Introducing Myself
I was honored to be part of the Fall 2022 Under the Influence Art Journaling class with Andrea Chebeleu of a Work of Heart Studio. The session started with an interview, so I thought I'd expand on that idea and interview myself.
1. I grew up in Rhode Island on a salt pond and ocean, went to college in RI, and now live in the woods of RI. Rhode Islanders are known for never leaving the state for any reason and any travel over twenty minutes is considered a long drive.
2. My favorite supplies, besides paper, are Golden matte medium and a brayer. I love my printing press and my Gelli plates, although I do struggle to use my Gelli-printed papers in my collages. I have a blog post about more of the supplies I love to use if you'd like all the details.
3. I am a full-time artist. I spent seventeen years teaching English to middle and high school students, but as the freedom to teach creatively started to be restricted, I turned to my personal art practice more and more until it was all I wanted to do.
4. I've loved vintage and antiques since I was a kid. I was a junior member of the local historical society starting in middle school. Every weekend, I'd wear a prairie dress and bonnet and give tours at a one-room schoolhouse.
5. I would like to get better at printmaking of all kinds and just registered for a collagraph workshop at the local art association. Come join me if you're local!
6. I love to read books about creativity. I’ve read everything that Austin Kleon has written on the subject. I reference Lisa Congdon’s books, Find Your Artistic Voice and Art Inc books, all the time as she’s a successful working artist who generously shares her insights. For my first 100 Day Project, I combined a quote about creativity with my collage of the day and I learned so much.
7. I often walk in the woods around my house, but my favorite place is on an empty beach where I can find driftwood, pretty stones, and beach glass. I have bowls and boxes all over my house where I keep these treasures.
8. I have a collection of wooden toys that I bought for my son, but he never really played with any of them, so I think they were really for me. Does anyone else adore Ostheimer?
9. When I was a classroom teacher, one of my favorite assignments was to combine a collage activity with whatever book we happened to be reading.
10. I always stop when I see free stuff left on the side of the road because I’ve found so many good art materials that way.