greenbeanbaby art

interview with mikey freedom...

A few months back, i began setting up interviews with other paper artists. This was a way [i thought] to inspire people who enjoy the same medium, as well as get a chance to see how differently people can work with paper... Having the cut paper illustration group on flickr, i have met many talented artists who push the boundaries for such a simple and common [and often inexpensive] medium... Mikey freedom is one of those artists, who happens to do an array of work, including tattoo design. But of course, you have to love this guy's collage art!!!! 

So, who is mikey freedom?
My name is actually Michael Lothian. My website is called "Enter the Sunset". My artwork is formed from the need to purely create and gain sustenance from the colour and stroke of a brush. I am Driven to paint, collage and produce works of personal and Social importance. My motivation is found within my family life, my wife Sophia (who is my partner in all of these artistic pursuits!), being of Polynesian descent, along with my three children and where opportunities to travel the South Pacific have enriched my subject matter.

You work in several mediums and styles of art. However, why collage?

Collage has always remained an intensely fond medium for me, there is something special about collage when done with attention to line, color and shape. It has the ability to cross the divide between child and adult sensibilities. It is automatically inviting and purely honest. It does not discriminate towards its viewer!

Collage is the sort of medium in which I feel all aspects of my art practice are brought together. When I cut paper I approach it as though I was drawing. I do not draw a guide or sketch to aid my scissors or scalpels, I purposely cut freehand and cut shapes by sight and intuition. I feel most comfortable collaging in this method. I rarely use pre-colored papers, preferring to paint my own papers, as I enjoy the process of mixing paint and painting paper. Collage will always remain my passion, to which I have an unending motivation for!

Who influences and/or inspires you?

My strongest influences in collage would be Henri Matisse, Romare Bearden and Pablo Picasso. I am also inspired by the work of Eric Carle, and the illustrations of Charley Harper, Bernie Fuchs and the brilliant paper engineering of Carlo Giovani, to name but a few.

Who or what inspires your theme in your artwork?

The majority of my works theme is based on the majestic islands that form modern Polynesia, many people have depicted Polynesia, though I attempt to express it in a true and honest manner, reflecting its rich culture, history and it's people!

Aside from being a collage artist, what else do you do?
For over ten years now, I has also worked as a High School Art Teacher and lectured at universities on various aspects of Art.

I have also worked extensively as a muralist and community artist, having painted for councils, welfare/youth centers, private business, festivals & concerts, facilitating workshops with marginalized and disadvantaged youth. From major business corporations such as MTV, Sony etc, to painting live on air for Foxtel’s Channel V, my experience is assuredly wide. I have appeared and done work (art) on television & Radio, including magazines and newspapers.I also do Tattoo & Graphic Design.

Lastly, where else can we find you and your work?

I have a new shop open so be sure to check it out and tell me what you think. You can also find me on flickr as well as red bubble. Of course you can check out my website, and/or my blog.

note: all images are copyrighted and belong to mikey freedom.

interview with Digital Snowmen

Welcome to the world of Eric Hancock, himself. He is a colleague friend of Ramel and I, who has also become the adopted uncle of our two kids... He is one talented guy who's creations deserve to be seen... his portfolio is filled with intricate illustrations, full of detail and care... And so, here is an interview by Ramel with and the Digital Snowmen...

Tell us a little bit about yourself. Who is this Eric Hancock?

I'm 27 years old and an illustration graduate from the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design. Currently, I'm living in Chicago with my ladies (Karen, my girlfriend, and Sheila, my pug) and working as a bartender at a restaurant called North Pond. Its located in Lincoln Park (the park) and focuses on using sustainable, organic food sources and eating locally. This helped me understand the importance of eating fresh products that aren't over processed and aided in a more balanced diet (though I still enjoy the cracker 4 for $10 frozen pizzas). I consider myself fortunate that I have a full time job that provides me with the room during the week for all of the necessary creativity that I need. Before work that is. Not as the bartender.

