I do have couple of boxes filled with specific pieces like - patterns, little people, retro, gelli prints, surreal, eyes, hands, photographs etc.

Also Kallax Storage from IKEA where I store all my retro National Geo, This is England and other precious international vintage papers (French are my favourite.)

How do you Define success as a creative artist?

  I think that being able to express yourself fully and to translate your thoughts and feelings into the images is quite a thing!

I define my own success in feeling comfortable with telling my own stories and not being afraid what others think.

It is also quite rewarding when you can inspire others to create - I run regular collage groups here in Plymouth and it makes me very happy to see people falling in love with this medium.

Selling my art is also important - the feeling that someone bought piece from me and put it on the wall in their home is priceless.

It makes me feel really proud of what I achieved so far.

Does art help you in other areas of your life? If yes can you tell us a bit about this.

  Definitely. For years, art helped me to manage chronic pain (Rheumatoid Arthritis is a beast) I found it cathartic, meditative and soothing

I am able to switch myself off completely when I create, and tell my stories or simply be silly just for a while (I am quite a serious person but we can blame that on being born and raised in a Polish post -soviet world )

Now can you tell us who your creative influences are, who's work are you adoring at the moment?

  I have recently read  the book "Collage by Women" and discovered Deborah Stevenson - I love the retro/surreal feel and moodiness of her collages .I really like her "Attention to detail" piece.

Also Susan Lerner is a collagist that I find  very inspiring and amusing!

Amongst the artist that I admire here on IG (my list is very long.) I absolutely love the dreamy landscapes of @margotbirgitte, locative collages of @missprinted and the beautifully absurd art of @verabredung.

Lastly we would like to know about current projects. What are you working on right now?

  I am currently working on "Memories Zine" - this publication will feature 25 winning collages selected from the submissions for the Open Call for art Celebrating World Collage Day 2023

This project was initiated by @polaroidscollageclub

I am the founder and curator of this creative platform that unites the collage and polaroid community in various creative collaborations.

The other project I am currently working on is Issue #2 of the "Why Collage" book - a publication that explores endless reasons and motivations to collage

Each Issue includes 29 collage artworks created using different styles and techniques and to follow - mini interviews with each artists

Its quite a inspiring little zine!

I only create analog collages. My studio is cluttered with magazines, newspapers and clippings. I am not an organised person. Sometimes, to find one scrap, I have to search all the newspapers over again. Some time ago I discovered that I love chaos. It gives me creative freedom. 

How do you Define success as a creative artist?

The word: success is a huge problem for me because it comes with pressure. That's why I decided to work anonymously. I work because I want - no because I have to. I can fully express myself without pressure, deadlines and... expectations. Especially self expectations. This inner voice that I have to achieve something. Another exhibition, another publication, another prize, more likes, more followers. To be honest - thanks to anonymity I don't care. What's my personal success as an artist is... freedom.

Does art help you in other areas of your life? If yes can you tell us a bit about this.

In my everyday life I work as an art director and producer - usually under huge pressure, lack of time and customer dictatorship. So as an anonymous collage artist I can catch some distance and relax. Another thing is that in my art I try to deal with femininity - this huge gap in the #HIStory. So many beautiful and exciting years when women were relegated to the roles of servants, laundresses, lovers, or ... witches. Ages of science, art, discoveries without women. For me personally discovering my own femininity, facing stereotypes and limitations imposed on women was a long and hard process.

So I like to look at women and the female body without patriarchal burdens. The #HIStory has been told long enough without women. So focusing on #HERstory helps the world regain a long-disturbed balance.

Now can you tell us who your creative influences are, who's work are you adoring at the moment?

Of course my goddess is German collagist Hannah Höch. She was a fighting kind. It's amazing that, although she died before I was born, she was fascinated by exactly the same topics ... feminism and socially constructed gender roles. When it comes to contemporary artists, I love Agnieszka Zając (@_agazart_) , Paola Dcroz (@paola.dcroz) and Olga Nikiforova (@olga_niki_art). And my latest big discovery is the art of Johanna Goodman (@johannagoodman).

