Open air, open mind with Beth Hoeckel

There's something about Beth Hoeckel's work that stops you without warning. You're looking at what might be a sun-bleached travel photo from 1974, and then, wait. Something's off. A figure drifts into a landscape that shouldn't exist. A cosmic event happens in the background, completely unbothered. You look again, and you're still not sure where one world ends and another begins.

The way her collages hold the ordinary and the surreal in the same frame without explaining themselves is exactly why we wanted Beth's work in Volume 05.

Open Air is a volume about what happens when you stop forcing things and let transformation unfold on its own. The two coffees inside are natural process coffees, dried in open air over weeks, shaped more by patience and atmosphere than by intervention. Beth's piece Solar Eclipse lives in that same spirit. Sun-faded, effortlessly at ease, it opens into an expanse that feels both deeply familiar and quietly impossible. Nothing announces itself as strange. And somehow, that's what makes it land.

Beth cuts from vintage photographs, old magazines, and printed matter, recomposing them until different worlds overlap without friction. It's meticulous and intuitive at once, and the results have a stillness to them that rewards the kind of slow looking we're always encouraging over a good cup of coffee.

We asked her a few questions about her process, her curiosity, and what keeps her moving.

Collage is built from existing things. What draws you to cutting, rearranging, and working with material that already has a history?

I love collecting, treasure hunting, categorizing, curating, and organizing. This is the same reason that I love rocks, and also vintage clothing. I also just love the print quality of old magazines and books. There's something so special about rich vibrant colors that are aged and faded with time.

You've lived in Baltimore, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Austin, and Boulder. Has all that moving shaped how you think about landscape or space in your work?

I don't know if moving has shaped how I think about landscape, all of the recent moving has been a pain in the ass and has honestly not been great for maintaining a consistent art practice. But all the traveling and road trips have been inspirational for sure. I love coming across magical landscapes in nature and thinking to myself, "this looks like it could be one of my collages."

When you're not making art, what helps you reset or recharge?

Traveling and exploring. I always want to be learning and discovering something new. It also helps to have something to look forward to.

What's something you're curious about right now. creatively or otherwise?

Dimensions, astrophysics, the philosophy of physics, the big mysteries of the universe such as dark matter and dark energy.

A few sips

Our not-so-lightning round. Just a few small questions to savor.

What does a really good morning look like for you?

Sunny, warm, quiet and peaceful. But also energetic, like I ideally got a decent amount of sleep. No alarms. No anxiety.

What's something that never fails to bring you joy? (Big or small, serious or silly.)

Collecting rocks. I love being in nature and discovering interesting earth artifacts. This is also like a walking meditation for me. I am endlessly fascinated by rocks and minerals and I love the searching and treasure hunting aspect.

What songs or artists would be on the soundtrack to your life right now or all-time?

The Grateful Dead, mainly live shows spanning from the late '60s up to about 1980.

To explore more of Beth's work, visit goodmoodprints.com/artists/bethhoeckel or find her on Instagram at @bethhoeckel.