Digital Snowmen started as a business venture into the design and production of stuffed animals and t-shirts. The stuffeds™ were hand crafted and based on a series of illustrations for a comedy troupe logo that didn't progress beyond the initial, "Hey, let's do these performances featuring comedy ...."  I had the ideas in my hand and wanted to create a three dimensional representation of them, so I did, and people wanted them. I've since created more that 300 stuffeds™ based around 4 central designs. Since moving to Chicago, however, that aspect of my interests have been put on hold. Its been more of a focus on the illustration.

Another aspect of the Digital Snowmen revolves around some basic design incorporating my illustrations. Working in conjunction with NoKarma music group, I've designed and illustrated 6 or so albums and have done a series of t-shirts with local Milwaukee apparel guru, Jim Phillips. Lately, its been a series of pet portraits commissioned from some local Chicago folks.

This is cliche, but what motivates you as an artist?  What inspires you? (Other artist/television/film/ etc.)  What makes you want to create?

Since I was young, I've always got into some sort of trouble for not paying attention in school. The teachers considered me sort of a problem especially when they talked with my mom during parent-teacher conferences. Apparently, I was always drawing and never paid any mind to what we were learning. She asked about my test scores, which they were astonished at how high they were. It was obvious to her that I wasn't being challenged enough. Personally, I just was bored.

So, to answer your question, 27 years of boredom is the initial motivation. I watch a tremendous amount of movies. My DVD collection is becoming annoying in its sprawling size and shape. Karen is always saying things like,"Can't you just borrow that from so and so? Don't they have season 5 of the X-Files?" I know, I understand where that's going, but its like owning the Lord of the Rings trilogy without the Two Towers. We try to make it to a film at least every other week. This has been a good year for that! Other than movies, books. Fairy tales, folklore, mythology, science fiction and even just plain life has so many aspects of wonderment that its hard to gather it all in one place. Through my drawings, I find that the subtle beauty in the world can find a place. Magical realism applied to paper sharing the tales and stories with multi-generational works.

My newest website was designed, renovated and relaunched in dynamic glory by Justin Edwards and the Defective Theatre in conjunction with the Digital Snowmen. It is beautifully done. Justin has been a friend since fifth grade and a great influence on my dedication to working towards my goals. He works out in New York City as an art director and always does wonderful multimedia work. Thank you again, Justin.

Currently, I find the work of James Jean very inspirational in the sense that its all very common place with that subtle twist of surreality. Craftsmanship is key to producing fine works. Make it or break it with shoddy materials and applications.

When did it set in for you personally that you were going to earn a living creating art?

I would like to earn a living creating art but what's the fun in that? Its like having your cake and eating it too! I'm never sure what that actually means...

What are you currently working on?  What future projects would you like to pursue?

There is a children's book that I'm currently developing titled,"The Deliciousness." Its all written and being edited with most of the preliminary design set in motion. What's cool about it is that there are to corresponding stories that connect in one timeline throughout the course of the story. Things happen in one that directly affect the other. It may be a bit fancy in the chronological regards, but what's the use in writing something standard and linear? I hope to have it set to go by Spring. A few other stories are simmering on the stove in the mean time with a potential collaboration with some old friends of mine.

Besides art, what are some of your other passions in your life?

Everything that I've tried to do in my life has somehow turned into business. I think the only one that didn't thus far is photography. That I seem to get away with time and time again without selling. Capturing things that I see that no one around me notices is pretty fun. That and cooking. We've been cooking a lot at home trying new things that seem to taste good and are less expensive than dining out. Chicago is a GREAT city for dining and we've experience a whole lot of that especially after working in such a highly esteemed establishment, but it catches up to you. Grab a bottle of wine, some derivative recipe concepts with ingredients you'd like to use, buckle down and apply those creative juices to you're stomach.

Its all good fun.