Lastly we would like to know about current projects. What are you working on right now?

Right now I have a crazy busy time at work but I try to steal some time and I'm working on music video.

Thanks for having me!

How do you Define success as a creative artist?

  I am a part-time artist. Please don't get me wrong, I am an artist by formation, but I make my life as an Art teacher. 

Whenever I have the chance to advise a young artist, a couple of things come to me: you need to be creative, do something unique and, sometimes, bold. It would be best if you create a lot. And way better to make it a routine. Creating more artwork increases your chances of producing something special. Don't be afraid to fail. A creative block is a temporary state, it won’t last forever. Put all of yourself in every single part of your work. Your inspiration, as well as your creativity, will grow. Even being like a muscle (as many people say), you don't need to force it. It will be natural. Explore alternatives around any creation you like most. Create series. It can also be rewarding. Most of the time will lead you to other new yet unique configurations. Always enjoy the process and be proud of yourself, whatever the result. You have a superpower. You can create things! 

And then, to be succeeded, you must show your work. The result is more recognised when you focus on promoting it, connecting to other artists, and giving some public visibility. With the right connections, social media can help you reach a wider audience and find personal experiences from other artists you can use as inspiration. Create your portfolio and approach galleries, art institutions and cultural centres for potential opportunities. Someone may invite you to a collective exhibition. Or a solo. Who knows? Attend as many shows as possible: so many secrets can be revealed if you have a sharp eye and a child's curiosity. Success, indeed, takes much investment: first, and the easiest part, in the product and later in its visibility. 

Does art help you in other areas of your life? If yes can you tell us a bit about this.

  Indeed. As I have mentioned before, it helps you be more creative. Without noticing, art enables you to start to see things differently. You stop accepting every first result in any context of your work. You can always "polish" it. You can see ordinary things differently, shifting between several points of view. You question yourself constantly in favour of achieving better results. You seek to give your best in everything you do.

On the other hand, art's best benefit is to generate tolerance for facing frustration.

Art, for me, is also a result of a history of attempts. Despite the obstacles, it tells you your efforts will lead to something special. It nourishes your resilience. Even with much more to say, art has an empowering effect. I love creating something and then having positive feedback from others. It gives you the necessary confidence to cope with unfavourable moments.

Now can you tell us who your creative influences are, who's work are you adoring at the moment?

  It is always quite challenging to name artists. The passion for art makes you know new artists, or in this case, collage artists and lovers, every day. Despite collage, one of my favourite living artists is Anselm Kieffer. That said, I quickly get in love with several artists when scrolling through Instagram and visiting their web pages. As you know, I created the @collagesanctuaries feed to promote the "human side" of artists. I am eternally grateful for meeting some outstanding ones that generously sent fascinating material and stories to share. All of them inspire me every day. 

Lastly we would like to know about current projects. What are you working on right now?

  As mentioned, I have been more of a casual artist lately. That doesn't mean I don't have many ideas constantly in my head. It means that I still need to create my new creative routines. Since these last two years, my daily work has become highly demanding, and when I am back home, I frequently feel exhausted. So, occasionally I work on the weekends. Still, most of my (mental and intellectual) free time is being used with @collagesantuaries since the Ukrainian war started by promoting art and artists who use collages against the stupid war and in favour of peace. I invite you all to visit it and participate.

I look forward to returning to my old daily creative routines and being more of an artist than a promoter.

I like letting it flow, not hunting for one thing. So I enjoy a zen sort of narrative where I don’t know the story til it’s out there. Sort of. 

I combine analog and digital and anything necessary. I’m not above digitally altering patterns or song lyrics etc to print as my scraps. 

How do you Define success as a creative artist?

Being able to make the next piece. Sustainability creatively and as a business. And always yearning for a more personal take. Evolving.

Does art help you in other areas of your life? If yes can you tell us a bit about this.

Absolutely. When my kids were young, I realised that many of the things it occurred to me to try to teach them came from art, and even collage. I’m comfortable in a non-linear situation. I’m able to pull from things on the periphery to aid in the current focus. I enjoy combining things from different contexts to form something new.

