JJ Worden

I can't remember how I found Heather on Instagram...one of those scroll-read-follow comment-bread crumb trails I suspect. When you see her work though, that scroll STOPS. Unlike anything else being created right now, mainly black and white with series names like Raw Like Bone, is it any wonder I became a fan? An interior designer, photographer, painter, ceramicist, Heather is also renovating a huge former private school into her main residence. A stark black and white palette with natural materials, antlers, dried botanicals, branches mixed with antiques, I'd liken her as the perfect combination of Martha Stewart, Joanna Gaines and Leanne Ford.  Heather's aesthetic is so on point, she creates magic with whatever she touches. I want to be her when I grow up!

Without further ado, read Heather Waugh Pitts answers to 10 Questions for Artists:

1. Favourite artist. Living or dead.

Louise Bourgeois

Old work.

Green smoothie.

Drying botanicals like lavender.

Drying seaweed by the kiln.

6. Most used art related app on your phone.

Lightroom.

Florence and the Machine... What kind of Man.

Street graffiti artist ROA. There’s a few street artists I follow their work in person throughout Europe.

Waiting for work to thoroughly dry.

I don’t think there is THE thing that would make me think I made it. I’m a mutt, an outsider in the conventional art realm.

 In our ongoing series Between Artists: A conversation with Bridgette Guerzon Mills she asks:

As a bit of ancient history, I was online long before I started making art (again). I made websites before there was any such thing as WYSIWIG or Apps. Raw HTML. Literally taking out individual pixels on images so they would be small enough to actually load. Before jpgs existed. Or photographs could be used without breaking your connection. They were heady days.  So many possibilities. This new technology was going to Change The World. And it did.

Because I start to miss "My Peeps". There are people out here I can't reach any other way. I don't do the phone and letters take too darned long to feed my Need To Know NOW brain.

So here I remain.

For now.

Picking a favorite may just be too much to ask of me because there are artists whose work excites and inspires me but of whom I know nothing about and there are artists whose work isn't as captivating to me but who offer unique and interesting perspectives on creativity that I appreciate. (This reminds me of when my daughters were young and they'd ask me what my favorite color was. I almost always answered with "Well, it depends? For what?". They would get so frustrated with me!) But if you twisted my arm and forced me to pick favorites, I would have to say that Edward Hopper appeals to me for his sparce and emotional scenes (he is to art what I see John Steinbeck is to American Literature). Nicholas Wilton's abstract art intrigues me almost as much as his refreshing stories of how art school and his art school experiences gave him helpful insights that serve him well to this day (I didn't go to art school but I've heard plenty of stories from artists who say it was a crushing experience.) Squeak Carnwath's work sucks the air out of my lungs while simultaneously filling it with the freshest air I've ever breathed. I'm currently enamoured with the untamed mark making of Hayden Alexander and Chris McHolm and the way I feel when I look at them. And if I had to pick a favorite "emerging artist", it would be my cousin, Mindy (@myminiartcorner on IG), with whom I lost touch for many years and am grateful to have reconnected via social media. She is a trail runner and has recently been painting the most endearing and luscious watercolor paintings of the desert scenery where she runs.

Probably the dried up paint tubes in the bottom of my paint bin. I don't know how many there are but I'm sure they are there. Also, I have a file cabinet drawer full of scrapbooking papers that are at least 15 years old that I don't love and have no interest in using. (Note to self: add "clean out scrapbooking paper" to my to-do list next week. Because, why not?)

You'd never know it looking at my voluptuous figure but I rarely eat in my studio. It just never felt like a natural combo for me. Back when I was doing more metalsmithing, my fingers were not snack compatible. The mess of plaster dust isn't really either. Then again, is there ever a wrong time and place to eat a bowl full of Kettle brand Honey Dijon chips or fresh peaches? I didn't think so.

Wet plaster always and forever. Hot wax. Sharpie. Basically any smell that says "creativity is in process".

My studio is an old enclosed sunporch so it can get a little musty when the sun beats in the windows. I don't love that smell but thankfully it airs out pretty easily. When I was doing more metalsmithing, I grew to not like the smell of the metal as it was oxidizing.

