Questions Answered

Hello Friends!

Today, instead of my traditional Wednesday Art Recipe, we have a very special post for you.

A while ago we organized a Q&A session and today we put together all the answers of my amazing Creative Team. Get ready for a fantastic inspiring read! :)

One of our readers also asked the Artists to share the photos of their creative spaces so today you can take a peek at where all the magic happens. :)
Enjoy!

Monika:  It's quite hard to say how many hours exactly.. Sometimes it's a dozen or so, sometimes more when I'm feeling inspired. :)

Riikka: Oh, this is a hard one! And really, it has so many variables. First, there's my work schedule and that of my family, too. Then, there are deadlines and projects I need to do. But I create or do something craft related every day. It can be just reading some blog posts or following Twitter or then creating three layouts and a video. I guess the average would be something like 8 h per week on purely creating something. 

Linda: If I'm working on a project, it could be 12 hours... with time only to eat and such. Other days, if the mood hits me, I may dabble here and there for a couple of hours or so.

Rebecca: I spend up to 10 hours per week creating. Lately I have been doing my best to set my alarm for 5am, making a coffee and moving to my craft room to create. Morning mojo is THE BEST.

Elena Smoktunova: I create nearly every day. And it's more or less 3-4 hours a day.

Marta: Way too many. :) My craft place is joint with the living room. Lots of times I go there just for a minute... to realize that I was there for the past 6 hours. :)

Carole: It depends, usually 3-4 hours during the weekend.

Elena Morgun: Creativity is now for me not just a hobby, it is my work that I love! I do all kinds of creative things on a daily basis.

Monika: I rarely look for inspirations, it's more like inspiration finds me... ;) Music, images, people around me - all sorts of things make me sit down at my desk and create.

And where do I start? Well... most often I start with creating some interesting texture for my background.

Riikka: I'm really intrigued about inspiration and where it comes from. I know it's a cliché but I get inspired by everything! It can be a color, a memory, a piece of music or a quote, a product or a technique. I've been writing a few posts concentrating on inspiration and shall continue those on monthly basis. I also have an ongoing challenge together with my friend Marsha titled "Inspired by" which also might open the inspiration part.

 With my layouts I always start with the photo. Choosing just the right one for the page and then deciding the color scheme. With OTP projects I usually am inspired by the supply I'm going to use - like that clock frame I used or the body of the guitar.

Linda: Sometimes it helps to have a broad idea, and then bring out all the elements on my work table. Deciding what to use as my substrate is usually the hardest part. When that's decided, the next difficult decision is to just START!

Rebecca: Yes there are times when I sit down and there is nothing, I sit at my desk looking at products and my brain is lacking ideas. Pinterest is amazing, a perfect source of inspiration, whether it be a picture or a tutorial. It is often the mojo boost you need.

Elena Smoktunova:  Sometimes I search for inspiration looking at the works of my favourite artists, I also feel inspired by the supplies themselves. And I always start my work with getting my materials ready - this gives me a kick to start.

Marta: Inspiration is everywhere. It can be a person, an art project, a theme, a colour, the texture, everything and anything can make you feel inspired. I begin with white gesso... and then it kind of all goes its own way. ;)

Carole: Inspiration is everywhere!... In a painting, a magazine.
The starting point is sometimes a shot or a color combo or a state of mind... the desire to carry out a project or use a technique.

Elena Morgun: I draw my inspiration from the materials. I love the different decorations and the madness of colors. It all starts with an idea and the choice of supplies.

Monika: I love decorating book/journal covers - sometimes I even create them "from scratch". But also classic scrapbooking layouts and art journal. I love canvases, too, but I rather use their back sides that make perfect shadowboxes.

Riikka: I think I'm mostly a scrapbooker but the last months of last year and the beginning of this one I have really opened my eyes and broadened my palette. I enjoy the challenge the OTP projects have and treat them differently than my scrapbooking pages. But I'm still most comfortable working with layouts or canvases.

Linda: I've never been good at scrapbooking. I love, above all else, to make Mixed Media Altered Art. But I've also enjoyed journaling lately.

Rebecca: I am most comfortable with OTP, I truly love seeing a 3D object transformed into art. Especially love my old to new projects, I am well known at my local op shop for collecting odd OTP items.

Elena Smoktunova: Earlier I loved layouts the most, now I'm more into albums and canvases.