Be sure to check out his several sites, including his wonderful sketches and blog...
eric hancock's portfolio site
digital snowmen's original site
eric's blog
eric's flickr page 
eric's etsy shop [with clearanced items]

a wonder of paper...

meet carlos molina, the paper genius... he's a a Puerto Rican artist living in new york city... and as you can tell by his name and photos [and the title], he loves working in paper too... in fact, he creates 3d paper sculptures which are just absolutely fascinating... they are vibrantly colorful and well crafted... carlos' artwork is truly a wonder...

 how he began working in paper:

"i started working with paper, when I was a little kid about 5 or 6 years old.  I will wake up in the middle of the night and I will not be able to go back to sleep until morning. So I started getting out of bed and started to play and make stuff. Paper was the must readily available material I was able to find. My mother kept a box of old magazines that we would use for our school projects. I would spend hours looking at the images, colors and textures of the different kinds of paper. I would meticulously choose pages by their color or pattern to make my paper creations.

I have a special memory of creating my first nativity scene out of little cones that I made from recycled manila folders as the character's bodies. I then covered them with my chosen pages. I will make tunic sleeves from complementary papers. For heads, I would used small balls of cotton covered with the tissue paper that used to wrap our freshly baked bread from our neighborhood bakery. I remember that my creation was so celebrated by my large extended family. They all thought that I was very talented, strange but talented! ;-)

I also remember making a collage with my grandfather's Social Security check. I loved the pattern printed on them. That creation somehow was not very celebrated! ;-)"

carlos also makes the most interesting paper shoes... yes, paper shoes!!! ironically, there is another carlos molina who happens to make real shoes.... so i decided to ask the paper genius about this coincidence...

"i have been making paper shoes for a long time. i find out there was another Carlos Molina making shoes (although real ones!) when people started contacting me and asking about sizes, etc. When i went to make my website i noticed he was using carlosmolina.com, so i used my full name carlosNmolina.com, with the N."

a wild coincidence! admittedly, i think the paper shoes are far more beautiful... could you imagine going into a gallery showing created to resemble a shoe store? and inside all the shoe boxes are carlos' miniatured sculptured heels?!  a shoe store filled with these miniature paper shoes?! now, that would be a cool gallery showing! but i'm diverting... you can check out more of his creations here... 

feel free to check out his various sites including his etsy shop... he makes the most beautiful 3d paper ornaments, which are perfect for all year long... in fact, now that valentine's day is nearly here, this might be a good gift for your sweetie pie, or your favorite crafty valentine buddy... enjoy :)

note: carlos' official website and carlos' photos

meet piper- her art, her words...

meet piper... she is another lovely and talented cut paper artist met via the flickr cut paper group... piper is from Toronto, Canada... she creates such darling cut paper illustrations featuring her infamous red-haired character named edith... her illustrations truly tell a story- and it leaves you wanting to know [and see] edith moreso...

and now, in piper's words:

"I've always loved making art and I had a facination with making "paper people" (that's what my little friend and i called our little creations), as a young child. Fast forward 20 some years...I wrote a children's book (which I'm still writing and editing). One day I made a cut paper + paint illustration of a girl being washed away in the ocean, and it was only afterward that I discovered that she was meant to be the main character, Edith, in my book. That's how I came to rediscover my love of working with paper. That's also when I found out that illustrations can come before the words. Those ones are my favorites.

Besides the obvious reasons to love paper, I LOVE the feel of the scissors cutting through it, and I love seeing the shape surprises left over from the cutouts. I love the dimension in working with different patterned and textured papers and I love how long it takes and how much delicate care it takes to create an entire scene. There is so much emotion and sentiment that goes into every creation, and i feel it too when looking at others work."

be sure to check out piper's blog and her flickr page...  and no doubt, someday we will be reading her story to our child... it's lovely to see the variety of ways artists use paper in their arts... it's always an inspiration to meet wonderful people like piper who have such a passion for their work... it's what we all need :)

meet ms. marzycards... in her words...

Hi! I’m Marzycards™ and I design and make lovely little greeting cards, bags and mini books. Thank you for inviting me to talk with you. My design style is simple, yet fun and happy. I try to pay attention to the details and placement of elements in my cards. I have a blog http://www.marzycards.blogspot.com for "How Tos" and a bit more chat by Marzycards! [Hence the blah blah blahs...]

