getting to know crystal neubauer

power and fragility inhabit their shared space

harmoniously 

in crystal neubauer's work. i discovered her collages,

mixed media paintings and encaustic pieces on etsy

a couple of years ago and i have been enraptured

with the visual feast and sheer poetry of her work

ever since.

equal parts the nature of the material 

and the sensitivity of the artist,

her work tucks unutterable prayers

between delicate layers

of vintage ephemera.

i know you will enjoy getting to know the woman

behind the breathtaking work

as much as i did.

some things you love: 

old books falling apart and slightly musty with ragged torn covers.
my cat curled up on my lap, or following me from room to room begging for milk. hanging out with my family over a meal. spending long quiet hours alone in the studio. walking out the front door and bumping into a friend. comfy clothes. long hot baths. perusing the magazine aisle at the book store and then lingering with a stack of them over a cup of coffee.

some things you love about yourself (go ahead, brag a little): 

i see things a little differently then others and i believe this is evident in my art. i am learning to use my voice after having lived most of my life believing i didn’t have one. i tend to be a defender of the voiceless minority, a rooter of the under-dog. i don’t believe in going against the status-quo just to be different, but i have a hard time remaining silent when i see an injustice. i am learning to stand in the uncomfortableness of that moment and i think that is pretty cool.

what you're working on at the moment:

i have been experimenting with encaustic painting in combination with drawing on the surface of the wax. recently i’ve begun “sculpting” on a 2-d collaged surface by drawing on top of a layer of wax and scraping, adding ink or chalk or graphite and scraping some more. the process begins to resemble a sculpture being chiseled from a hard surface.

 

where do you draw inspiration from?

i am inspired by texture and line. i will squint at a landscape and see the color blocked look of the scenery or notice the way a few random objects are lying in a drawer. i love to decorate from the items i collect and i carry this inspiration into the studio. and of course, the internet has a plethora of inspiration, almost to the point of overkill.

what is your creativity nemesis?

over scheduling my time to the point of not making it into the studio for days, sometimes weeks at a stretch.

and our most effective weapon against it?

remembering that I am the keeper of my schedule and prioritizing the studio time. allowing myself to work in my pajamas, early in the morning before the tasks of the day begin to press in.

something you've learned the hard way:

everything does not depend on me.

would you please recommend a book?

i am a huge anne lamott fan. 'bird-by-bird' is excellent for the creative process, it is geared toward writers, but i read it with my art goals in mind.

favorite natural food to snack on:

tender white buttered popcorn with sea salt. frozen dark chocolate peanut butter cups from trader joe's. i think they qualify as natural? i love pears and freshly cut pineapple too, but those frozen peanut butter cups are hard to resist.

 

when i say feminine you say... 

beauty wrapped in many packages.

i don’t have to be girly to be feminine and i don’t have to be masculine to be equal.

something you need to do less of:

worry

 

something you need to do more of:

pray

your perfect day:

my idea of the perfect day changes with my mood and circumstances, but today it is having a good friend who lives far away come hang out with me in the studio and then unwinding with my favorite gluten free pizza and a glass of wine in front of the fireplace. and ice cream. the perfect day always ends with ice cream.

 

 

thank you, crystal for giving us a glimpse 

into your beautiful world!

for more of crystal's work, studio,

process & inspiration, please stop by her website

and blog. 

getting to know alice fox

rust. tea. stitching. soft earthy tones. natural materials.

delicate and decisive work.

sensitivity and restraint.

texture heaven.

meet the wonderful alice fox,

a uk artist working in mixed media. 

i am thrilled to introduce her,

as she graciously shares with us her work,

inspiration, and creative process.

