How did you get started in your creative endeavors?
I’ve been a paid artist since I was in high school. I guess the answer would be forever and a day as I don’t know how I would do anything else.
You write and draw. Which do you find easier to express yourself in and on projects that have both involved where do you start with the words or the images?
I think it’s easier to write. It just seems to flow from me. In the dual projects, I will usually do the artwork first. It’s a part of my processing; I’m usually meditating on the conversation that goes with it. By the time I’m finished with the work, the
words just spill out.
You travel to sell your items. What is the best and worst part of “working” a show or convention? Do you have a favorite one you attend regularly?
The best part of working a show is by far the people and the experience of the show itself. Who I get to know and meet and coming face to face with the people who enjoy my work and are impacted by what I have to say.
The worst? Partying at night and having to deal in the morning with a bit “too much fun” and still be professional instead of holed up in bed trying to get the world to stop spinning.
The best show I have done by FAR is Faerieworlds. I love the atmosphere and energy and it’s just freaking’ fun!! That the one that is hard to leave
Have you ever had a time when you had to look at your own projects to keep up a positive spirit? Is there anything else you do on a daily basis to help?
Ha,ha..grin…that’s a funny situation. There are days I read my writing and think to myself “who’s writing this stuff!”. I definitely have down moments. That is where my writing and art is sprung from. Dealing in reality and getting from that darker
place back into the light again. I try to ensure that EVERYTHING I write is authentic. Not blowing smoke just to make a buck if you know what I mean.
The fun part is when I’m working on something that deals with an older piece and I’m struggling with it, the writing and piece itself will talk right to me. So the best thing I can possibly do in a down mood is work and read my own stuff.
To stay in a better frame of mind I have a few techniques. One is to read inspiring works in the morning
when I have my coffee. Before the day starts. Just finished the Alchemist. Great read for anyone interested. Easy too. Or Siddhartha, that is a major inspiration.
The second is to write. I do automatic writing at night before bed. And what is written is so empowering for
me that I find myself going back to read what was written before and at this point, enjoy that more than the self help books I own.
The final technique for me is to check my gratitude level. If I really slump, I know I am not acknowledging
what has been given me in my life and am too focused on what I think is not working. (Which usually IS working in the bigger picture but not what I WANT to see at the moment).
Do you have any advice for artists who want to try and make a living from their creations?
Do I have advice…lol…you asked for it!
DO NOT LET ANYONE TELL YOU IF YOU ARE GOOD ENOUGH. Being a successful artist is not determined wholly by
technique. In fact if you really look around at some of the most famous, they really struggled because their technique was so different and not what was expected.
BE YOU. People don’t want you to be throwing work against the wall because of what you see in the market.
They love raw, uncensored, passion. It will crawl right off the canvas if you are honest with your relationship to your work. The more fun you have doing your artwork for YOU the more your audience will resonate with it.
DON’T GIVE UP. A friend in the entertainment industry told me once that the actors that really made it were
the ones who did not get distracted and did not give up. Last man standing wins. With the industry being so inundated with artists these days giving up would be the easy thing to DO. But trust me when I say, not the easy thing to
LIVE WITH.
I saw on your website that besides your projects that you are also an inspirational speaker? Is there any other things you would like to tackle in life that you haven’t?
Actually, if I could wave a magic wand and do anything in the world? I would be in musical theater. (Hence the message up above). I just got a keyboard and am trying to figure out how to get it to work with my computer so I can put my own music up
on my MySpace page. When I was younger, and still now, I sang and wrote my ownsongs. But I got scared and gave up
when it got hard. If I’d only known then what I know now. But it’s never too late. It may just not look like I originally envisioned it.
If people want more info or to pick up some of your art or items where should they go?
You can get the items for sale that I create on my website:
www.Thefaeriegathering.com.