Now can you tell us who your creative influences are, who's work are you adoring at the moment?

Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele certainly for their figurative aesthetics, Brian Eno for his strategy. Current folks: @seeyouthroughit and @known.asmyself for their poetic mystery.

Lastly we would like to know about current projects. What are you working on right now?

I just opened a new gallery and studio, with all kinds of creative happenings. Group shows and experiences. No experience necessary. @derekgoresgallery in Melbourne, Florida. 

Also, I’ve been fortunate to find a way to do creative work with some top brands, events and places. @rinascente @playboy @porsche, Kentucky Derby, Hotel Bel-Air, Loews South Beach. I have some new things in the works with Electronic Arts I’ll be excited to share. 

Thank you!

My collages are all analog. I am always cutting out images and ripping up paper from new and vintage magazines and newspapers. Sheet music is great for collage backgrounds. I use old maps, vintage papers and hand made papers as well as antique ribbons. I like textured papers too. I recently was in a charity shop and came across a bin of old dress pattern designs which I snapped up. Buttons are also a favorite to use in my assembled work. I keep all my materials in clear plastic boxes so it’s easy to locate things I want to work with.

How do you Define success as a creative artist?

It is terrific when someone buys an original collage. I am very happy that people find my collages appealing and want to own a unique piece of my work.

Does art help you in other areas of your life? If yes can you tell us a bit about this.

Art is wonderful and looking at paintings, sculptures and art installations can be therapeutic. I love to go to museums and galleries and discover new artists. Sitting in a museum and looking at a painting is relaxing….and having the time to really look at a painting and absorb it is magical.

Now can you tell us who your creative influences are, who's work are you adoring at the moment?

There are so many artists I love...the Fauves are my favorites. Henri Matisse Pierre Bonnard Georges Braque Maurice de Vlaminck Kees van Dongen Raoul Dufy André Derain. Their works explode with bright colours and are vibrant. André Derain said that colours become charges of dynamite when talking about the Fauves. Two other favourites are Charles Camoin and Henri Manguin who were associated with the Fauves. 

Lastly we would like to know about current projects. What are you working on right now?

2023 has been busy so far. I was lucky to have some collages chosen for two virtual and print publications “Suboart Magazine” and “We are Zanna.” In mid April I am part of a group show at Gallery 455, part of the Smithdown Social Arts Hub in Liverpool. I usually make small collages 6 inches square and 8 inches square. I made a collage titled “Razzle Dazzle” for this exhibit which is 24 x 32 inches…a huge piece for me! It will be posted on my instagram account very soon!

Deborah Saks

Describe to us how you store you're creative resources, are your images digital or analog, do you keep every scrap of paper or are you very selective with you chosen resources?  

My work is all analog. I have an eye for aged, yellowed text; long-forgotten vintage books; anatomical materials; maps; and science-related diagrams.

My collection of books and magazines is extensive, which presents a challenge when I am choosing what to use next. I like to have that large range to pull from, but I do notice trends of certain sources at times, lately it has been space/science themed. As for scraps, I do tend to keep bins of them, and at times, I use them to make scrap collages which are like self-imposed puzzles to be solved. 

How do you Define success as a creative artist?

The creative world is difficult to navigate for many artists. The pressure to have solo exhibits, thousands of followers, and great sums of money coming in from sold pieces is so unreasonable. Success would truly be the satisfaction in having my work simply admired, having the ability to inspire people, and passing along the message that art can heal. If I was able to accomplish these basic things, I would feel I had done my job. 

Does art help you in other areas of your life? If yes can you tell us a bit about this.

My line of work, as an art psychotherapist on an inpatient psychiatric unit, is challenging, intense, and emotionally and mentally draining at times. To take care of myself, I collage. The work is healing, distracting, and also provides me with the opportunity to process visually my day-to-day experiences in an abstract way. Art is an astonishing communication and self-awareness tool. 

Now can you tell us who your creative influences are, who's work are you adoring at the moment?

