The REV It Up List

Blog Stalking: Artist Dina Wakley

Interview by Maria Hammon

I cannot tell you how truly inspiring the art of Dina Wakley is to me, specially considering that I have diligently been stalking her blog for at least two years!  This is one of the reasons I find this interview so exciting! 

Dina, just how and when did you get started in the world of art journaling?

I've always been art-minded and I subscribed to Somerset Studio from the day it was first published. I devoured every issue, but was too chicken to try art myself. I started stamping and my skill level grew. Finally, I bought a blank book and started creating a visual journal. I've kept a regular journal since I was 9 years old, so I'm familiar with the process of putting yourself down onto paper. But with the visual journal I was combining words and paint. My very first art journal was about how I was too insecure to call myself an "artist." The great thing about art journaling is that it's a way to experiment and express yourself and it doesn't have to be "good"...it just has to be honest.

That is one of the many things I love about what you do, it is SO real. Raw. I love it!  What is your favorite art medium?                                     

I love collage and mixed media--acrylic paint and odds and ends and bits of whatever is laying around.

I love it when you say you "slapped a quick page together" and I see this masterpiece (from your current post.) Exactly how do you manage to create your art?  What is your process; does the theme come first?  Or is it the kind of colors?  The concept?  How do you typically start and finish a project?

This is a hard question...I rarely ever have an end product in mind when I start a page. I just start putting down paint and layers and see where it takes me. Often I'm driven by my emotions, or by something that is bothering me. I'll work on a page in my art journal, and as I have extra paint I'll wipe it on pages further back in the journal...I figure one day I'll get to those pages and there will be a little paint or something there to jump start me. I tend to work quickly, too...I don't agonize over the perfect thing to put on the page. I use what is within reach. I guess the process is kind of organic and intuitive. I love to layer...paints, inks, collage elements, etc. I think the layers create visual interest and combined together have meaning. I also love to use letters in my work. I was an English major in college and the written word has always moved me.

How do you manage life, family (with boys!) and the never ending daily chores and still find the time you need to create the beautiful works of art you create?  Come on, share the secrets!

Well, there's no secret. I'm always behind on housework. I figure the dishes can wait.

I love that!  Thank you.  I really needed to hear that today. Specially since my dishes haven't been done yet...this interview is much more important!  If you could pick any place in the world to live, where would it be and why? 

How about Del Mar in a house on the beach...or Lake Tahoe (North shore, Nevada side)...or Tuscany...or in a fun flat in London....oh wait, you said one place, right?

It is quite all right...we can always have more than one favorite place.  There are no rules when dreaming, right?  Now on a sweeter note, what is your favorite candy bar?

Milky Way Midnight...yum...and anything by Cadbury. When we lived in England we got hooked on British chocolate. I still crave Curly Wurlys and Star Bars and Double Deckers!

Where do you create?  Do you have a dedicated space at home? 

I do have a room...it's not really a studio, and it's not decorated nicely. But it's functional and it's mine. Someday I want built-in shelving, a sealed concrete floor, and a utility sink.

Funny you mention a utility sink...that's one of my dreams, too!  Specially because I always find myself splattered in paint!  What do you find most inspiring to you and why?

I find so many things in life inspiring...poetry, art, people who triumph over adversity, hummingbirds outside my window...I think I get inspiration from everything.

Here is one of my favorite pieces created by you last year, have you ever considered selling your art in Etsy or other similar places? 

No...I'm not trying to be self-defeating, but I really don't consider myself at the caliber I would need to be to sell anything. I feel like an infant when it comes to art...I have so much to learn. I look at how far I've come since I first started art journaling, and I'm amazed at the growth.

Where do you see yourself in the future?  Any goals or plans you'd like to share with us?

I just want to keep creating! :)

Blog Stalking: Shutter Sisters

A new blog I have been stalking visiting lately is called Shutter Sisters. I initially found these photo inspiring sisters at the recommendation of the wonderful Ali Edwards and I always trust her judgment on such things as good places to get inspiration from. And, oh boy, she was certainly right. Again.

Plus, who doesn't just love a blog that includes the word "sisters" in it? And those sisters happen to be a group of phenomenal shutter happy photographers with a willingness to share their art, inspiration, ideas and so much more!

A recent post by Karen Walrond called Love Thursday got my attention recently. It's all about how love can help to halve the potato. Karen's perspective on this totally captured me. Life is indeed about giving and sharing, isn't it? And Easter day is a reminder of that, too. God shared the life of his only son to save us from our sins. He had no problem when it was time to half the potato because his infinite LOVE for us made it all happen. We can too, follow that example and half our potatoes for the sake of love.

One fun fact about Karen Walrond is not only that she shares her first name with our own Karen Dinino and is an amazing photographer, but also, she is an attorney, too! Must be a trait for those named Karen. They are attorneys, and also creative, fun, great photographers and fabulous sisters!

