Each of the Marketplace members have been asked if they had someone they would like to see as one of our guest. Sue Pieper jumped at the opportunity to give me a list of names she would love to know more about. Little did she know she was now enlisted to help me with the interview questions, as well as contact some of them. Today's guest is a friend of Sue's and she was thrilled when I asked her to do the interview with Linda.
Sue and Linda met at a Claudine Hellmuth class at Valley Ridge the summer of 2003 (or maybe 2002-not sure) which turned out to be their first visit to Valley Ridge for both of them. Linda created the most gorgeous collage in that class, something Sue has always remembered and has been in awe of her talent ever since. "Linda is the most humble, gracious, kind hearted soul that you'll ever meet-truly a joy to be around and I'm honored to have met her. She's quiet, oh so quiet, but if you mention her name around anyone who's met her, everyone agrees that she's a wonderful person and an incredibly talented artist. Here's a little peek into Linda's life as an artist----now if we could just get her to start a blog :)"
MP: Linda, if my information is correct, your art career started with you working on a miniature scale, can you elaborate on this & tell us what it was you worked on/with, for how long, and when did this art journey begin?
I read once that if you want to know what your true passions are, you need only to look to your childhood. I think that is very true. I grew up in Chicago which is kind of a Miniaturist's Mecca...we have the Thorne Miniature Rooms at our Art Institute and the enchanting Colleen Moore Fairy Castle at the Museum of Science and Industry. As a little girl, I was often taken to see these things and they totally fascinated me. I also grew up in the 1950's, the era of really cool gum ball machine and Cracker Jack prizes; tiny treasures I loved to collect. In the early 1980's, I decided to build my own dollhouse from a kit and decorated it. It was a Cotswold cottage that took several years to complete including the little garden. I think that experience really gave me my foundation (literally and figuratively) for working small.
MP: Your artwork is so incredibly detailed that no matter how often one looks at a piece, it seems there's always something more to see the next time. Is this the result from previously working on smaller scaled artwork?
Oh, thank you! What a nice thing to say about my art! Yes, definitely. You realize very quickly working with miniatures that it's all about details and the more the merrier.
MP: Having had the pleasure of working in classes with you at Valley Ridge Art Studio and being able to observe you working, you always appear to be totally at peace while creating. Being at Valley Ridge fosters this kind of peace and certainly feeds our artistic souls, but are you this calm & focused when you work at home, too? How do you set that scene-music, scented candles, solitude?
I agree with you totally about wonderful Valley Ridge and its Zen Masters of the Creative Space--Kathy and Bill. I'd also like to add that I always think of my artistic life as having two big turning points. The first was discovering Somerset Studio magazine, the only publication I knew at the time that was solely devoted to and truly celebrated mixed media. From reading SS, I became familiar with incredible artists like Claudine Hellmuth who had a website with her workshop schedule. I saw she was teaching in WI at Valley Ridge which was close enough for me to attend....my first mixed media workshop ever. Discovering our beloved Valley Ridge with it's magical atmosphere and having the opportunity to learn from all the outstanding artists that come there (and love to come back over and over) was turning point number two. But back to your question, when I am on a roll with an idea that's working, I sort of zone out into my own little world as most of us do. But often, despite my calm exterior, there's a maelstrom of frustration and angst going on inside! And although I love taking workshops, I do work better in a solitary setting...with a pot of fresh strong coffee and Brazilian jazz.
MP: With all the buzz these days about social networking, with the exception of Facebook, you've decided to forgo the rest, including blogging. Can you share why you've opted to go this route?
Partly out of necessity...I am totally, and I mean totally inept at anything technical or having to do with computers, I have absolutely no aptitude for it. The only person I know maybe worse than me is my dear husband. I love blogs, but reading someone elses is much more interesting and fun for me than writing my own.
MP: What's your workspace like at home? Do you have a designated area for art making, a studio, or are you all over the house, like a lot of us are? Is there anything about your workspace that you wouldn't change for anything, and is there something about it that you'd definitely change if you had it do all over again?
I am very fortunate to have a great work space, a nice sized room that was built over my garage by a previous owner as a playroom. It has a little skylight right over my desk, cozy dormers, and a wall of shelves and cubbies. That said, I must confess I spend a good deal of time working downstairs at the kitchen table. Hey, it gets lonely up there!
MP: Even though these questions gets asked a lot, the answers are always interesting. What's your favorite art supply and/or technique that you just couldn't live without? And do you have a favorite artist-past or present? And last but not least, if you could be anyone at all (artist or not!) for just 1 day, who would it be?
