to craft her own distinctive piece. She says, "I prefer to do this by first determining what exact aspects of the reference that I like and what to keep. Everything else that is not necessary for me to repeat, I alter or remove. The best part of painting for me is that I am not confined to laws of the natural world or what is presented to me in realistic photos, therefore there is no excuse for me to copy a photo verbatim other than simply laziness."

Crever explains which photographs catch her attention and stand out as potential catalysts for artwork: "I am particularly drawn to the ones where the subjects appear to be deeply occupied by something other than the photographer." She emphasizes that she "find[s] people to be most interesting when they are unaware that they are being observed." These candid moments are what she seeks to capture in her work, bringing the viewer a sense of that everyday yet elusive calm.

Edith Crever