Tell All Tuesday ~ Featured Artist: Wendy Juhl

Hi guys I'm back in the UK, Venice was amazing but absolutely boiling which means we've come back with flus! I know, I know, summer sun = winter flu, what the...?? But even Venetians said that the heat was worse than they've ever experienced and apparently a few people were getting it - all the going in and out of cold air conditioning to stifling sun I guess. But I'm here for this week's TAT before heading back off to bed with paracetamol lol also here is this weeks featured artist Wendy Juhl, wait till you see her beautiful bead work. Hope you enjoy =)

Tell us a little bit about yourself & what kind of artist you are.

My name is Wendy M. Juhl.  I reside in Durant, Oklahoma and my imagination.  I am passionate, mischievous, irreverent, playful and adventurous.  I love art, music, and movies.  Art has always been a constant in my life.  In fact, I've dreamed about being an artist my whole life.

It has been a long journey to get to where I am with my art.  I've spent my whole life searching for the best way to express myself creatively.  I tried every type of art or craft that I had an opportunity to and there were many.  Most recently, I have turned to mixed media art.  My mixed media art usually falls into two categories: paper-based or fiber-based.  I especially love art journaling in regards to the former and creating 'paintings' with fabric and beads for the latter.

What is the biggest challenge you personally face as an artist and how do you overcome it?

My biggest challenge was expressing myself visually.  When I was young, I was convinced that I can't draw or paint.  So, I explored other ways of expressing myself.  I wrote poems & short stories using very descriptive language and explored various arts & crafts.  It was so frustrating.  Almost 6 years ago, I taught myself off-loom beadweaving.  While learning more about beading, I discovered bead embroidery.  I tried it and I was hooked. Finally I could express myself visually!  As I was exploring more uses for bead embroidery, I also found articles about mixed media art.  I fell in love with mixed media.  I started adding fabric, paint, ink & fibers into my bead embroidered pieces.  I researched mixed media art online and discovered art journaling, so I gave it a try. I found that I can draw and paint well enough to please myself.  I started art journaling in October 2011 and I'm still painting away today.

What do you wish your art to achieve?

I really want my art to instill a sense of wonder, of magic, and of possibilities in those who view it.

What messages do you try to portray in your art & do you feel you achieve it?

Storytelling is a huge aspect of my art.  As I'm creating a piece of artwork,  I'm very focused on the story I'm telling.  The story is usually not evident in the finished piece of artwork because I want to inspire the viewer to imagine their own tale in relation to what they perceive in the piece.  I think I accomplish this because I always leave enough mystery in my artwork for the imagination to have room to play.

Tell us where can we find out more about you & your art?

My YouTube channel: inspirecreatebelieve

My email: seedbeadart@yahoo.com

Thank you so much Wendy for sharing =) I've yet to come across a TAT interview where I cannot relate personally (and from the interviews responses I don't think I'm alone) to what the artist is saying...yours is no different: I think we all have felt the frustration at not feeling like we can express ourselves artistically. Thank you for raising this point because I think it's important to understand it is part of the natural process (& even on a very selfish level I'm so pleased you have found a way to express yourself visually as it's wonderful eye candy for us =D) 

Would you like to be a featured artist on Tell All Tuesday?? Email me @ jennibellie@yahoo.co.uk if you feel up to sharing.
(PS I'm running a little behind on my emails at the mo so apologies to those that have emailed me & not had a response yet, I'll get back to you soon as the paracetamol and smoothies have kicked in lol)