I love collage and paper, so I couldn't live without my Fiskers curved edge scissors (great for cutting out small intricate images.) Also, when you work with tiny things, you don't get a lot of surface to glue on, so a great adhesive is essential. I like The Ultimate! and E6000 and go through lots of both. Joseph Cornell, Gloria Vanderbilt, and Gustavo Aimar are favorite artists along with every artist I've had the pleasure learning from at Valley Ridge. I have always wanted to be Peggy Fleming, the ice skater for only one day. I can't even stand up on a pair of skates, so I would just love to know what a feels like to glide across ice like a ballerina, spin around really fast and fly through the air with those jumps all while wearing a little skirt with sequins.
MP: Is there any art venue or medium that you've been wanting to try, but just haven't done it yet? What's holding you back from trying "it" and what is it?
I think I have tried just about everything at least once...drawing classes, pottery, paper making, cake decorating, floral design, a myriad of workshops... you name it, I've tried it. So I pretty much know at this stage of my life what my strengths and weaknesses are. I know I cannot draw a stick and working with paint is very hard for me, but I give it a go just to take workshops from artists I revere. I'm also not very good with even rudimentary sewing, but one of these days I'd love to take a doll making class and make my own little person.
MP: Do you ever have an uninvited visit from that nasty little inner critic who likes to make an appearance occasionally, or do you ever get "blocked"? If so, how do you deal with that? And if you've never had to deal with it at all, what's your secret?
Like many of us, that inner critic has taken up residence and has squatter's rights in my brain most of the time. But ultimately I find that if I know I worked hard and did my personal best, I can't ask for more from myself and am pretty happy. Like the great philosopher Popeye said, "I am what I am and that's all that I am." You learn with age to be comfortable with that and to stop wishing you were someone else.
MP: Are there any upcoming projects or publications coming up that you'd like to share with us? And what books or publications are out there now where we can find your work?
I have a little article and project in the summer issue of Somerset Life and an article in the current Artist's Cafe from Stampington. Also, I was very honored to have an assemblage in Lynne Perrella's beautiful book, Art Making--Artist's Collections and Obsessions. I will have a fun collaborative piece in an upcoming issue of Somerset Studio later this year.
MP: What would be your best advice to all artists, whether they are new to the art scene or not, it doesn't matter. And/or, if there's anything I've missed that you'd like our readers to know about you & your art, here's your chance to make that statement.
Nike had a great ad campaign that simply said, "Do It." Whatever it is that floats your boat creatively, just do it and get started. Another favorite tagline of mine is Paper Source's "Create Something Everyday." And if you wind up with a big mess sometimes, so what?? You had fun and maybe learned what not to do next time. I know there are people in my life that don't "get" what I make or think that unless you can draw and paint or sculpt you have no business calling yourself an artist and I'll admit, I struggle with that concept myself. But what does any of that matter if you find joy in what you're doing? Picasso said, "Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life." So dust yourself off and go make something!
Images courtesy of Linda.
Linda, thank you for taking time to give us a look inside your life and sharing some of your artwork with our readers. We all look forward to the day when you join us in cyberspace with your own website or blog!
This made me cry. I love LInda, love her work, her spirit, her gentleness, her everything. What a pleasure to get to know her a bit more.
xo
Kathy Malkasian
Posted by: Kathy | July 2009 at 01:33 PM
once again, i am agog at all of the fantastic collages featured above. it is always great to see your latest creations in the various magazines and books... i admire your commitment to detail!
Posted by: jean brown | July 2009 at 08:10 PM
Hey Linda, when you're ready for that blog, I'll help you get it up & running-the world wants to hear more from you!
Posted by: sue pieper | July 2009 at 08:51 AM
Amazing assemblages. Love her art. And love her ability to be what she is. Hope with age, as she states, that becomes easier to accept. Thank you again for a wonderful interview, and for Sue doing the interview!
Posted by: Brenda Wampler | July 2009 at 01:41 PM
I had the pleasure of meeting Linda at Valley Ridge last summer and found her amazing!-an incredibly warm person and amazing artist. And Linda, I sooooo get what you do-I thoroughly enjoyed the interview! Carol
Posted by: Carol Weiler | July 2009 at 11:56 AM
Thank you so much for this interview.
Linda'work is really great! So pitty she has nog Blog where we can follow her;o) Great Blog your Marketplace!
Posted by: Janny | August 2009 at 04:46 AM