The past few years, you’ve probably seen Emily Teachout’s art at events, as a collaboration with the Ohio County Public Library, YNST Magazine, or hanging on the wall of a local business or friend. Creating collages under the name Retrouvez Studio, Emily is becoming a fixture in the local art scene in Wheeling. For the unfamiliar, collage is the work of creating art in which paper, fabric, photographs, etc. are arranged and glued to a supporting surface to create a new image.
I sat down one Sunday morning at Good Mansion Wines over coffee and pastries to talk with Emily about life, art and inspirations. First of all, Emily is a Wheeling gal. She was born and raised in Wheeling and has lived here her whole life, besides a short stint in Boston. She studied preservation history in college and works a full-time job as an archivist. The dichotomy of studying and working to preserve media while also creating art by cutting it up is not lost on Emily. She says, “I often utilize my background in archiving and history when creating collages by incorporating preservation techniques. I view the images I use as either socially, culturally or historically significant because they are vintage, which can reveal a lot about the past.”
Emily has been creating collages since she was a teenager, at first with fashion magazines in her bedroom. Later she moved on to creating collages using images from films of different genres. Recently, her work has become emblematic of feminism, critiques of the male gaze and challenges to societal norms. I had previously thought that she must flip through media, find images and then come up with an idea, but Emily says her collages are very intentional and planned. She starts with an idea and searches for the images. Emily runs an Etsy store where she has sold vintage ads for quite some time, so she has folders and boxes of magazines to search through when inspiration hits.
What is the motivation to create collage art? Emily says externally it’s to see people’s reactions, whether this is in person at a festival she’s vending at or a reaction to a process video she shoots for social media. Internally, she is inspired by music, culture and the desire to provide commentary on social and political issues. Some of Emily’s favorite media to work with are vintage Playboy magazines. She’s drawn to the concept of taking an image of a woman produced for the male gaze and presenting it in a new context, such as her iconic “Saved” piece. Emily explains she named the business Retrouvez after the French verb “retrouver,” which means “to find again.” Her collages come across as a way to find the past again in a different light.
This summer, you can find Emily at The Friendlier City Project’s Pride Festival on June 13 in Heritage Port, at Wheeling Arts Fest on August 1 in Wheeling Park and at the Moonlight Market series of art festivals in Morgantown. If you are lucky enough to snag an original piece by Emily, she says to visit the FAQ on her website, as she provides details about how to properly display and store her art so it does not become damaged or fade over time. She is also welcoming new commissions. Follow along on socials like Instagram!