 

some things you love:

pottering in my garden; eating things I’ve grown; 

the feel of my children’s hands in mine; 

making music with others; wind in my hair; 

dirty feet from having them bare all day; 

an open fire; being read to in bed; 

the smells of the seasons…

some things you love about yourself 

(go ahead, brag a little):

leading a full and stimulating life

what you're working on at the moment:

my residency exhibition in the old lighthouse 

at Spurn Point.  It’s a really challenging 

space and I’m excited and scared 

by it in equal measure.

where do you draw inspiration from?

the detail of the natural world; 

the way material is sorted by wind and water; 

macro and micro landscapes.

what is your creativity nemesis?

feeling the need to deal with paper work   

in order to clear the way for the creative stuff… 

it’s difficult to switch off 

from the list of things that should be done.

and your most effective weapon against it?

keeping to a routine and assigning time for each.

something you've learned the hard way:

you can’t always count on support 

from those you hoped it would come from.

would you please recommend a book?

The Wild Places, Robert Macfarlane

favorite natural food to snack on:

anything picked straight off the plant

when i say feminine you say...

curves

something you need to do less of:

sit in front of my computer

something you need to do more of:

drawing

your perfect day:

walking, drawing, singing

 thank you, alice for giving us a glimpse 

into your inspiring path!

for more of alice's work, studio, 

process & inspiration, please stop by her website.

getting to know francine turk

 it is my honor, and slightly giddy pleasure to introduce to you the lovely francine turk. francine is a prolific chicago artist whose sigh-inducing mixed media work is being revered all over the world, featured in blockbuster movies and my beautifully hunted dreams.

emotive figures, wondering thoughts captured in feathery script,

grave rubbings and a whole lot of history inhabit

francine's work with grace and raw feminine power.

i hope you enjoy getting to know the inspiring woman and artist

a bit deeper with this interview. 

things you love: 

my german shepard,
buehrle (named after mark buehrle, white
sox pitcher). baseball, food, books, matisse
paintings, the color fuchsia, leather pants,
cocktails with friends, live music, black and
white photography, fresh flowers, bubble
baths, my bed, traveling, interior design,
textiles, furniture, fashion, paris, NYC, LA
and the list goes on and on…

things you love about yourself (go ahead,
brag a little): 

i am forever trying to become
the best person i can be. i am resilient. i
love my creativity and my ability to express
myself.

what are you working on at the moment:
a new series inspired by high fashion and
urban graffiti

what inspires you: 

everything. LIFE. i get
crazy inspired when i travel. the feeling i
get when i’m in a place for the first time.
i am a very visual person so i am inspired
when i look at books, blogs, art, fashion,
magazines and all visual materials.

something you've learned the hard way:
there are no short cuts. hard work and
determination always pay off.

would you please recommend a book: 

to kill a mockingbird (harper lee) is my very
favorite book ever. i read it every year.

favorite natural food to snack on:
watermelon

when i say feminine you say…

grace kelly

something you need to do less of: 

sleep

something you need to do more of:

create

your perfect day:

everyday that I’m alive
and healthy is a perfect day.

thank you, francine for kindly sharing your life, energy and creativity with us!

for more of francine's work, please visit her website at http://francineturk.com


images via http://francineturk.com used with francine's permission.

getting to know suzie chaney

there simply isn't any more appropriate way to introduce suzie than through the thought-provoking, delicate, raw beauty of her work. a photographer, book maker, mixed media artist, and sculptor,as well as a world traveler and mother, suzie chaney inspires me with her thoughtful work and exuberant appetite for life.  her plaster and burnt paper sculptures hunt my dreams. 

i hope you relish discovering her work and lovely being as much as i did interviewing her for my friday series of interviews with strong creative inspiring women.

