What was your inspiration behind drawing “Harvested Selfhood”?
The concept of fruit and vegetable portraiture was definitely inspired by the artist Giuseppe Arcimboldo. He’s a 14th-century Italian artist that did a lot of intricate portraiture using anything from babies to books! A lot of his work is surrealist feeling, but he did it before it was cool. I ran with the concept for a drawing assignment and then later recycled it to create the lithography print that you see in the magazine.
I see that besides drawing, you also create collages. What about that process attracts you to it?
I find that I get really uncomfortable using the same medium for too long. I go back and forth between all kinds of artmaking. I think doing so helps me gain perspective on my own creative processes and forces me to grow as an artist. Collage, however, I actually find really difficult and it’s not something I practice often. It feels like completing a very frustrating puzzle that you have to find the various pieces to. What I most enjoy about it, though, is how expressive and silly it can be.
What do you enjoy most about the creative work that you do?
I most enjoy the making process behind the work I create – especially recently through printmaking. It’s fascinating how labor-intensive and detail-oriented printmaking can be. I think all the time and work it requires offers me a form of escapism, both from myself and the world, and enables me to translate my thoughts into tangible things. Printmaking, specifically, has enhanced how methodical and particular I am and I like seeing those qualities reflected in my work and the work of other creatives.
Is there something you want the audience to feel or think about when viewing your pieces?
I’m not sure. Whatever they find to feel I suppose. When I make, I don’t typically have a message or intention that I want to project onto others. Art is a therapeutic exercise for me that creates manifestations of my experiences and feelings, and I more often view it as something for me rather than for others.
How long have you been making art? Do you have a favorite memory of creating art?
I’ve been making art since I can remember. I’ve always been a creative person and I like to let that aspect of me come to the forefront in everything I do. I’m not sure I have one favorite memory of creating art, though.
Have you continued to create art since being published in Scribendi?
Yes and no. I’m currently a nursing student at UNM and don’t have much time or energy to create as freely as I once did. That being said, I find that a vast majority of my ideas for pieces enter my mind during times of stress – so I have a lot of ideas at the moment. I’d love to find a way to incorporate my interest in art and nursing together somehow.
Having gone through the process, what would you say to people who want to create something and submit to Scribendi in the future?
This is my second year being published and both times I’ve made it a point to submit work that I was interested in, not necessarily what I thought would be published. I’d say go with your gut even if you’re unsure! You’ll regret it if you don’t!