And while you are visiting this wonderful new blog, be sure to meet the rest of the shutter sisters!

I'll share with you the picture that Karen Walrond so kindly linked in her post, one of my favorite pictures of a recent photoshoot with my very own adopted two seesters, Linda and Karen! 

Originally downloaded by Justmeagain2006 as a contribution for the flickr shutter sisters' pool.

Blog Stalking: Artist Thereza Rowe

Eclectic, unrestrained, versatile, vivid....artist Thereza Rowe embodies all these and a cool accent to boot!

Karen and I are blog stalking amazing artist Thereza Rowe. We admit that it has turned a bit into real stalking and poor T-Rowe may open her door to find two sisters asking to use her WC one day soon. Judging by her fearless and fun art, she'd just write down her thoughts about it and celebrate the fun of the moment, and that is what we absolutely love about her. That, and she has a cool accent. She captures moments- all moments- the good, the bad, the annoying, and  the funny! And, she does it all with a hint of RED.   Click on  Thereza's flickr page to see her wide variety of art from  collages, drawings, art on trees (YES!), photos, and if you are also a fan of doodling on envelopes (who is not?), she has a flickr group you can join.

Thereza, thanks for sharing your life with the world through your art!

Blog: Andrew Borloz :: Urban Paper Arts

Artist Andrew Borloz has been on an artful journey full of "new ideas, hybrids, discoveries, experiences and pleasant surprises."  Andrew shares his love of design and paper arts through his wonderful finds through the streets of New York, in unusual books he discovers in quaint shops, and in storefront windows. Lucky for us, he's always got his camera with him so we can  share these in these moments! We love the way he delights in the little bursts of art he finds along the way...he even sees art  in the shadows! We love that!

The Pulse: Artist Survey

Artist Seth Apter started a fun adventure interviewing a variety of artists with the same set of seven questions. He posted the answers to the 7 questions over 7 days on his blog, The Altered Page. I love to read what other artists have on their desks, what supplies they like and other odd bits of information about them. I always like to read the answers of the interviewer, too, so here are  Seth's answers to his own fun questions (easiest interview EVER!):
The one technique or tool that I cannot live without is...
As far as technique right now I would say distressing -- with sandpaper, by folding, with paint or ink, by tearing, etc. As for tool I would have to say scissors as I always seem to be slicing through something in nearly everything I make.
One artist that inspires me is...
Antoni Tapies because of his use of color, textures, and abstracted images.
5 things on my studio table right now include...
Piles of paper scraps, Caran d'Ache metallic wax pastels, several pairs of scissors, a spool of rusted wire that I found that is being saved for a future project, and book board. 
My current go-to blog is...
There are so many but these days I chose Le Divan Fumoir Bohemien http://florizel.canalblog.com/ because even though I can't understand most of the text (it's in French), the images are so unique and often breathtaking.
My current go-to website is...
I would have to say Google because of Blogger, the search engine, Picasa2,and Google Earth. Besides, how many websites have become verbs?
Today my favorite color is...
the color of amber shellac.
If I could take a class from one artist from anytime in history, including today, it would be...
The Japanese photographer Masao Yamamoto for his incredible eye, his amazing photographs, and the techniques he uses to paint, alter, and distress them.

An interview with Adrienne Nixon

Interviews are a fun way to learn about artists and people who are GREAT at what they do. This is why, in the spirit of learning and sharing, I'll be doing small interview segments each week. We get to start this week with the fabulous blogger/podcaster/scrapbooker/photographer/knitter and sewing artist Adrienne Nixon.   

It is specially fun in interview Adrienne because this time she gets to answer questions instead of asking them (she often features interviews in her blog and podcasts from various artists.)

Adrienne, you seem to have been a scrapbooker for a long time, when exactly did you begin?

I started scrapping back in 2001! WOW, that was a LONG time ago!!! LOL

How about sewing?  I see a lot of that in your blog as well.

I'll say I have been seriously sewing for a little over a year now.

And knitting?

ELEVEN MONTHS! The beautiful colors of some yarn made me want to learn! LOL

When did you become a photographer?

I have always had a love of photography. ALWAYS. In 2000 a friend of mine got married and her photographer was in a car accident on the way to the church(he was just scratched up but couldn't make it). SUCKS RIGHT!?!? Well, I had my camera like I ALWAYS do and she asked me to take the pics. I told her I was NOT a professional but I would do it. I grabbed a napkin and wrote out a simple disclaimer saying just that, and they couldn't hold me responsible if the pics came out not so good.....THE CAME OUT EXCELLENT!!!  I put an album together for them, and by word of mouth I became VERY busy!! I started REALLY getting serious about my photography and learning about my camera. The better I became, the more jobs I would take. I was in love!