Photo by Tom Jenz
Della Wells
Della Wells
Della Wells is an artist who creates vibrant collages, pastels, drawings, dolls and quilts, each piece echoing the journey towards self-actualization and community as a Black woman. Her studies in sociology, African American history and women’s issues profoundly influence her artistic content.
At the age of 42, she embarked on her artistic journey, crafting collages that weave together the stories she yearned to tell and transforming them into rich tapestries of cultural significance.
Her work embodies a visual language that one art historian described as uniquely American, reminiscent of the patchwork wallpaper made from magazine and newspaper clippings found in long ago Southern homes, and which slowly evolved into folk art.
Wells’ art has been showcased across the United States, including major cities like New York, Chicago and Milwaukee, and has also been exhibited in Europe. Featured in over 100 private and corporate collections, her art attests to wide-reaching impact and appeal.
I met her at an inner city coffee shop, and we had an enlightening conversation. She speaks slowly and thoughtfully, and, occasionally with sardonic humor. Clearly, her opinions thrive on life experiences.
Let’s start with a quotation from you: “Being a master of your spiritual self does not come until you understand where you came from.” Where did you come from and what was your life like as a child and as a young woman?
I was born in 1951 and raised in Milwaukee’s inner city and went to public schools. There were eight children in my family. I grew up watching family shows on TV like “Father Knows Best” and “Leave It to Beaver.” As a kid, I was angry because my parents weren’t like those TV parents, Ward and June Cleaver. Later on, I discovered most parents weren’t like them.
What were your parents like?
My father worked in the post office, and he had anger issues. My mother was schizophrenic. It was hard growing up with a mother who had mental illness. But she would take us to the art museum and to Library Week. My father was a reader, and he had lots of books and magazines on almost any subject. I grew up reading a lot of books. Back then, I knew how to draw but wasn’t that passionate about drawing. When I was 18, I wanted to be a fashion designer. I also got interested in the Gallery for The Black Aesthetics run by George Edwards. He exhibited Black artists from the Midwest. That was the first time I actually saw the work of Black artists. I ended up writing reviews for the gallery and also learned how to hang art shows.
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Take me through your career up until you became a fulltime artist at the age of 42.
For 20 years, I had a job as a clerk typist for Milwaukee County, and then as a secretary, and I worked with computers. I was injured on the job. For two years, I had to wear a neck brace and braces on my arms. Finally, my doctor told me to find a new career. I enrolled at the Milwaukee Area Technical College, and I had to write a paper on an artist. I wrote about a Milwaukee Black woman artist, Evelyn Patricia Terry. Her work had appeared at the Gallery for Black Aesthetics. When I contacted her, she said, “I remember you,” then said, “You’re an artist,” and I thought to myself, “She’s crazy for thinking I’m an artist.” For about two years, Evelyn tried to get me to create art. By then, I was a student at UWM, taking courses in African American Studies, Women’s Studies and African religion. One day, Evelyn had a gallery opening featuring her art. After that exhibit, I told Evelyn I was ready to make art. I did a mono print and two pastels, and they actually turned out. Then, I did 50 pieces of art, mostly pastels, and Evelyn got me my first show. I was 42 years old.
You seem to work in a variety of media including collage, painting, illustration and folk art dolls. How would you describe your artistic style?
That is a good question. When I make my art, I think back to my childhood and also focus on storytelling because I used to want to be a writer. When I was in the 7th grade, we had an assignment to write about Santa Claus. I wrote about Santa Claus having a mental breakdown. That is how my brain works.
My impression from your artistic style is that you draw from offbeat thoughts and imaginings.
I like stories. For instance, I look at old TV series, and they sometimes influence my storytelling art. Recently, on the bus, I saw an old couple arguing about what to get at McDonald’s. The woman had a pair of men’s underwear on her head. I’m thinking about how I can express that observation in my style. I work with characters a lot.
From my research, I read this description: “For Della Wells, folklore is a powerful tool to explore the historical, social, political and economic complexities of the modern African American woman in America.” Can you expand on this?
History makes up who each of us are. I think about how people see other people and other things. As a kid, I learned that George Washington never told a lie. I said, “Nah, everybody lies.” I like to question things. For instance, June Cleaver of “Leave It To Beaver.” No woman mops floors in high heels, full makeup, and pearl jewelry.
Seems like you get your artistic ideas from inquisitive observations.
To get ideas, I page through magazines and maybe cut out what interests me. As a child, I was looking at cracks in the sidewalk and walls, patterns in the trees.
