During my regularly-scheduled morning blog browsing, I came across this post on Whip Up and I thought it was interesting with this month's theme involving personal imagery. We all know that photos we take ourselves, and art we create ourselves, from our own ideas and in our own compositions is, well, personal and belongs to us and we typically don't give that issue too much thought. In the publishing world, however, thought must be given, so I find myself having to deal with the topic of intellectual property and copyright law nearly on a daily basis. (I also find the whole discussion to be about as clear-cut and easy to understand as the one-and-only theory class I took in college.) As creative types from all backgrounds, I have a feeling copyleft is something we're going to be hearing more and more about.

Because March’s Mixed-Media Monthly Challenge is inspired by The Art of Personal Imagery by Corey Moortgat, we thought a great way to kick it off would be to speak with Corey herself about the subject at hand. As Corey’s editor, I volunteered for the honor. And she had so much to say about the challenge of incorporating personal imagery into collage and mixed-media artwork that I decided to divide it into two parts. So without further ado read on for Part 1 of my Chat with Corey Moortgat! (I do love an unintentional rhyme now and again.)

Jessica: In The Art of Personal Imagery, you share your story of how you began incorporating modern photos into your more vintage-style collage and mixed-media artwork—a process that you described as pushing your own boundaries as an artist. What was the turning point in successfully taking your artwork in this new direction?

Corey: I think that I was somewhat “forced” into a turning point by my own desire to complete a particular project. I wanted to create an art journal about my wedding, and wasn’t really able to achieve this without using modern ephemera like photos and memorabilia. I was in a quandary. I could either back down because it was scary, or I could go ahead and try. Even though it was difficult at first, through trial and error, I did what I could to make it work. And it became easier. While working on the several pages of the journal, I began feeling more comfortable with the new style, and by the time I was finished, I had worked my way through my apprehension and was ready for the next project!

Jessica: I know you have a background in art therapy. How does that influence your work?

Corey: Art therapy is based on the idea of creating artwork to work out personal feelings and emotions. Although we may not realize it, personal symbols and meaning appear in everything we create. Knowing this, I try to take advantage of this uncensored look into my subconscious by purposely doing artwork in order to work through things, and also by examining my artwork to see what appears.

Jessica: Motherhood is a prominent theme in your art. How has your work changed over the past few years? How is it changing now?

Corey: As an artist, my artwork is constantly evolving. Even if I hadn’t become a mother, I guarantee that my artwork wouldn’t look the same as it did a couple years ago. But motherhood really did serve as a creative impetus for me, and opened my eyes to lots of new imagery and inspiration. Creating baby art journals for my children has become a passion for me, and has further introduced me to the world of scrapbooking. It has also brought out new themes in my work and helped me do a lot of self-exploration. Recently, I’ve become interested in moving my artwork in a new direction. Although I still intend to work on my children’s’journals, I’m also trying to actively explore more of my own symbols in some personal artwork.

Jessica: What do you think other artists and crafters have to gain from pushing themselves to find ways to incorporate personal images and words into their work?

Corey: At the very least, artists can gain the satisfaction of creating artwork that doesn’t look like everyone else’s. But they can also gain a lot of self-insight, in addition to leaving a legacy of themselves for their friends and family. Personal artwork has so much more meaning than something generic, both to the artist who creates it and to the viewers who view it.

Jessica: What advice do you have for artists and crafters who feel self-conscious about taking this approach?

I know it’s hard, but you’ve just got to try. Try beginning slowly, just adding one new kind of element in each piece, until you feel more comfortable. Changing directions with your artwork takes time and practice and a lot of pieces that you may not like, but it really takes this effort in order to figure out what works for you.

------------

Visit Corey’s blog for more insights and eye candy from this inspiring artist. So what do you think? Are you feeling inspired to try this month’s challenge? We can all push our boundaries together! Get those creative juices flowing, and stay tuned for more Q&A with the lovely Mrs. Moortgat next week.

Happy Friday,

Jessica

Hi, it's me, Christine. As part of the mixed media team here at MyCraftivity, I kind of had the inside track on the March challenge. So I have been thinking about what I wanted to make, and I decided on a fabric and paper book for my new niece, Stella, that features all of her far-flung relatives. When I told Tonia about it, she immediately suggested transferring the images onto fabric. It was a suggestion that I immediately discarded. Too much work, too much hassle. So I proceeded with my plan, to use gel medium to adhere the paper images to fabric.

Well, that didn’t work as well as I’d hoped. Here are the results.

The fabric color shows through one of the images. And both are kind of warped and streaky. Rats. So, I’m not liking the way it’s turning out, but I love the idea and the colors. My next plan of action is to try the fabric transfer onto the white fabric and then maybe sew the images in.

Do you have any other suggestions? I’d love to hear them!

Until next time,
Christine

Here in Cincinnati, we are finally emerging from the snowy months, at long last, to have the icy, slushy weather replaced with… rain. Rain, the kind of damp cold that chills you absolutely to the bone, and gray, gray skies. As excited that I am that March is National Craft Month and that we're embarking on our first Mixed-Media Monthly Challenge, I'm not that juiced about this time of year otherwise. Yesterday I found myself suffering from some (cliché, I know) rainy day blues, and decided to treat myself to a little afternoon break of one of my favorite activities: Etsy-surfing. I usually search around the site by the type of art I’m looking for, and then, of course, end up getting completely sidetracked. This time, though, I decided to search by topic. I have to admit these sweet finds were just the thing to turn my afternoon around with some sunny inspiration.

Umbrellas abound in blue (from Etsy seller sushipot):

Red (from carambatack):

And green (thank you, rosiemusic!):

I know my lovely colleague Tonia would find a ray of sunshine in this equally day-brightening Plexiglas artwork from bode22:

And it's always refreshing to see a pretty bird singing in the rain, like this mixed-media gem from NancysView:

Or this linocut from littlestflower:

And, of course, once you start thinking of songs about rain, it's hard not to appreciate this reclaimed Purple Rain ring from greenbelts:

I'd finish this post by telling you about the rainbow I spotted outside the window just as I was finishing my Etsy browsing, but you wouldn't believe me if I tried (though I have several coworkers who can corroborate my story!)

Happy Wednesday,

Jessica

As mixed-media artists, I think I can safely say that we've all purchased supplies that we were incredibly inspired to try out at the time and then left them unopened and unexplored for months on end. Sometimes it's because we're unsure how to use what we've bought and sometimes we just get stuck in a rut, and stick to our tried-and-true standbys. With our challenge this month being that of using personal imagery in our artwork--something that many of us are not accustomed to--I'd like to suggest that this might be the perfect time to also dig out those unopened supplies and give them a try!

And if you need some help getting started, check out the March Monthly Challenge discussion from the message board on the MyCraftivity home page. To find it, click on Message Board from the red navigation bar, then click on Mixed Media, and then March Monthly Challenge. I'll report back to you soon on my own progress.