some things you love:
In a former life I think I was a dolphin; I love water. Then again, I'd hate to eat fish. I'm with Linda McCartney and the never-eat-something-with-a-

face way of thinking. I'm so happy snorkeling round the little rocky coves on the Costa Brava in Spain, bodyboarding the Atlantic breakers or simply lying on my back in the nearby lake on warm summer evenings.
I love coming home, and that glimpse of the mountains that lets me know I'm almost there. Catching my breath when I see a deer, a boar, a hare, an eagle and feeling enthralled by their wildness, but equally loving my dogs and recognizing their inner wolf-like spirits.
Having no map or timetable. I stubbornly refuse to have GPS or a watch. With my trusty flask of rooibos tea and ancient Lion King blanket in my car, I'm always prepared for a picnic and I love being a Baudelaire flâneur which brings me round to...
...my Pentax Spotmatic loaded with film.
Live music; impromptu get togethers, street entertainment or an amazing concert. The best ever was Radiohead in Nîmes at the stunning roman arena in 2009. {I've got my ticket for this July too, yay!}
Stumbling across surprising, thoughtful work in an unexpected or tiny, out of the way venue.
Playing cards with the kids in my bed.

some things you love about yourself (go ahead, brag a little):
My beautiful and creative three children; my sense of adventure; my compassion, patience and iron will.

what you're working on at the moment:
I have several things on the go right now. Preparing for an art event that takes place in my part of France in May, which is mostly going to be sculptural pieces and photography. As these are still evolving I can't really explain very much, but the work all relates to writing. One thing that tends to happens with my sculptures is they take on a life of their own, and almost dictate to me how they shape themselves. These sculptures will later be shown at an exhibition in a beautiful medieval town with an 8th century abbey, which is very exciting. I'm also creating a body of work for a local b&b, making linocuts which are based on imaginary or hybrid creatures derived from our local flora, fauna and landscape, and alternative photography methods like cyanotypes and pinholes of our environment. On top of all this I'm setting up a shop on my website, giving me a whole bunch of problems that are causing me sleepless nights but hey, that's where the patience and the iron will kick in. I definitely inherited that from my Dad. My siblings and I like to remind him he once said "give me an instruction book that tells me how to do it, and I'd happily remove your mother's spleen".

where do you draw inspiration from?
For years I used to make work about animals. Then I had a bad accident, and once I recovered enough to work again I was obsessed with the body and the mind; bone, anatomy, physiology and psychology. The animals are still often present though sometimes if only as an abstract idea of flesh, fur or feather. Also fragility, memory, a sense of transience, the idea of ghosts and the traces left behind.
Moodiness and melancholia; light, air and space; organic shape and muted colours; the art of storytelling.
The Japanese have a word for imperfection, asymmetry, emptiness and melancholia: wabi-sabi. It's my fundamental principle.

what is your creativity nemesis?
Looking too much at other peoples' work on the internet. It clouds my judgement, makes me worry I'm utter shit and distracts me from being in the studio.

and your most effective weapon against it?
Getting absorbed in my own work.

something you've learned the hard way:
Not to make work specifically to sell. When I opened shops on etsy and elsewhere a few years ago I made horrible clichéd illustrated digital prints, bookmarks etc. Oh yes, they sold OK but I felt lost. This work had nothing of me in it; my journey, my meaning, my soul. It also laid me wide open to plagiarism as that kind of work can be so derivative anyway and made me question whether I was guilty of it too.
So I kicked myself in the head, shut up shop and got back to creating work that came from within, that had something to say. Funnily enough my work now sells much better, not online however but in the real world.

would you please recommend a book?
'Fireworks: Nine Profane Pieces' by Angela Carter. A collection of short stories that are dreamy, beautiful and disturbing.

favorite natural food to snack on:
homemade houmous. Mmm mmm.

when I say feminine you say...
intuitive, strong

something you need to do less of:
stressing about my rather chaotic house. It's been a 'project' for 7 years and seems to not move forward at all. I have to just accept the wobbly floorboards, crumbly stonework and leaky roof.

something you need to do more of:
Others would say housework! I say spending time in my garden. I love to grow veggies, roses, meditteranean herbs and fruit trees. I also crave more traveling.

your perfect day:
I think a day is only perfect while you are living it or reflecting on it, it's impossible to prescribe one.  But it would probably involve some of these; the sunshine, my family, a city with great art, music, tomatoes in some form or other, photography, a funfair, laughter, a swim in the sea, horse riding, a campfire, a beautiful sunset.