I’m a pretty good photographer and probably look at things differently than most people, kind of framing what I see on the street or in a building or when meeting a person. Most artists, photographers, and filmmakers are always looking around them.
I’m glad you said that. Sometimes people look at other people, but they don’t really see. All we see is a blur, and then we assume certain things. When I was a kid lying in bed in the dark, I would make movies in my head and have famous actors in the roles.
From my observation, you seem to feature mostly women and girls in your art. True?
Yes, that’s true. Because I am a woman, I create subjects I know about and what I feel, particularly Black women. My women take their own truth, and they are not going to let anyone twist it into stereotypes. At one of my exhibits, a guy told me I should do men. I said, “You should do men. Why don’t you create works of art with men in them?” (laughing) I like to create my own mythology around women. I use recurring images like butterflies as transformation of the soul, eyes because I see God, fish because I am a Pisces.
You sometimes create art by cutting elements from magazine pages. In fact, I think you have a rule that you can only use the materials you have in your house.
That’s true, and it supports me in my creativity because it forces me to come up with ideas I had not thought of ahead of time.
Your creative process seems to evolve organically.
Yes. The majority of times I don’t have a specific plan or a definite idea. I keep looking and reading, and then, I say, “Oh, yeah!”
Let’s talk about one example of your collage work. The title is Don’t Play We Me. It shows a young Black woman seated at a table, her oversized hand wrapped around a coffee cup, and the background wall shows a window, butterflies, a hanging lamp. and colorful wallpaper in green and blue patterns. On the wall, a black rectangle features the year “1951” in white letters. What is this collage all about? I think it might be about you.
Courtesy Della Wells
‘Don't Play We Me' by Della Wells
‘Don't Play We Me' by Della Wells
1951 is the year I was born. The teacup she’s holding references history, that in the past Black women would have tea parties to plan political or neighborhood or church strategies. She is holding onto that legacy. The oversized hand symbolizes the power of Black women and girls and announces she is firm in who she is. The butterflies show she has transformed. The window symbolizes how we always are looking at history and through people’s souls. Girls come into this world full of power. By the time they reach their teens, they pull back and try to fit in with the crowd.
Or they fall for a guy, and they want to please him.
Yeah, and now they got to be these prissy little things.
You seem to feature American flags in many of your collage pieces. I am thinking of your “Freedom’s Garden” in the Museum of Wisconsin Art collection.
I like to use flags because they represent America. America has this promise, this ideal, even though in reality, it isn’t always this way. We have to deal with racism, sexism, ageism. Most people are too busy trying to survive. But we still keep striving to realize that ideal. Luckily, there are certain people and leaders who say ‘This is what we’re supposed to be doin.’ The flag is the symbol of what we should be.
Your art pieces have been exhibited in not just Milwaukee, but in Europe, New York and Chicago and also in various publications. In other words, you are a major artist. What does that feel like?
I don’t know about being a “major artist.” I just want to make the artwork. The process is more important than the recognition. I like making my collages, it’s fun. The moment I feel it’s too much of a burden, I will stop doing it.
You created a world you call Mamboland. To quote you, “Mamboland is a place where Black women rule and are the masters of their own destiny.”
Mamboland is based on an African religion where the High Priestess was called ‘Mambo.’ So I created this world of Black women who are themselves and do not apologize for who they are.
Mamboland is a place where you can be you. Someone else is not going to push their reality on you. My mother was smart but mentally ill, and I don’t think she felt empowered, and she went through a lot of disappointments.
I recently read this about your art: “Composed of intricate elements cut from magazine pages, Wells’s collages become environments where women gather in sisterhood and face the harsh truths of violence and oppression.’ Do you agree?
Yeah, I agree with that. Some of my characters are dealing with oppression, some not.
Then, your art pieces generally represent a positive view.
Yeah. I think that people can make changes, and they have. My characters are based on women I grew up with, who were strong, women in the church, and activists like Ida B. Wells, writers like Toni Morrison, entertainers like Whoopi Goldberg. All those women represent power.
After I left Della Wells, I thought about something she said a few years ago: “I didn’t do anything for a long time (until I was 42), because I didn’t think I had anything to say. You can draw, and you may know how to do things technically, but I think to be a true artist you have to have something to say. You need to have a vision.”
The Andrew Edlin Gallery in New York will present the one-woman Della Wells exhibit of her latest work, starting May 31, 2024. Big banners of Della Wells artwork will be displayed downtown during the Republican Convention. To purchase the art pieces of Della Wells, contact the Portrait Society Gallery, 207 E. Buffalo St., Suite. 526.
