For this weeks interview I decided to give each of the Marketplace Shop members the opportunity to share with you "Why am I an Artist"? Four of the members plus myself responded to the question and I hope you find our replies as interesting as I did. If you will click on the artwork above each artists name you will be taken to their individual shop where you will find unique one-of-a-kind works of art.
Sue Pieper ~ The act of taking pencil to paper and watching a face emerge, or to take a coil of wire and a handful of beads and end up with a piece of wearable art in the form of a necklace, or to take assorted papers, pictures paints and glues, apply them onto a canvas and end up with something that tells a story, is all like magic to me! And lets not forget taking sheets of paper, some thread & needle, and make a book-how cool is that?
There are just so many things to create that will be used as components in a piece of artwork, so many ways to make it your own, such as cutting your own stencil from a drawing or a photograph, or laying foliage from your yard on a piece of paper and then spray painting it, carve a stamp of your own design-I could go on & on, but all of these things are within our reach to do, all in the name of art, all of them are fun, and most of the time you end up looking at these things later and thinking, Wow-I did that! It's an enormous feeling of satisfaction to be able to create from these bits & pieces, and to more find bits & pieces to be used in our own unique way. And when it's all put together it turns into something called ART.
So you ask why I'm an artist? It's in my blood, I love creating, making that magic happen, it keeps my brain working by constantly learning new techniques or tweaking old ones, turning a "mistake" (there are no mistakes, really) into a happy accident and having it be your new favorite "widget".
Being an artist can be a solitary way of life sometimes, no set paycheck every week, somedays can be frustrating. But on the flip side, which is the bigger & better side, being an artist is excting and keeps you young at heart because you spend a good deal of time playing with ideas & supplies. Bottom line, I'm an artist because I love an adventure, love to create, and it just plain old feels good!
Carrie Todd ~ I believe I am an artist because God has given me the desire, the creativity and the inspiration to be one. My heart is happiest when I am creating, and that happiness feeds my soul. I know the times in my life that I struggle, the times that make me question who I am and what I feel, these are the times that being an artist is the easiest. I know that I am doing what my soul longs to do. Albert Einstein said "True art is characterized by an irresistible urge in the creative artist" I believe this to be true in me.
Elaine Brady Smith ~ I stand in my kitchen gazing out the window, wearing my paint jeans and an old tee shirt, pouring a glass of iced tea. My mind is drifting to the sounds of neighbors mowing their lawn and their kids playing kick ball in the back yard. There are times when I look at these people and think of what it might be like to be them. They go to full time jobs Monday through Friday, they collect nice paychecks each week, their homes are clean and tidy, they eat regular meals with family and manicure their yards every Saturday morning. I'm almost sure they have plans for the rest of the weekend that include going to the movies, riding bikes around the neighborhood, or just sitting on the porch to watch the sunset. Life for them seems simple and predictable and mostly routine.
Then in a nano second my mind snaps back to my own reality. I must get to work. Get down to the studio and get some paint splashing on a fresh canvas. If I work on this piece first, then while that dries, I can work out the problems on that one. Then maybe I will heat up the wax and finish the encaustic piece that has been needing attention. Maybe I will make some new papers today. I saw something on the Internet, a technique that I have been wanting to try. My mind is racing with ideas. I must do some sketching later today, work on those drawings that I was thinking about yesterday. And oh my gosh, I also have that picture that I told Mr. Martin I would have framed for him by this week. The little voice in the back of my head reminds me that I have a rapidly approaching show to get ready for by November. Better look at the calendar and see how many days are left for creating. I'm thinking about my trip to the flea market this week, and hoping I will find some new treasures to put into my art. The music is playing in the background, and I am busy, lost in my thoughts, my own personal zen, and I am loving every minute of it.
Being an artist is something that has been hard wired into my DNA. I recognized the creative feeling inside from a very early age and it has never left me, not for a minute. The creative side of me never stops thinking and dreaming and conjuring up ideas...not even in my sleep, which unfortunately causes a good many insomniac nights. There will never be enough time to create all I want to create. Being an artist is such an intrinsic part of my being, that it cannot be separated from who I am. I know I get angry at times when normal life interferes with my creativeness and I have to admit that I do have moments that I get frustrated at not being more normal in my thinking. But that doesn't last long until that creative feeling kicks in and says, "Hey, I have an idea for you right now!!!". I look at my neighbors and think, how boring. That is not the life for me.
Being an artist gives me the freedom to be completely me.
Christine Goldbeck ~ It's the love of being like a kid, I think, that makes me an artist. In the act of creating, I am wondering, experimenting, discovering ... I love to write, to paint, to make photographs, to combine things and find that they work or to find that they don't work and have to start over. It's pure joy to live in the moment and that is what I do when I make art. I don't think about that construct called time or those boundaries that society puts on us or that we place on ourselves. I just am ... it is pure joy.
Debbie Overton ~ I remember the first time I was called an “artist”….it was 2nd grade, Ms Denison’s room. It was snowing and we were all lined up along the window wall with our papers and crayons. There was a red bird perched on a tree limb and the snow was building up on the limbs. I started drawing that little bird with all the snow falling around it. Over the years I have tried my hand at many art related projects….some good, some not so good….but I was trying and learning new things. As I got older, I found other activities that took over, but I still did what I called “doodling” in my little locked journals!
In my early twenties I started creating mixed media collage. I loved all the painting, cutting, and gluing. Some of these were on canvas, some on paper and some in my “Second Time Around Journals”. More on the journals
here. I carried one of these journals with me every where! I used it as a design journal, for jotting down notes and things I wanted to remember. I played with techniques on the various papers. In the early 80’s I was pregnant with our first son and while waiting to see the doctor I pulled out my journal and started doodling. One of the girls asked about it and without even thinking I said “I am an artist!” There, I said it; I believed it and I was going to make something of it. I started selling the journals and other works of art to local shops and built a website. Shops from the west to the east coast found me and my little offerings. I was going to the Dallas and Atlanta Gift Markets and soon found myself working with 4 reps in different areas across the USA! Life was busy……creating, married, starting a family and working as a Radiology Tech. A few years later I found myself divorced and raising 3 wonderful little ones on my own. I was fortunate that my parents were helping me so that I could be there 24/7 with my kids. I researched the idea of opening a home based gift basket business. I ran the business for many years until it outgrew our home and I realized I didn’t want to move to a storefront downtown as that would take away from my time at the baseball fields, dance classes, and school activities, but I was missing something, I needed to connect with people and I needed to let the creative side of me come out.
I wanted to be creative, as well as offer a place for others to meet, learn, interact and encourage others to follow their dreams. I pulled out one of those journals and began making plans for an online art group. I joined other art groups, met wonderful art friends and the business side of me wanted to do more. I took that and ran with it…..MMCA was born and I began creating more and more. By surrounding myself with those I respected I was learning and creating more and more. More gallery opportunities came, new shops were interested in what I had to offer and I was making friends from all over the world. MMCA has lead to many opportunities with more in the works!
So why am I an artist? I love to create! I love to share! I love to encourage others to reach for the dreams….Dreams do come true and I am living it each and every day thanks to Ms Denison and my parent’s encouragement!
All images copyright by its respective artists.
We hope you enjoyed seeing a little into some of the Marketplace members and there are more in the works coming soon.
