Hi guys it's tuuuuuuuuesday,
which means around here means it's TAT time yay =)
Just a head's up if you want to be part of TAT I'm running low of interviewees so now's the time to email me saying
Jennibellie I wana TAT it!
If you have done that already you should have an email in your inbox with all the details now ~ it's partly my fault I've been so busy my emails have been stacking but hopefully we're back on track now. Okay this week our TATer is a lovely lady and fellow English Rose --- yeah you see how I managed to compliment myself while supposedly giving a compliment there? that takes skill tee hee ~ but still it's valid for Darcy.
Enjoy her interview ;)
Tell us a little about yourself and what kind of artist you are.Hi, my name is Darcy. I am 43 years old and I live in the North East of the UK. Professionally I would be considered a Mixed Media Artist, though I shy away from the word 'artist' and tend to tell people that I am a gluer and sticker and maker of stuff. I have been creating all my life. My great-grandmother taught me to knit when I was about 4 or 5. A friend taught me to crochet when I was 15. Everything else has been pretty much self taught. Card making, scrap booking, hand embroidery, machine embroidery, bag making, collage and journalling, sketching, painting and creating 3d items.
The only branch I am qualified in is Millinery, but there isn't much call for handmade hats these days. I am actually thankful in many ways that I did not go to art college, it frees me up to bend and break the rules, usually without even knowing what the rules are to start with. Though with that sometimes comes a little frustration when I am not able to figure something out. What kind of artist am I? Well, I do not think I have a specific style, though others tell me they recognize my work. I would say I am pretty eclectic, though I lean more to the grungy, vintagey styles rather than crisp and clean. One thing I do love is layers, I try to incorporate them whenever I can.
What is the biggest challenge you personally face as an artist and how do you overcome it? I would have to say my biggest challenge is financial. I had to give up my day job several years ago due to health issues. Back then I would go to lots of exhibitions and art/crafts fairs. I would buy whatever supplies I needed, even if I didn't need them. I was able to buy whatever was new on the scene. Now I am very cautious with my spending, I ask for supplies for Christmas and birthdays. When I am able to buy supplies I make sure to top up on basics such as paper, card, glue, tape, paint, plain fabric. With these basics you can create just about anything. I find myself sometimes longing to be able to buy all the new releases, the new paper, the new embellishments, the expensive ranges of paints....but I simply cannot. There is no way around this. But I can overcome not having these items, by making them. Not having disposable income means I have to be more creative, much more now than I used to be. When I was able to buy embellishments, it was easy, buy them and stick them on...job done. Now I have to make them, that means designing, sketching, choosing colours, getting messy with clay or paper making. Time consuming yes, but ohh so much more fun than just buying a product that everybody else has. Being forced to work in this way has made me so much more creative, has taught me so much more. Another way to overcome the problem, is to recycle. You would be amazed at what you can make with an old cardboard box. No wonder children love them so much. Also a great way to get the 'new stash' fix, is to work as part of a Design Team. Lots of companies will give you product in exchange for regular promotion of them. It can be a lot of work, and you must be prepared to commit your time to them, but it is definitely worth it.
What is your hearts greatest desire for your life as an artist.My greatest wish is to always love what I do. My ambition is to work..and get paid...within the industry, but with this desire comes the worry of turning a much loved hobby into a full time career. Often when that happens the work totally loses its appeal. I worry that I won't be able to be 'creative on demand' but this is the direction that I want to take, and so I must take a leap of faith. By truly loving this part of my life, I hope that I am always inspired, that I am always able to see the beauty and potential in everything around me. With that I hope to pass on that inspiration to others, to help ignite that creativity in people around me. This is why I am always happy to explain my working process, on my blog and at demos.
What is the best/worst thing that art has brought into your life?
The best thing has to be the people that I have met. Without doubt. Those online and those that I have met in person. Creative people are most definitely a breed apart, it is always comforting but also exhilarating to be in their company. On the whole they are warm and friendly, and most are very willing to share their knowledge. I know that without art I would not have met some of my closest friends. We share and swap, ideas and stash. We travel to shows together, and encourage each other daily, who would not want such support in their life. The worst thing is that art has taken over my life and the housework is no longer a priority, but hey that's not really such a bad thing.
Tell us where we can find out more about you and your artYou can always find out what I am up to by visiting
my blog. Here I show the pieces that I have made, not just for myself but also the pieces that I make for design teams. I also run various challenges on my blog, and often have give-aways. I have a
youtube channel, though I am not a big fan of being in front of the camera, so there isn't much there yet. But I am slowly adding videos here and there. At the moment I am on 2 design teams. For
Letraset I contribute to their blog and I also do in-store demos for them. For
PaperArtsy I have been a guest designer over this year, and hope to continue working with this very friendly company. On their blog you can type my name into the search box and all my projects will come up. Just one of the items I made for them was this giraffe.
Thank you so much for taking part Darcy, I have to say I LOVE your sculptural giraffe - I'm finding the blue spots quite hipnotising lol
I find it very interesting you use your role in a Design Team & getting supplies to play with as a creative prompt. That could be beneficial for people that do buy a lot of supplies too, if they then allow them to collect dust, by visualising that they are part of a Design Team also and so must make something with that product. Hmmm I am quite diligent at always playing with any new products as soon as I get them, but I may use this tactic to riffle through my drawers to find something that I may not have picked up in a while - that's kinda creativity prompting juice for us all to get cracking on right there =) thanks for sharing
Want to join the TAT-ranks??
Email me or click the link to find all the details
here =)
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