I Believe In Artists: Abby Sernoff

The Hummingbird Paper Collage on 5" x 7' canvas 2015 by Abby Sernoff

Something I started thinking about after writing my I Believe In Art Manifesto was that believing in art means believing in artists too.  I think it's important for artists to learn from and support each other and I believe an artist's life can be just as inspirational as their art.

With all that in mind, I decided to create an "I Believe In Artists" interview series so I, along with you, can get to know some of my favorite artists better.

Artist Abby Sernoff of 111 Collage Design

My first interview is with Abby Sernoff of 111 Collage Design, an artist I very much admire and relate to.  I first discovered Abby's nature inspired collage art on Instagram and instantly fell in love with it.  I purchased a couple of her mini prints (available at her Etsy shop) for my home and looking at them gives me the same feeling of serenity and delight that spending time in nature does.  

Balance Mixed Media Collage on 30" x 40" Canvas 2011 By Abby Sernoff

Abby was kind enough to take the time to answer the following questions I had for her.  I think you will find her answers as inspiring as her artwork.  I know I did.

Question: I know art speaks its own language but if you had to describe your work in only six words, what would they be?

Abby: This is an easy one, because my "tag line" reads Mixed Media Art Inspired by Nature.

Question: Who is your favorite artist (in any medium) and how do they inspire you?

Abby: Even though I am a visual artist, my greatest inspiration lately has been poetry, particularly Mary Oliver and Rumi, even though Mary Oliver is of our time and Rumi wrote roughly 700 years ago. They both speak directly to my soul! I recently had the opportunity to listen to an interview with Mary Oliver (who cites Rumi as one of her greatest poetic influences) and learned that while Mary Oliver described an extremely difficult upbringing, she has consciously chosen to focus on the beauty in the world, and not the negative (which some artists choose to do.)

This statement really resonated with me because I have been dealing with chronic illness, at times severe, for over a decade. I have visited some very dark places emotionally, but in my artwork I always choose to focus on the beauty of nature, especially birds. I also recently came across the work of another poet Narriyah Waheed whose work similarly speaks straight to the heart- I highly recommend checking her out (she has several volumes available and also posts regularly on Instagram!)

The Cardinal Paper Collage on 5" x 7" canvas 2015 By Abby Sernoff

Question: What inspires you to create?

Abby: This is an interesting question for me to answer! I often refer to myself as an "accidental artist." I actually have an MA degree in Speech Language Pathology, and simply figured that my career path was set for life. As I mentioned earlier, I became extremely ill, and after that, was no longer able to work in my field. About 10 years ago I took the The Artists Way course, which is a book/program by Julia Cameron. About halfway through I decided to create a collage of a bird, having never really made anything before. I certainly didn't think of myself as an "artist!" From that one little bird (a cardinal), things really took off from there - sales, commissions, exhibits etc.

But the inspiration to create really stems from something much deeper. I can only speak from personal experience, but when I became ill, I unconsciously started redefining my relationship with nature and my place in the world in ways I had not before. I became particularly intrigued by birds. To this day I find it impossible to stand in the presence of a peacock with its feathers open and not believe there is something greater than ourselves at work. I also think a lot about what birds represented to various cultures living before us and as symbols and messengers, particularly in mythology. I am inspired by the fact that people have been asking the questions "why are we here" and "what does it all mean" since the beginning of time and visual art is one of the multitudes of ways humans have addressed these questions over the years. I have a book of Animal Totems called Animal Speak by Ted Andrews, and whenever I create a new bird collage, I always research what meaning the particular bird might carry with it.

The Peacock Mixed Media Collage on 8" x 8" Canvas 2015 By Abby Sernoff

Question: What is your favorite part of your creative process?

Abby: Definitely when it all starts to come together. Because I work in collage (and about 95% paper) it's hard to know how things will turn out. So you have the background (I almost always use canvas or a cradled wood block) and then you have all these disparate pieces. When they come together, and I feel it all "works", that's the best feeling!