6. Most used art related app on your phone.

Instagram and my camera app. Both are used heavily to capture, be inspired, and refuel my creative juices.

This is the most impossible question you could have asked me. It depends on my mood, the weather, who else is within earshot, if I need to sit still or move. You'll find everything on my playlists from Chopin to the Cars, Sleeping at Last to Parov Stellar, Earth Forest to DJ T-Rock. I love many generes - especially moody, indie, acoustic covers of well known rock songs like Alex Clare's "Addicted to Love", Freedom Fry's "Teen Spirit", Capital Cities' "Stayin' Alive". That list is looooong...) Also, I never don't love listening to the score for Quigley Down Under, Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin, and "Summertime" from the opera, Porgy and Bess (Tom Wait's mashup version, Permashave, is one of my all time favorites.) Hmmm...I think I could talk about music all day.

There are SO many great ones out there and in full transparency, I'm most interested in podcasts that talk about the mental game of being fully alive in your creativity and purpose which, ironically, usually ends up being podcasts not by artists for me. Podcasts just by artists have plenty of room in my playlists though too. Laura Horn and Emily Jeffords both have great podcasts full of creative encouragement, useful creative business insights, and good art business tips.

You mean besides the first 90% of a painting's creation when I'm convinced it's not going to turn out well? Or the occasional time when I'm in love with a piece and then do just one more thing to it that makes me hate it? Besides that? Well, it would have to be the mind games. The stuff my brain throws into the mix when I'm feeling a bit vulnerable or uncertain.

This is such a potent question and I feel like it could be useful to ask myself this regularly because the answer always brings me back to where I am now and how to keep creating even if I haven't accomplished everything I hope to accomplish in my creative journey. There are many times in the past 15 years when I achieved something that I previously had thought meant I had "made it". I always enjoyed the realization of those circumstances even though I also was quick to subconsciously create a new "made it" benchmark. The most true answer as of right now is that "making it" is a state of mind for me. To have made it means to be deep in the satisfaction of creating - art, new opportunities to share my art, new ways of putting my art out into the world, getting paid handsomely to talk about creativity, feeling incredibly grateful and abundant for the gift of being able to live IN the whirlwind of growth and expansion. These are all feelings of "making it" to me. On day when I can create those feelings within the reality of my life as it is, that feels like a huge triumph for this girl who is always striving for the next thing.

Also, if someone famous that I admire bought some of my work, that would qualify. :)

As an artist, course creator, and creative mentor, I merge a variety of materials and concepts to invite you to honor your complex stories while also simplifying (and elevating) the continuing stories you tell yourself so that you can create the work you want to create.

I'm not sure if I'm bending the rules too much here as he was an architect rather than an artist, but I'm choosing Antonio Gaudi. My professional background is in housing and part of my degree included architecture. I was, and remain, awestruck by his work. Artist-wise, I'm very interested in Joseph Cornell and am reading a biography about him at the moment.

 2. What's one thing in your studio you REALLY should throw out?

Not so much something that I should throw out, but that I should deal with. My studio is a log cabin in the garden and a very vigorous Jasmin plant has found a gap near the roof and grows through...it's taking over one corner!

 3. Best studio snack. 

I was so impressed when I read that Jen chose water. Unfortunately mine is chocolate...I'm not saying it's a good snack, but it is a frequent one. 

 4. Favourite studio smell. 

My dog, Cloudy who is usually with me. He has a really homely smell, a bit like biscuits.

 5. Least favourite studio smell. 

 Anything chemical like glue or encaustic wax that I've allowed to get too hot!

6. Most used art related app on your phone.

Instagram. I only follow art accounts and it's a huge inspiration to me, as well as being where I've 'met' a huge number of amazing artists.

 7. Top song in your studio.

I rarely listen to music but always have a radio play or drama playing. I particularly like dramas set in the early 1900s like Agatha Christie plays. In the summer, when the back door of the house is open, I can often hear my son playing the piano which is beautiful. 

I really don't have a favourite. I have a huge number of art books, mainly mixed media and book artists, and I have a lot of pins on Pinterest which I find to be a brilliant source of inspiration.