  

I love to use brightly colored card and wonderful handmade papers which look appealing and are also nice to touch. The texture and quality of my cards and papers are really important to me. My cards and bags are usually cut and then decorated with smaller die cut shapes and even metal tag rims which have proved popular.

 

What am I up to? [Christmas Scene, inspired by Paper Source Christmas Demos and Workshop]

I am currently working on Christmas Cards. The most fun one is hand cut, yes, I even surprised myself and has lots of layers. It is inspired by my recent trip to Paper Source. I bought lots of mittens and patterned papers. I will make about 40 mittens in total and a good few one off cards. Hope to have How Tos on my site, if I get a chance. Just in case I don't, I can say that I glittered, punched, stamped, glued and added lots of signature bows to all of the mittens, to give you a few ideas too! This way the recipient can also have a fun souvenir. Just add a magnet on the back!!

More on the mittens

Mitten are versatile as you can use them as everything from cards to gift tags, to note books and photo albums (the list is endless). Just add ribbon. Mittens are just a  fun shape, which adds to the interest and recipients will hopefully remember them for that reason too! 

Envelope Story

I am forever making matching envelopes too! My biggest tip to everyone who makes hand made cards is to make a handmade envelope! This is because you have put your heart and soul into making a brilliant card and it’s just a small extra step to finish your work off nicely. I know that we are really busy and it’s probably taken all of our time and energy to make a super card, however, it is truly worth it.  

Oh yes, and don’t worry, I went through the stage of thinking “how can I make handmade envelopes?!” … and thinking, “but mine doesn’t look like the one in the picture” too. What I did was to buy some templates; I also went on a workshop, bought some die cut shaped envelopes too, just in case, but most importantly I just kept practicing. All of my envelopes are made with  Papers from my favorite store “Paper Source” where I am practically on first name terms with the entire team, who tirelessly answer all of my questions and help with all of my paper selections too!

 

 

*all images belong to marzycards™... a big thanks to marzycards for doing this write up.... her site is definitely to be admired so please check her out!

meet nathalie

nathalie is another wonderfully talented cut paper artist... i first saw her beautiful work in the cut paper illustration group and found her artwork filled with happiness and love... nathalie is 32 years old and lives in belgium... she loves doing all sorts of crafting including knitting, atc's, and chunky book arts...


nathalie uses patterned paper wonderfully... she isn't shy about mix matching patterns, as the final project looks unified and not too busy... my favorite of her illustrations is the one above... it is for a page in her chunky books art swap... when asked how she began working with paper, she responded "I think I have been making greeting cards for a long time and by joining swapbot I discovered ATC's and flickr where I get some inspirational mojo ;)"

you can see more of her paper arts and crafting projects here as well as visit her blog here...

meet matt hill

in the world of flickr, i've come across many talented cut paper artists... it is within the cut paper illustration group, where i met matt hill... his artwork is amazing and as mentioned in another post, he is fun to play halo 3 with [yes, this game is addicting]... if his work was music, it would probably sound like jazz as there is a story behind each one... there is room for interpretation, with abstract qualities and a simple color scheme... every piece of artwork is made with intricate detail and care [you can see his process here and here]

here is matt's artist statement:

For me, making cut paper art is purely a voyage of discovery. Each time I sit in front of a blank piece of white paper I direct the razor's edge as it excises my delight, anguish, longing and humor; I reach for meaning, clarity or closure. My only purpose is to enjoy the process - and I do, wholeheartedly.


In a world where the literal dominates, my process is one of developing relationships between what I remove and what is left behind. The act of cutting paper is akin to how I live my life - there is no eraser, no second chance, only indelible choices. Each day, a new page. And most importantly, there is no sketch or plan. The result often surprises me; from that I derive much joy.

Welcome to my heart, my brain, my imagination.

MattHillArt.com

be sure to check out his site, as he has many more wonderful pieces of artwork for you to enjoy including further descriptions and more insight on his process, his passion....