Interview with Ziggy Rendler-Bregman

By Jessica Johnson

I met the poet Ziggy Rendler-Bregman when we were both part of a poetry workshop. What I didn’t know about her then, having only known her as a writer, is that she is a remarkable visual artist as well. Ziggy and I sat down at a local cafe to talk about her creative life. She shared what inspires her and keeps her motivated as well as her newest project, a collection of poetry and art titled The Gate of Our Coming and Going.

How long have you lived in Santa Cruz? What brought you here? “I grew up in Los Angeles. I came here as a student a long time ago, in 1969.”

How has living here influenced your creativity? “In every possible way, because of the environment, because I source so much from being by the ocean, by being in the woods. The air and the light…just being on this western edge of the world. And the quality of work being done here – the influence of my peers and the incredible artists who are here whose work I have followed and am informed by. There is an intellectual life here that is so nurturing.”

Why is creativity important to you? “It’s the language of my being, of my soul. And for me there is a really deep connection between art and spirituality. It’s a response to everything that brings me alive.”

What do you say to people who say they are not creative? “This book is titled The Gate of Our Coming and Going because we’re all coming and going. So people who say they are not an artist or they are not a writer, it’s because they’ve never given themselves the opportunity to ask that question in a way that isn’t scary or self-conscious.”

What is the first thing you remember creating/making? “I think I was about 7, and I was at my grandmother’s house. I came into the living room and I said, “Nana, listen: If I were an angel up in heaven above, I would sing with all my love,” and my grandmother started clapping and it was like… I can make a rhyme! I also remember sitting on the front steps of my childhood home in Los Angeles. In LA you don’t really have a change of seasons. There was this big tree across the street and the leaves were all turning red and I remember going into the house to get my pencils because I wanted to draw the tree. There was this instinct to try to capture it, note it, keep it, because it was so beautiful.”

What is your process? Daily routine? “I try to write everyday. I go to my studio and sometimes I just go to my desk and look out the window and that’s OK.”

Do you have a muse? “The Holy Spirit. I am a practicing Catholic. What I call the Muse is my willingness to be open and to be led to what’s next.”

What never fails to inspire you? “Nature. Because it’s changing, it has structure, form, color, line, shape, juxtaposition, tension, opposites, positive and negative space – all the elements of visual art are there in nature.”

Do you have dry spells? What do you do then? “I just keep showing up. Or I mix it up and say, ‘Let’s get outta Dodge’ and we will go up to the city or something.”

Best advice you were ever given about being an artist/maker/creative? “Don’t go backwards. Just keep trying stuff. And of course, work every day.”

Ziggy Rendler-Bregman’s book The Gate of Our Coming and Going is available at Bookshop Santa Cruz or through her website: www.ziggyrendlerbregman.com where you can also view her artwork.

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Raised in Aptos, Jessica Johnson is a poet, author and blogger dedicated to helping others live brave, creative lives. Read more about her creative journey at www.vinegarandvanilla.com. Email your questions, comments and creative suggestions to her at jessica@vinegarandvanilla.com