Meet Gret Mackintosh | Artist & Landscape Architect

We had the good fortune of connecting with Gret Mackintosh and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Gret, have there been any changes in how you think about work-life balance?
After working as a landscape architect for over 13 years in a more traditional office setting, the transition to being a full-time artist and managing myself, my time, my projects and focuses was more of a challenge than I anticipated. I had a studio at Redux Contemporary Art Center during that time and having a dedicated work space that was out of my house made establishing a boundary between work and home easier.

About two years later I had a baby and that has been the ultimate (ongoing) lesson in attempt to balance work and life. Soon after becoming a mother, I gave up my downtown studio after realizing that I needed art to be as easy to access as possible if I was going to keep painting with no child care. There were easels in the living room and the dining room table was covered art supplies that year and I painted whenever I could in the in-between moments of mom life. Fast forward a few years later, and now I work out of a backyard studio that is the best of both worlds – a separate space from the house, but also extra convenient for the full-time mom/full-time working artist goals.

I think that as a mother, it’s important to try to give yourself as much wiggle room as possible in order to keep your sanity when you’re simultaneously juggling parenting and any career. I learned to prioritize tasks much better and to assess the varying chunks of time I had available each day and try to set myself up for success by focusing on the most appropriate things at that time. For busy times when I need to squeeze in more work in the evenings, I try to set aside easier tasks that I don’t need to be fully focused on – like packing and shipping, or computer work that I can do from the couch in the evenings rather then having to be in my studio.

These days, my 4 year old just started school so I am now adjusting to a different work/life balance where I have most of my weekday hours back for the first time in years! Trying to be as present in whichever one I’m focusing on at the time (work or life) is the ultimate goal.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
At this point in my professional art journey, I’m most excited about the map paintings I’ve been creating for the past few years.
When I first started painting full time, I wasn’t sure what subject matter to paint bc I truly love so many subjects and mediums but for some reason I kept coming back to maps and aerial views. Once I saw the pattern and realized the possibilities, I got more and more excited about it. I love how my past life as a landscape architect comes through in these paintings. I typically use google earth and make large (or small!) illustrative but accurate maps, layered with details – very much fancy landscape architecture renderings.
I love that maps are so relatable, whether you’ve been to the place or not, common symbols like buildings, bodies of water, and roads tying things together. in a universal language.
When I had a studio at Redux, I used to love hearing people stop in the hall and chat when looking at my paintings, recognizing places they’ve visited, or lived, discussing different routes to take…. that was when I really realized I wanted to keep exploring the subject.
In 2022, I won the Griffith-Reyburn Lowcountry Artist of the Year Award through the Coastal Community Foundation for my map paintings and that was a very proud (and validating) moment in my art career.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I would start downtown with a slow morning at the Harbinger Cafe with a honey latte and a yummy breakfast treat, then walk a few blocks to Hampton Park for a stroll with Fox (my Dalmatian bestie), check out Redux’s front gallery on the way back and grab lunch at Leon’s or Little Jack’s (all within walking distance from each other) … then head to Folly Beach to spend the rest if the day on the beach and stop by Bowen’s Island for dinner on the way home!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would not be where I am today without the support of the creative community in this lovely town I’ve called home for almost 2 decades. Having a studio at Redux Community Art Center for years when I first started pursing art professionally was the best way to get to know other creatives here in Charleston and start forming a network.
Working out of a studio there, you’re surrounded by inspiring artists of all types, there are so many learning opportunities, current events and exhibitions happening, and opportunities to show your work. I learned so much those years. I curated my first art show and served on the Redux Artist Committee.
To any creative wanting to grow (in any town), I can’t recommend looking into having a studio around other artists enough!

Website: https://www.gretmackintosh.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gretmackintosh/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gretmackintoshart/

Image Credits
Alice Keeney, Rick Rhodes, and Richard Edens