Swimming Home Mixed Media Collage on 24" x 30" canvas 2014 By Abby Sernoff

Question: What is the most challenging part of your creative process and how do you meet that challenge?

Abby: Well, I could say getting the bird's feet just right ha ha - sometimes that takes as long as making the birds themselves! But probably I would have to say the most difficult is the business side of things. Since this is not my first career, I know there are always parts of a job you love and parts you don't enjoy as much. Finally after 10 years I feel confident in my work as an artist, but sometimes it's still hard to "put yourself out there." I imagine most people feel that way. I rarely let it stop me though.

Question: And finally, what does "believing in art" mean to you?

Abby: Great question! I believe everyone is creative, even if it's not in the "traditional" sense. I really can't draw well, or even paint, but found my artistic talent through my love of paper and collage. My husband manages people - believe me - that's an art form!! If you look around almost everything surrounding you was someone's idea. I believe we are all artistic, creative beings. I believe art is a form of expression and communication that transcends language, gender, race, and class. I believe art unites us all. I believe art uplifts people by providing beauty and creates hope and a new way of viewing the world.  And I would very much like to believe art has the power to heal.



Thank you Abby for your informative and thought provoking answers!

To learn more about Abby Sernoff and her wonderful collage creations, visit her website at 111collagedesign.com

You can also connect with her on Instagram and Facebook.


Would you like to be featured in an upcoming "I Believe In Artists" interview post?  Send an email with a link to where your art can be seen (website, etsy shop, social media, etc.) as well as your answer to the question "What does believing in art mean to you?" to mail@ibelieveinart.com for consideration.

Until next time, happy creating!

Peace, Love & Art,
Victoria

3 Ways Being An Artist Is Like Being A Mermaid

Out Of Water Mermaid Poster (available here)

I know that being an artist can sometimes feel like being a fish out of water.  However, I like to think of it as being more like a mermaid.  You know, mostly human but with a little bit of magic going on somewhere beneath the surface.

Need more examples? Here are three ways I think being an artist is like being a mermaid:

1. We Have No Fear Of Depths

Mermaid Thoughts from my art journal

I think most artists can relate to the following famous quote by Anais Nin:

"I must be a mermaid, Rango. I have no fear of depths and a great fear of shallow living." 

Though hanging out at the deep end of the pool sometimes makes us feel vulnerable, we know that is where all the treasure is.

2. We See Treasure Everywhere

Art Supplies are treasures all on their own (Mug available here)

Speaking of treasure, that stuff is everywhere when you're a mermaid or an artist. Things and ideas that seem odd, broken or insignificant to others seem to sparkle for us and even when they don't we can't help but think what a little bit of paint or glitter might do.  Oh sure, our caves may get a little crowded with all those riches floating around but is there really such a thing as too much beauty? I don't think so, either.

3. Not Everyone Believes In Us But The Ones Who Do Are Awesome

Some Of My Best Friends Are Mermaids T-shirt (available here)

Not everyone believes in mermaids and that's okay with them. After all, they don't want to share their treasure with just anyone. We artists could actually stand to be a little more like mermaids in this regard.  We so want to share the beauty we see in the world with others that we get disappointed when someone fails to recognize it.  However, every now and then someone awesome comes along who really gets it and that makes everything worth it.

I'm sure there are a lot of other ways artists are like mermaids.  Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.  And if you love mermaids like I do, click here to check out the cards and gifts at my Imagine Mermaid shop on Zazzle.

Oh, and don't forget to like the new I Believe In Art page on Facebook!

As always, thanks for reading.

Peace, Love and Art,
Victoria

My Many Muses: David Bowie

Since his death, I, like so many other people, have been listening to a lot of David Bowie.

