I was invited by Kim Werker to participate in an Around the World Blog Hop. (Yes, we are in the same city rather than on the other side of the world, but no one is going to call us on it). These are my answers to the four questions related to my creative practice. You can read Kim’s answers here.
What am I working on?
I feel as if I am working on a ridiculous amount of stuff at the moment. I have a show coming up later this year in Vancouver and I’m creating a new series of paper cut pieces for this. At the same time I need to put together work for a show happening in Halifax in 2015, because this exhibition will be larger. These are longer term deadlines I am working towards, while also completing a commission of fifteen small paper cut designs for a client, and preparing work to exhibit at Vancouver Mini Maker Faire this past weekend.
I curate the speaker series, Hot Talks, for Hot Art Wet City gallery, and I am in the process of scheduling people for the remaining months of 2014. I’ve also recently started hosting an Art & Craft Social evening at the gallery, and have been working on outreach to make sure the next event is well attended.
How does my work differ from others of its genre?
Hmmm. I’m not sure how to answer this question because I’m uncertain of the genre I fit into. I sometimes feel like an anomaly because my art has evolved dramatically over the past five or six years. I was a photographer for about fifteen years, and I stumbled into creating paper based art first in the form of collage, then altered book sculpture, and now paper cutting.
I think the paper cutting work I create is distinctly different from most of the work people typically see, which is illustrative, while my work is very abstract. I also don’t draw the designs first. I create them directly with the knife and create the composition as I go.
Why do I write/create what I do?
I create because I need to. I get antsy if too much time passes and I haven’t cut, drawn, baked, crafted, or done making in some form. My brain needs to create in order to stay sane. I think this is the case for many creative people.
With the paper cut work specifically I am drawn to the process of it, to the feel of the knife slicing through the paper and creating these intricate designs from simple shapes. It’s such satisfying work to me. I am not a patient person but the work gives me focus, and teaches me to be disciplined, otherwise I’d never get one completed.
How does my writing/creating process work?
I have a self-directed artistic practice and it is centered around process driven work. I start with the materials at hand, a piece of white paper, a fresh blade in my xacto knife, and a cutting mat on a desk top easel. I begin to cut a simple shape, which I repeat over and over until the work feels done. I work in a freeform way and let things develop as I go.