Marta: Journals for sure. Free form, no rules, no restrictions. It can be just an old book, a calendar, a notebook that I can transform into my own visual journal. Freedom of art journals is what I like.

Carole: I love classic scrapbooking layouts and canvases.

Elena Morgun: I love to create large albums but they take a long time to make. Perhaps that is why now I tend to make LOs and canvases.

Monika:  That's a very difficult list. I'm afraid my list would be too long for this post. ;)

Riikka: I admire my team mates of course! Apart from them, I follow eagerly numerous blogs and am inspired by the art I see there. I love the color palette and joy Birgit Koopsen has in her art. I absolutely adore the paintings Nathalie Kalbach does. I love the clean lines of Veera Saarivuo's layouts. I enjoy Misty Russell's mixed media touches and layers. I adore Azoline's whimsical, colorful creations. That's just to mention a few.

Linda: Michael Putnam from Jack and Cat Curio, Jen Crossley, Michelle Ward, Lynne Perrella, Laurie Mika, Liliya Kalenkov, Ron Pippin....the list is very long.

Rebecca: There is no denying I love Tim Holtz, (almost to the point of obsession) and also Dyan Reavely.  Looking through my projects I can see a very strong Tim Holtz influence. One day I wish to meet Tim and Dyan and of course Finnabair! (this one should go without saying).

Elena Smoktunova: I have so many artists I admire it's impossible to list them all. So let me just name two: Elena Morgun and Nadia Smilla.

Marta: Oh wow, there are so many of them... France Papillon, Donna Downey, Andy Skinner, Riikka Kovasin, Dina Wakley, Heather Jacob, Mumkaa, Anna Zaprzelska, Stephanie aka Scrapmanufaktur and many more!

Carole: Dina Wakley, Alisa Burke, Kal Bartesky, Ashley Goldberg, Tim Holtz, Donna Downey,  Mae Chevrette

Elena Morgun: I admire a lot of styles and many creative people, first that come to mind - Donna Downey, Kasia Krzyminska, Anna Maria Wolniak, Ania Hababicka, Kelly Foster

Monika:  I never have a finished piece in my mind when I start. I keep adding all the elements until the moment that I feel that my work is ready and feel satisfied with the final result.

Riikka: I think that's awesome when your piece turns out totally different! I assume it turns out "you", then! So be proud of that!

But to answer the question, I usually have an image in my head when I start a project. Or maybe I should say I have a feeling in my head. So it's not a clear picture but a sketch or guidelines, a draft of what I want to achieve. With scrapbooking layouts I don't have a clue. I only have the memory I want to document and then the page evolves around it.

Linda: Usually no, what I have in mind generally changes many times over. I'm very slow to create, with going back time and again to look and change. Then, when I need guidance, I take a picture and critique the composition from that adding and changing things around.

And when it comes to the second part of your question - And that's a bad thing??? There's already one of me, or Finn, or Marta....why would you want to be anyone other than yourself? I think that's a good thing. Keep experimenting and you'll find your very own style!

Rebecca: I always start with a rough idea in my head but my rough idea usually never comes to fruition. My projects transform as I create, they take their own little journeys.

Elena Smoktunova: Oh, I never know what my piece will look like in the end. I never have a complete, ready picture in my head. I just know in general what I want to make and then... it just happens.

Marta: I always have a vision but just for a split second. I do see my project in my head... and it is there like a shadow... Sometimes my work turns out exactly how I imagined it and sometimes it is the opposite. :) I like both results.

Carole: Sometimes my piece have the look and the feel of my state of mind and sometimes I end up with something totally different.

Elena Morgun: Before I start creating a project, I arrange all the elements. When I like the arrangement and put everything together, I add all the details and the colors. But I never see the final result when I start.

{"My Smiles Begin With You" video}

Marta: I used water. Water helps the paints and sprays run. It also helps the color to get less vibrant which is good sometimes.

The Team: Absolutely! The Gel is very flexible and a perfect medium for sealing which will not leave a 'sticky' finish. Whether you choose gloss or matte depends on the look you'd prefer.

We hope you enjoyed our "conversation" today! :)

We have one more little treat for you... Well, you know by now that my Creative Team is a bunch of super talented and very inventive ladies. What you might not know is that they took Art Ingredients line to another level... :)
Marta and Riikka did a little experiment. A succesful one, we must add. :)

Pretty clever, don't you think? ;)

We are all wishing you a wonderful creative week!

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