There are so many great Bowie songs that I love but my favorite will always be "Rock N' Roll Suicide" from The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, for one simple reason: because when I listened to that song as a misunderstood teenager and he sang, “You're Not Alone”, I believed him (and I still do). I believed him because David Bowie didn't just make being different or weird look cool, he made it meaningful, he made it beautiful - he made it art. It made me realize that, in my own way, I could do that too.

And that is why I believe in Bowie, always.

Peace, Love and Art,

Victoria

IBelieveInArtShop.com

The I Believe In Art Manifesto

Painting it black in my art studio. I Believe In Art T-shirt available here.

I was out and about one day wearing my Art Fairy “I Believe In Art” T-shirt when someone asked me, “What does that mean?”.

Uh-Oh Toto, I've a feeling we're not in the craft store anymore, I thought to myself. This was true, of course, because when I wear this shirt at the craft store people get it. They compliment it and give me knowing smiles and fist bumps and high fives (okay, maybe they don't actually give me fist bumps and high fives but they want to). Nobody at the craft store would even think of asking me such a question. Which, quite frankly, makes me not want to go anywhere but the craft store ever again.

But I digress. I'm sure you're wondering what witty and insightful reply I gave to this person.

It was this: “It's an artist thing.”

As soon as the words left my mouth I realized how wrong they were. Fortunately this person was not offended by my ridiculous answer and moved on but I knew that it was a cop out. So for the next couple of days I thought about how I could have answered that question better. How could I have succinctly expressed why I believe in art, or what I believe about art, so that even non craft store people would understand?

I could have said that I believe that making art is an act of self care or that I believe that glitter pens are magic wands or that I believe that painting with bright colors helps me see the bright side of life, because I do. But that still made my belief in art “an artist thing” and the more that I thought about it, the more I realized that you don't have to be an artist or even a craft store person to believe in art. So I asked myself what I believe about art itself and I came up with the following five definitive statements:

I believe that art can transmit joy.

I believe that art can transform sorrow.

I believe that art can change minds.

I believe that art can heal hearts.

I believe that art is magic.

And thus, my I Believe In Art Manifesto was born:

The I Believe In Art Manifesto

If you would like to print it out for yourself (for personal use only), you can access it here for free, or help support this blog by purchasing a poster of it here.

I guess I really owe a thank you to the non craft store person for asking what turned out to be an inspiring question and for reminding me that sometimes we meet our muses just outside of our comfort zone.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on what believing in art means in the comments below.  To learn what believing in art means to some other artists, check out my "I Believe In Artists" page.

Thanks for stopping by and happy creating!

Peace, Love and Art,

Victoria

Blog and Job Title Change

When I gave myself the title “Slave To The Muse” it was an effort to free myself. It was my permission slip to give myself over to the creative impulses I had previously feared were frivolous, strange or selfish and exalt them to priority status. However, the title itself was indicative of this struggle and the fact that I had a long way to go in understanding my relationship with the forces of creativity. Clearly, calling myself a “Slave To The Muse” implied a lack of awareness of the rewards of regular creative practice. The point was to commit to that practice regardless of outcome or rewards and yet, as I discovered along the way, the rewards were many.

Obviously, I don't regret giving myself such a title as it proved to be a very effective tool for me but I do feel that I have outgrown it. In accordance with this and my new and better relationship with my muse I will no longer be referring to myself as a slave to the muse and this will no longer be the slave to the muse blog (it is now the I Believe In Art blog).

I would also like to acknowledge here that using the term slave may not have been the most politically correct or sensitive choice I have ever made. Hopefully it is obvious to my readers that the concept and practice of human slavery is something that goes against everything I stand for and believe in.

I was recently reminded that although slavery is now illegal everywhere in the world, it still exists in many forms and in many places. For more information and to learn how you can help, please visit FreeTheSlaves.Net or AntiSlavery.org

Thank you for reading and for your encouragement and support throughout my creative journey.

