Interview


Q. Why did you become an Artist Laura?
A. I became an artist because it was right for me. I found out at a very early age that I was happier when I was drawing, coloring in a coloring book or playing with play dough. I believe my mother saw that in me and always had the supplies available. So with knowing that at an early age I would turn to it often. I never know what I wanted to be but I know what I wanted to do, that was to make things, and let the ability of an idea play out.

Q. Could you tell us some more about your artwork?
A. They're glimpses, moments and entries in a visual diary, a mind journey, troubled thoughts, experiments and spiritual experiences, all inspired by nature and the people around me. The medium of collage allows me the ability to layer and add depth, much like our very own lives. Rich in story and history by the events and objects we choose to take with us. Art like mine works well with advertising for just that reason.

Q. Why Mixed Media collage and assemblage?
A. I know for myself I need to have a lot of stimulation going on. I get board easily and if I had to work in one artist medium I wouldn't be able to express myself the way I do. There is a freedom that happens when you get a thought while you're creating like, "if I only had a button or if I could add some texture and give it a different color". Again the freedom to choose the different mediums is why I picked collage and assemblage, or better yet it picked me. I'm a very tactile person learning better when I touch things. The thought of only working with one medium is stifling.

Q. What mediums do you use and which one is your favorite and why?
A. The list of mediums that I use for collage are Golden Products mostly, polymer gloss medium for gluing and transfers, soft gel, molding pastes, tack iron, transfer papers, fluid acrylics, handmade papers that I made myself from yucca, day lily, iris. I mix that plant fiber pulp with canson drawing papers to get the colors that I want.(Canson drawing papers are light fast, won't fad) I use glazing mediums to make the acrylics last longer and manipulate them before they dry. I also use found papers, magazines old maps, tissue papers, dress pattern papers. I find baby wipes useful and paper towels, paint brushes along with fake plastic charge cards helpful to spread the paints or different mediums around. The baby wipes I use because they are moist and if I want to put on some acrylic but I just want to add a hit of a color I can wipe it off if need be.
For assemblages same as above but there is the 3D objects that enter in. I go to a lot of resale shops, garage and yard sales so I'm always looking for things. I'm a gatherer, a bit of a pack rat and lover of the odd objects and elements. And yes I found out its better to be organized with clear containers so you can see what you have.

Q. What inspires you and what do you do when the motivation seems to be lacking?
A. It uses to be just nature that inspired me. Being that I'm a papermaker and I use the plants around my home to make paper I would feel so good about using that in my art and then finishing it with a coating of bee's wax as a natural sealant. It gave me a feeling of great respect for Nature, which I still have, but now it is the everyday accounts along with nature. I always looking at other artists work and see what they do and experiment with my own work and incorporating new techniques. I really want to be good at what I do and I want to keep learning so my main inspiration comes from the need to keep improving and learning.
Part 2 Q. Now what do I do when the motivation seems to be lacking?
A. That is a sign that the ideas are running dry and its time to take a break. I've learned that it is a cycle that happens, and that I will return to create and not to beat myself up. I use to worry myself into a frozen frenzy about not creating but I've learned better to treat my whole body well with good food, rest, and be gentle. I will also do some cleaning in my studio. I will try to use this time when I'm not as motivated to get prepared for the next creative burst. Find what place is special to you and go there, be it a church, book store or for me it's the woods. I also find that working in small series helps keep me moving forward, it's a way to keep exploring. It is a must I have to connect with my spiritual place quite often and I need to share my time with my spiritual guide. Good Orderly Directions is what I call it.

Q. There's also a business side when you are an artist, how do you handle that?
A. I found out early on, yes you have to pull out all those skills that were drilled into you when you were in High School and never thought you would use and put them into action. I have many books on how to do this part of being an artist; I've taken some small classes at the local college and also was allowed to join an already existing Art Tribe group of Women Artists that are making a business with their art. So having the support of people that have the experience has been the biggest help. Keeping records, you have to remember artists are self-employed, so with that comes the paper work. Do it every week and you will have a good system in action. I've also asked other artists out and they were willing to share there experience and knowledge. What I've learned that is most important is your work, is your work and you have to not compare yours with others. You have to try what works for you. And you have to be as or more creative in your marketing, 40% art and 60% business. Join an art coaching group it will help you stay on track. It is a tough job and you have to stay at lest 6 months to a year ahead of the game, you always need to be working on the next couple of shows. "There is so much to prepare for, mailings, press, postcards, contracts, slides, digital imagery, and record keeping and of course the creating of the art".

