CREATIVE BLOG HOP ~ A LITTLE ABOUT ME

Hello and welcome to my blog on this beautiful Monday! I hope everyone in the good ol' USA is enjoying an extended Labor Day weekend.

Today, I am not sharing a project or a tutorial with you. Rather, I have been asked by Kim Young to be a part of an ongoing Creative Blog Hop that shares a little about ourselves and other blogging artists and friends. Unfortunately, everyone I asked to participate had either already done one of these or for various reasons were unable to participate.  But, I am happy to fulfill my commitment to Kim and join in on the fun, sharing information about myself with you. I hope I don't bore you to tears!! 

As I said earlier, I was nominated by Kim Young of Kim's Creations, a really sweet and talented artist I met and have become friends with through The Compendium of Curiosities III Challenges. Kim and I not only share a love of all things Tim Holtz

but we are also HUGE Big Bang Theory nerds! LOVE THAT SHOW!!

I was given four questions to answer for this Creative Blog Hop in hopes that you might learn something interesting about me and how and why I do what I do.  I was also asked to include some pictures with the answers to my questions. So, are you ready?  Here goes ....

1.  What am I working on now?  I just completed a vintage Christmas Assemblage Clock for the next Compendium of Curiosities III Challenge. I am a member of their Curiosity Crew and have so much fun creating things with them. If you're not familiar with the challenge blog, you should check it out!  It is a place where artists who love Tim Holtz and his products and techniques join together to share our art. The challenges are based on the Compendium of Curiosities Volumes by Tim. They are filled with his techniques, products and beautiful examples of finished art using these things. 

I am also working on a couple of projects for an upcoming guest designer spot at Gloria Stengel's Craft Hoarders Anonymous.  Although I cannot divulge what the themes or the challenges are, I will give you this sneak peak of just one of the many elements in one of the pieces that I am creating.

 

Curious?  Hmm... guess you will just have to stay tuned to Craft Hoarders Anonymous in October!  'Nuff said.  (smile)

2. How does my work differ from others in my genre?  This is a tough question for me to answer. I really don't like to compare my work to others because art is such a personal form of self expression. I consider myself a mixed media artist and that covers such a broad range of art. I will share some of my art with you while I am attempting to answer this question ...

 Canvas created for Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge while I was on their Design Team.

My work tends to be strongly influenced by the vintage and shabby chic genre. I guess that is where I am always drawn and the most comfortable. I am also heavily influenced by Tim Holtz. I love his style, his techniques and his very industrial, grungy yet vintage, sometimes retro-ish style of art.  While I love Tim's style, I don't want to create something that looks like he made it. So therefore, I love to learn about the products and techniques and then use that knowledge, apply it to my style and create my own kind of art.  

 Mini Configuration Book Created for A Vintage Journey while I was on their Design Team.

A lot of people have told me over the years that they can tell my work because of all of the small details. So, possibly that might be one thing that is different about my work. Not that other people don't pay attention to the little details, too. But, that is one thing that I love to do...add little things that in my opinion make any piece more interactive and interesting. It is like a challenge for me. The more interactive and detailed it is, the better! I like to try to create something or use something in such a different way that someone will think, "Oh! That is such a cool idea! I never would have thought of that." I also try to be very diverse in what I create....you know, change it up and make it more fun!

 

 "The Witching Hour" Book I created and taught as a class in Springfield, Missouri. On this page, the witch's skirt is actually a black honeycomb bell that opens out to be 3 dimensional.

I don't like to be pigeon-holed into a category of strictly a paper crafter, a card maker, a tag maker, an art journalist, etc. I love to mix it up and try my hand at all sorts of things. 

 

 Memory Frame created for the Frillly and Funkie Challenge as a Guest Designer.

I think that is what pushes all of us to become better artists, more creative and more confident in our work. When we explore the unknown, try new things and take the fear out of crafting, that is when it becomes much more free flowing, your true self comes out through you work and it's a lot more fun!

"Words" Mini Book made from three manila folders created for A Vintage Journey Design Team.

 Card made for the Frilly and Funkie Challenges.

3. Why do I create what I do?  I create what I do because I LOVE the process!  I have been on several design teams and much of my work has been theme or challenge oriented.  Challenges can be really fun because they give you a "prompt" or a theme and from there, it is up to you to interpret any way you choose.  I always try to think of something different to create; take the less obvious path when it comes to a challenge theme. When I'm not doing design work for other people, I adore creating home decor pieces for myself and my family. Christmas and Halloween are my favorite holidays to create vintage pieces. I love the fact that these things could possibly become family heirlooms.  So in a sense, part of me could potentially "live on" through my art long after I am gone. 

 Vintage Christmas Star that sits atop my Grandchildrens' Vintage Christmas Tree in my entry foyer.

I love the romance and the feminine quality of shabby chic pieces. I also find them to be very calming not only to create but also to display in a room. When I'm working on a vintage piece, I am drawn into the past; my past and I pull from my own experiences and memories. I remember sights, sounds, smells and some things that you just don't see anymore except in flea markets or something that is a reproduction. I don't think "vintage" is something that will go out of style because all of us have a past.  Vintage typically is about familygives us that feeling of comfort and belonging and sometimes a yearning for a more simplistic lifestyle from the past. It reminds us of our childhoods and makes us remember those wonderful "days gone by".  

4.  How does my creative process work?  My creative process is really a simple one.  If I am working on a themed project for a design team or a challenge, there is usually a prompt involved, so the subject is given to me. 

  A London themed canvas made for Simon Says Stamp Design Team.

If I am creating for myself, I usually have something in mind that I want as my subject.  I figure out if I want to make a canvas, a book, a configuration box; whatever form I want my project to take. My studio has a great work area with most of my basic tools at my fingertips.  So, I simply sit down and start playing. 

 The Old Curiosity Shop Cabinet created from a plain wooden box with glass doors, turned upside down so that the base became the top and I added Tim's Pulley Wheels to create a rolling bottom.

I rarely lay everything out and design it ahead of time.  I like to create as I go.  More often than not, the piece that I am working on tells me where it wants to go as I am working on it. It rarely finishes out the way I sort of envision it when I start.  For me, that is the adventure and the fun of creating. Just letting it flow as I go, not stressing over every quarter of an inch or if the shade of green isn't absolutely perfect. 

Canvas that was published in Just Steampunk Magazine

I make mistakes all the time but lots of them really aren't mistakes. They are "happy accidents" that turn out to be a really neat new discovery of how to do something differently.

Well, I guess that brings us to the end of the questions. I hope you enjoyed seeing what I do and learning a little bit about what motivates me to do what I do. Thank you for taking the time to stop by and I hope you have a wonderful week!  I'd also like to thank Kim again for including me in the Creative Blog Hop!

Bye for now!!