Local Visual Artist Maya Pillutla made their official debut last year at The Eclectika. Nomad caught up to discuss Pillutla’s process and coming into their own in the scene.
Maya Pillutla didn’t really start calling themselves an artist until last spring. It was the first time they decided to submit a piece of theirs to a gallery. Their collages, “Near and far sides wear different faces” and “Venus Observed” premiered at “The Eclectika,” an underground art space, in June of 2024. Their collages featured prominent faces and vibrant colors—a theme throughout their work.
“A lot of times I look for a clearly delineated subject,” Pillutla says. “Something with an outline and a silhouette. I really like people as subjects, people interacting with each other, or people interacting with the natural world. It’s really just a feeling that I get when I’m looking at them.”
Pillutla started collaging about five years ago, taking inspiration from some friends of theirs. Their journey really started after they were given some vintage magazines. For them, a lot of the fun comes from flipping through the magazines and seeing what they can find.
Last spring was a particularly transformative time, all the change in their life challenged them to take themselves and their art more seriously. They say It felt really good to see their work hung in a gallery alongside other talented artists.
“It was really nice too because I had a lot of support,” Pillutla says. “I felt like a lot of people came out and saw it and that was very sweet. It feels like it legitimizes my art more, not that any art is greater or less than other art, but it feels good to have it recognized and just be in an art space like that.”
Pillutla finds the most fulfillment in the process of creating rather than the final product. They make their art on their living room floor, preferably finishing in one or two sittings—any longer and they might lose sight of their vision.
”My process can be kind of broken up sometimes,” Pillutla says. “A lot of times I’ll just sit, cut pictures out of magazines keep the pictures without going any further with it. Other times I choose three magazines, get all of the pictures I need from them, and make the collage within the day.
Each session can take anywhere from three to six hours. Sometimes they go into a session with a theme in mind, other times, sessions are an opportunity to process emotions.
“It’s really just something innate,” Pillutla says. “Sometimes I have a day and it feels like I have almost no choice but to create. Then there are times where maybe I use more external motivations because it will make me feel better. I haven’t made a piece in a while just because I haven’t been feeling as good lately. I find that in a period of time where I’m feeling very happy and very good, I’ll make a lot of art at a really high rate. In lower energy times of my life I’m not creating as much, which I think is true for everyone.”
Their style has developed overtime to become more layered and complex. Some of the principles they initially adopted have changed. They’ve started to experiment with negative space and opt out of including words.
“I feel like in the context of my art sometimes adding words cheapens a piece a little bit,” Pillutla says. ”I’m not exactly sure why but sometimes I just feel like the finished product with no words speaks for itself more.”
Some have suggested that Pillutla venture into making digital collages. While they’re unopposed, they say they enjoy the physicality of their craft, and the challenge that comes from handling delicate materials. They’ve had to overcome the fear of messing up.
“I’ve had stuff just rip in half,” Pillutla says. Sometimes I can paste it back together, but then sometimes I end up with these two halves of this flower or this person. It’s about reintegrating it and adjusting my original vision to fit the physical reality.”
Throughout their process they’ve developed an intense relationship with glue. They have to be incredibly deliberate about the order in which pieces are laid down. There’s no going back—unless they’d like to risk tearing a piece in half.
“I’ve found that the best glue for me is literally an Elmer’s glue stick,” Pillutla says. “I’ve tried liquid glue and types of tape, but the glue stick is the key.”
While Pillutla has always felt artistically inclined, it was hard to find their preferred medium. Putting pencil to paper, making something out of nothing, felt daunting.
“Something that I think is interesting is that my mom used to make collages when she was young,” Pillutla says. “She also was big into scrapbooking in a classic mom way, but I feel like that’s very similar. I do feel more genetically inclined towards it. When I’m looking at things that already exist, it’s a lot easier for me to conceptualize a new thing. The thing I love about collaging too is how accessible it is. Anyone can do it. I think that’s part of why I’m attracted to it.”