Q. What Artists have influenced you?
A. First off Georgia O'Keeffe, she was a great inspiration to me when I was just thinking of making a home business per say of the arts. I read many stories about her and loved her courage. As I continued on this path I was drawing to the contemporary and abstract artists. Because of my dyslexia I had a hard time reading and it would take me so long to read that I never really learned much art history (something now that I need to look into) I was always draw to the artists that used many different mediums in their work. Now I'm a special influenced by Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, Joseph Cornell, Picasso, Fred Otnes and the whole movement of Dadaism. I think what really influences me the most is the young emerging artists or someone in my classes that takes a risk and explores a side of them they never knew they could.

Q. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
A. I see myself as an artist but not working so hard, I think when you first make the decision to be an artist there's a lot of blood, sweat and tears that goes into it that you doubt and wonder if it's the right thing to do or not, but I guess that is true for anyone that is starting a new business or venture. I see a simpler life style and I also see that my visual voice will be heard and noticed. I hope that I will be making my mark in the Art world even if it's in a little suburban town outside of Chicago IL. I also see myself sharing the experiences with others in workshops or classes. I really love the classroom setting or studio with lots of people creating. A small dream is to have a larger studio where I could have classes right in my own home. "Along the way Dreams do come true without even realizing it."

Q. Describe our creation process, do you have a ritual or do you need to be surrounded by special objects, art or something else to work?
A. First off I do need to have space, my space, my studio and my objects of interest. It may sound a little childish but it's something that I need to have. I collect a lot of things and stuff that others might find as junk. As for a ritual, yes I have one, I keep a journal on my drawing table, in that journal I have images of other artists work that I admire from art magazines, I glue them in with a glue stick and I write my thoughts about the art that I'm making next to the images that I cut out. See the other work might be a deterrent but for me it is a way to keep moving forward and improving. I listen to the radio or CD's, books on tape while I'm creating. I have a TV with a DVD and VHS player and phone. It's my office and studio so I need to have all the comforts of home there.
B.The Process, I seem to need to pull from my emotional state at the time I create, picking colors or creating a texture. I will grab images and lay them out, picking a substrate to work from, canvas, and watercolor or assemblage surface. As I look over all the items that I've chosen I start to prepare the surfaces, adding different papers and acrylics. At this point I know I have to be very flexible and allow the elements that I've picked to direct the rest of the process. What I start with and what I end up with never seems to be the same but I end up capture more then I thought. And then the moment that mistakes happen, some artists would tear up the work, but I find great joy at in a moment like this. I'm pushed to solve a problem and it gets my creative juices working in high gear. I love it when I do that, I know that if I didn't I wouldn't have gotten the results I did. It's like it opens up the doors that might have been sealed shut. I would also like to say "My favorite piece is always the one I'm working on in any given moment”.

Q. When and where will be your next exhibition?
A. I have many exhibit going on now, a couple more Outdoor art fairs, two different venues in the Chicago, Chicago Title and Trust Building a series of work there and a two month sole show in the Thomas Moser Cabinetmakers Showroom, in Chicago. I'm in a traveling collage and assemblage show called "Human Artefakts" with international artist that I organized a show here when it came to Illinois. It was in Germany but now it's on to New Zealand till March 2007 then to Florida. I have on going exhibit opportunities with the Midwest Collage Society that I founded. Plus I was invited into a show recently with the Tall Grass Arts Association. So that was an honor to be asked to exhibit instead of submitting slides and being juried in. Oh lastly I was juried into the 22nd annual Collage and Assemblage show with the National Collage Society in Pennsylvania and won an award. Not to sound too promotional but I have many more venues in the works, but this is the most recent of my exhibitions.

Q. What advice would you give to artists just starting out?
A. Find a group of artists that can be supportive and work with them on regular basis networking. Gather information on the business side of things. Learn early this is a tough job and you have work everyday in some small way. Take risks, move forward all the time. Learn early on when you're doubting yourself you're about to make a growth step and those feelings are just to pull you back enough to gather your thoughts and get ready to jump in and make the move, there normal. An Artists life is like a rollercoaster, there are great highs and great lows.
"But find something you love to do and you will never have to work a day in your live." Keep this attitude about your art and career and you will succeed. Oh one more thing is be prepared to haul a lot of stuff around. I could add a lot more but I do believe the best advice is to experience it yourself, give it a try and see what works for you and what doesn't.