I use a lot of old photographs that often need to be scanned and printed out on special papers...it's very tedious and time consuming. 

This has never occurred to me but I suppose it would be to have my work regularly published in books/journals. The Kanyer Collection recently bought one of my collages, and I have work in a forthcoming book and I really welcome that validation.

More About Jane Chipp: 

I live in West Somerset, UK.

I started out as a textile artist, and still use textiles and stitch a lot, but primarily my art is collage now, including 3D collage The common thread running through all of my work is the use of found objects, photos, letters etc. It makes me sad that things that were once treasured by someone end up in a house clearance and I love to make them into beautiful art that gives them the admiration that they deserve. Consequently, my art tends to have a nostalgic aesthetic.

 Website: http://www.janechipp.art

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/janechipp 

                     http://www.instagram.com/willow_blue_vintage

Thanks so much, Jane! 

 1. Favourite artist. Living or dead.

Ahhhh, already overthinking this one! Hmmm. There’s an artist I have followed a long time online that whenever she posts on flickr, my heart beats a little faster. Her work is conceptual, beautiful, haunting, the mark of her hand is evident in the work, and just pulls me in. Ines Seidel

I have bins of saved textiles that I have dreams of turning into things….but yeah, they’re just taking up space.

I don’t eat in the studio.

I actually love the smell of my studio when I am working on an oil painting.

When I leave my Yes! Paste glue brush in a a cup of water and forget it for weeks….gross!

Towards the Heart © Bridgette Guerzon Mills

6. Most used art related app on your phone.

Other than Instagram, I use an app called PhotoToaster. I can do much more than IG on that and often will format my photos on that first before sending it to IG.

I usually listen to podcasts. If I am listening to music, it’s usually my 14 year old practicing guitar or drums as we share space. Right now he’s playing a lot of Smashing Pumpkins and Radiohead.

I am prehistoric and generally don’t watch anyone or anything on YouTube, unlike my kids. I haven’t read an art related author in a long time so I’ll have to say Julia Cameron, because her book The Artist’s Way really helped me start my creative journey. For podcasts I recently started listening to this really good one called Being An Artist hosted by artist Tom Judd (whose work is also wonderful) and I love it. I found it through an artist I have followed for a long time- Tim McFarlane and he was recently interviewed on this podcast. Follow Tim on Instagram and also read his blog. So good.

All the business aspects of it- marketing, selling, etc. The taxes!!! ugh. I just want to make things and for it to magically support me! Is that too much to ask? Well, I also want to live in a cute house on lots of wooded acres with a lake and mountains in the background, have some chickens and some goats, a separate studio, a vegetable garden and a fruit orchard… Also I really don’t like going to art show openings because I really don’t like being center of attention. I remember one of my children after an opening reception said, “Wow Mom, everyone wanted to talk you!” And I said, “I know! Weird, huh?” At other functions that my children have observed me at, I tend to like to just take things in and just talk quietly to a few people or just standing idly by the food table. The thing is when I go to the art receptions, it’s always a lot of fun and it’s so nice to see my work hanging together and celebrating that and making connections with other creatives and collectors….but it truly is a part I dread. The anticipation of it, I guess, is actually just the bad part. The actually reception is great and I always have to remind myself of that.

Being a Capricorn, I’m going to have to say financial stability (ie reliable income) solely through my artwork. Boring, but true.

Thanks so much for sharing yourself and joining in, Bri. Love it!  

Deeply Rooted © Bridgette Guerzon Mills

More about Bridgette:

Bridgette Guerzon Mills is a mixed media artist whose work incorporates a variety of materials including photography, paint, encaustic, as well as fiber, textiles, and other reclaimed materials. Her artwork and journals have been published in magazines and books and her work has been collected in the United States and internationally. She currently resides in Towson, MD with her family.

As a mixed media artist, encaustic is a versatile medium that allows her to create depth in layers and serves as a means for further exploration in both form and meaning. She combines her photography with encaustics to create a bridge between two worlds, the real and the reimagined.  

Her outdoor installations, often created using foraged or recycled materials, focus on environmental issues and seek to engage and educate the public about these concerns.