Peace, Love and Art,

Victoria Lynn Hall

Big Magic and My Anti-muse

"You can believe that you are neither a slave to inspiration nor its master, but something far more interesting - its partner - and that the two of you are working together toward something intriguing and worthwhile." - Elizabeth Gilbert, Big Magic

I just finished reading the book “Big Magic (Creative Living Beyond Fear)” by Elizabeth Gilbert. Actually I should say, “we” just finished reading it because I read almost the whole thing with my anti-muse (aka my inner critic) parked like a little devil on my shoulder, heckling it.

My anti-muse hated this book on sight but I didn't recognize this at first. I just remember feeling really excited when I heard about "Big Magic" and then all of a sudden feeling oddly resistant to it. I went from, “I should pre-order this.” to “I'll just put it on hold at the library.” to “Maybe I'll wait for the reviews”.  When I did read the early reviews, I latched on to the most cynical among them. “Maybe this book isn't for me.” I concluded.

Then late one night last week I was perusing my Amazon wish list and again experienced that odd mix of curiosity and resistance when I saw it there. It was too strong of a reaction for me to ignore. “Well, crap,” I thought, “I guess I'm going to have to read it.”

It arrived on Sunday. I read the first few pages and was immediately engaged but it felt too heavy somehow. I had other things to do. Did I really want to get into all of this right now? No. I put it down.

I sat down with it the next day in my favorite chair in the sunny corner of my art studio. Again I was immediately engaged but it wasn't long before my cynical thoughts began again. “She's just preaching to the choir,” they said, “You already know all of this, you don't need to read this.”

I put it down but the next day my sunny corner beckoned me and the book was already there so I bravely picked it up again.

That's when the cynical voice in my head started to get really nasty: Are you kidding me? This is a joke, right? This chick is out there! Who does this woman think she is?

Finally, I realized that these weren't my thoughts. They were too familiar and too frightened for me to not recognize them for what they were.

“Okay. I heard you.” I said to my anti-muse and to all the other voices she represents. “I disagree with you and I'm going to keep reading this book, so you can shut up now.”

Only she didn't shut up. She was on a serious mission to discredit Elizabeth Gilbert and every word written in “Big Magic”, working every angle from cynicism to nastiness to feigned indifference.

And she was outwitted at every turn. This book had an answer for all of my anti-muse's gimmicks and tricks. I actually started to feel a little sorry for her. This stuff was really freaking her out and of course her fears were my fears.

But it was all going to be okay, I told us and Liz told us and by the time I finished the book, about five minutes ago, we were both transformed. My anti-muse was no longer my enemy on some imagined battlefield of creativity but a small, wounded creature that needed my care and attention. And I have officially decided that I am no longer a slave to my muse or my anti-muse. I'm just a girl who likes to make stuff.

And that is Big Magic.

Art Fairies: Art Is Magic Dark T-shirts by Victoriart
Create one-of-a-kind personalized photo shirts on zazzle.

My Many Muses: Rick Springfield (2015)

"His Best Self",  Acrylic On 14 X 18 Canvas

It's been awhile since I posted on this particular blog but I thought this was the most appropriate place to share with you my latest painting and wish a Happy 66th Birthday to its subject, the one and only Rick Springfield.

Rick Springfield is a lot more to me (and many others) than just that good looking guy who had a hit with "Jessie's Girl" back in the 80's.  He is a gifted songwriter, an amazing musician and performer, an engaging actor and a compelling storyteller.  His music, creativity and persistence in the face of personal and professional obstacles have inspired and motivated me throughout my life.  I am so glad he is in this world.

Rick is currently starring on the big screen with Meryl Streep in the movie "Ricki and The Flash" and recently had a role in HBO's True Detective.  You can also catch him performing his music on tour and he has a new album coming out soon, I can't wait!

By the way, the title for my painting came from a recent interview with Rick by ABC Australia that you can find here.  There is also an inspiring video with Rick by Rolling Stone that you can find here.  

Oh and if you haven't checked out my new home and lifestyle blog, The Cabbage Blog, head on over to Cabagelow.com and give it a look.

As always, thank you for reading.