Secrets Revealed

What is one thing you've never shared with the creative community?

I firmly believe in the idea that one can sell her soul. Not with the Devil, and sometimes it's not even with actual money, but the idea of trading a piece of your most sacred inner self for something else: money, fame, popularity, job promotion, whatever, is something that really disturbs me.

Can you share a secret?

Keeping secrets is better.

Do you enjoy working more intuitively or carefully thinking through your process?

Intuitively. Sometimes I think about if there's a way I'd like the finished product to look, and I use that as a guide, but it often ends up changing anyways.

Do you think creative types are moodier than those less artistic inclinations?

Possibly. People are who drawn to creative endeavors such as music, or writing or art tend to have very complex worlds within us, and sometimes we get lost in them. While our words/actions might make sense to us in those times,  it can make us look very moody to people on the outside and we probably don't even realize it.

Have you ever lost a friendship over art?

I don't think so.

 What is one current trend you wish would go away?

This is very selfish, but I wish the big DIY/thrift store flipping stuff would wane. I've always been into that stuff; even as a kid I would walk to nearby garage sales to see what I could find. Now that it's trendy, the prices in thrift stores have gone up quite a bit, and I feel like my ideas aren't original anymore.

What expresses the innermost you? 

The way my house is decorated. There are antiques mixed with furniture that I've re-done- lots of colors, and vintage items. I don't think it matters if my pillowcases don't match each other, or if I have a plastic pink flamingo in my yard or a dollhouse in progress on my dining room table- I just like to surround myself with things that make me happy.


Do you create art to work through inner issues, or is studio time more of a distraction to keep you from facing your problems?

Distraction. It's not to avoid facing problems, but it's better to keep my mind busy on art than to let it wallow on other things, some of which are beyond my control and cannot be changed.

Is creativity built in, learned, or both?

I have met some people who are artistically inclined, just as other people are athletically inclined. I have also met some people who claim to not have a creative bone in their bodies, and I always wonder if it's true, or if they've never really tried to be creative. If being creative means good at the arts, then maybe some of it is built in. But if being creative is looked at in a broader sense, like a willingness to try new things or unique problem-solving solutions, then some of it can be learned.

How has the Internet changed your artistic practice?

I LOVE Pinterest! It allows me to see others' ideas, and then create my own versions of them or build on them to my own preference. I also love all the dollhouse/miniature making tutorials that people put on YouTube.

What is your biggest fear?

Selling my soul. I doubt I'd ever become a commercial success, so it probably wouldn't be for money and fame. But the pressure to fit in and be like other people can wear on me, and sometimes I wonder if I made my house look 'normal', with Pottery Barn decorations and matching furniture, and stopped pursuing hobbies like building dollhouses and took up something like running 5K's, if I'd feel more accepted; if I did, what would it cost me?

Have you ever received artwork from others and reworked it as your own?

Not really. Sometimes I buy used canvases at thrift stores and then I gesso over them to create a blank canvas, or I make a collage on the canvas that covers the original art, but that's because I want to save money and re-use items rather than always buying brand new. I do get alot of inspiration from Pinterest, and use it for ideas, but it's never for profit, and I never claim it as as an original idea.

What do you think your preferred art medium says about your personality?

I think my art journals, collages and dollhouses say that I love to create my own worlds. They are an escape from the real world, in which I have very little control, and allow me to work within a world which I can design myself, and does not contain any ugly realities. I think the furniture I re-do and the wind-chimes I make say that I'm eclectic and I believe everything has its own beauty.

What is your secret dream as an artist?

That one day when I am long gone, the people who knew me (like my son) will share stories about all the weird creations I made over the years, and all the adventures I had collecting junk from the side of the road.