thank you, suzie for kindly sharing your life, energy and creativity with us!

for more of suzie's work and updates of her lovely blog, please visit her website at http://www.suziechaney.com


images via http://black-eyedangel.blogspot.com/ used with suzie's permission.

getting to know leslie avon miller

in this intensely image saturated world it is a rare occurrence when a piece of art work stops me in my tracks, causes me gasp with surprise and delight,  compels me to linger and drink deep of life and beauty and inspiration.  such is the case with leslie avon miller's 'cracked - a self portrait series'.   

so it is with immense honor that i get to kick off my interview series of strong creative inspiring women with this lovely lady.  leslie is a beautiful artist, contemplative writer, invigorating life coach, kind human being.  she knows what it is to live poetry. 

   

   

some things you love:

Today

I like things with a lot of space around them

Soft unfocused light whites and grays

Morning sun slanting through the trees

The sound of a cat purring

Things, in small groups of three

Wooden spoons stained with berry or curry

Lines made by tall grass

Leaves, half decayed

The color of oats, the moon and old bones

Smells of lemons and clean sheets

Crinkled paper that rustles

Grandmothers

Falling snow

The sound of the fog horn

My mother’s button box of tin

Simplicity

That there is no answer

• I wrote this earlier in the year for an artist book I am filling with things I love. The book is called The Color of the Moon and Other Small Things. 

some things you love about yourself (go ahead, brag a little): 

I like that I am a curious explorer of life. I like that I notice small things. I like that I am in love with life. It keeps me reverent. 

 

what you're working on at the moment:

I am working on some small personal work. The aforementioned artist book, some small collage. I have also just returned to painting after a break for the holidays.

where do you draw inspiration from?

Being alive. The beauty of nature. The patina of age. The work of other artists. Good conversation. Poetry read aloud. Most inspirational to me is the creative dance.

I must also mention tumblr, and pinterest and the blog world. I love the connection with other folks who find similar beauty. I learn to see through someone else’s eyes. I learn to recognize another artist’s work. The gift of beauty and poetry is shared, along with a love of books, of creating, of being. 

 

what is your creativity nemesis?

Over thinking. (It’s an invitation to the nasty critic who nitpicks….that critic needs to go fold the socks or something.)

and our most effective weapon against it?

I have found that stepping back, perhaps trying something very different for a while really helps bring back that explorer’s mindset. I recently worked with polymer clay. Because I didn’t have a clue what I was doing, it was all exploration. It was very good to bring that experience back to my painting.

something you've learned the hard way:   

At the end of a long studio day, leave it. The painting and I both need a rest. Don’t paint over it. Come back in the morning with fresh eyes. 

would you please recommend a book?

The elements of design; rediscovering colors, textures, forms and shapes by Loan Oei and Cecile De Kegel.

This book is like an artist’s date with one of your favorite artist friends. Full of images that show us how to see the alphabet of our creative language, this book takes us all over the world to see dots, lines, cross marks, circles, textures, grids and patterns. “Look at that! Look at this!” the book says. We see; we learn again to see. I love this book.

favorite natural food to snack on:

Right now it is a cracker with goat cheese and some of the chutney we made this fall from our apples and plums. And always herbal tea. My favorite is African Nectar by Mighty Leaf tea. Unless it’s later in the afternoon, and then it might be a glass of crisp white wine.

when i say feminine you say... juicy

something you need to do less of:  hesitate

something you need to do more of:  follow my intuition

your perfect day:

Today: It’s snowing. The studio is warm. My husband has gone to  

the store and later he will make our lovely evening meal. I have 

the day to create, to ponder, to be. Space, time, beingness. 

thank you, leslie, for your time, kindness and generous sharing of life, wisdom and creativity!

to see more of leslie's work and be inspired by her writings,

please visit her blog, textures shapes color. 

images via texturesshapescolor used with leslie's permission.