On a recent trip, I visited an exhibit highlighting trompe l'oeil techniques. It included pieces from Picasso, Braque, old Dutch and Italian masters, and Juan Gris. These works included collage techniques, and I was fascinated by Juan Gris’s combination of found papers, drawing materials, color, and framing. Recently, I have been admiring work by contemporary collagists on Instagram: Claudia Hollister’s cyanotype work, Anouk Art Rugueu’s drawings on vintage papers, Mark the Cutter’s anatomical creations, J.G.Orudjev’s use of simple elegance, Allan Bealy’s incredible use of layering, Vincent La Scala’s beautiful minimalism, Deborah di Leo’s continuous constructions outside the box, Guilherme Albuquerque’s playful surrealism, and Helen Kitson’s textures with found objects all enrich my collage soul! 

Lastly we would like to know about current projects. What are you working on right now?

My latest group show, up now, is themed “I Was Abducted by Aliens” and my work has a weird, space-science vibe. I have been working down that track for several weeks, so I’ve been transitioning now to responding to open calls and also my next big thing, a community ‘collage as self care’ workshop in February. My latest pieces for this workshop are more portable, using a set of vintage art cards in black and white, and combining them with rich color taken from a current non-glossy lifestyle magazine. I hope to inspire participants to create their own little works of art to take home and enjoy, and to share that ‘collage bug’ which lives happily under our skin! 

How do you Define success as a creative artist?

When I first got a magazine as a teenager, I cut out images and decorated my school agenda with them to make it look fun and attractive. I enjoyed the process of making and the finished product. It just made me happy.

Later, when I got my first Elle magazine as a student, I started makingcollages about fashion models and fashion that inspired me at that moment.For my graduate show I made a whole set of large-scale free-standing collages. Again, this just made me happy.

I always loved anything that had to do with the photographic, the cinematic or music. I think all these art forms provide a form of escape. They sell dreams and fantasies and so do magazines. I cut and paste a new work out of existing imagery to have a little piece of that dream.

I feel that for me success as an artist is when I feel happy. Happy through the creative process of making and happy about the result. I feel lucky and grateful that I can create. That I have a tool to craft something, to make sense of the outside world or the thoughts that I have in my life as I am learning and still growing as a person every day. 

I love to see the reaction of people when they see my work. It is often refreshing and very inspiring as they see something different in it. 

I would like to see my work being published in a fashion magazine or exhibited in a gallery. I could easily have that dream for the rest of my life.

Now can you tell us who your creative influences are, who's work are you adoring at the moment?

My creative influences come from so many different areas but the artist who set me off on my own journey of analog collage making is Richard Hamilton. I was especially inspired by his work “Just what is it that made today’s home so different, so appealing?”

This work is an analog collage of a room that comes from his own thoughts, feelings, and ideas. Once I saw his work and particularly this one, that was it for me. I wanted to create collages. Collage is such an easily available art form that I can use to make a new world from an old world with the things I love, to create the fantasies and dreams on paper for myself.

Other areas of influences come from fashion or art magazines and recently a book from the photographer Alex Prager, who I admire. 

There are many creative people that inspire me such as, Grace Coddington, Former model, and former creative director at the American Vogue and who recently created a fashion shoot for the September issue of Vogue Italy. Just Brilliant. In addition, fashion designers Jan Tamininau, Viktor&Rolf, Bas Kosteror the stylist Patricia Field, the make-up Artist Ellis Faas or the window dresser Tim Doonan. And then there are the movies from Wes Anderson, David Lynch, Tim Burton, Lars von Trier. The Twin Peaks a surrealistic epic series, which I still don’t understand, but I absolutely love it. On the music front, I love the songs from Radiohead to Thomas Dybdahl. All these creative people have an influence on my own work.

On Instagram I also have my favorites, TICG Kat Evans, Kodaek 2020, Brett Kaufman, Monique Baumann, Ruth Cassidy, Rebeka Elizegi, Typografka, Paola.dcroz and the list goes on.

So much creativity visible and always available. It feels good being a part of that community. Everybody with their own unique work.

The red line in my inspiration is that all the people that I named above and many more are creating worlds that get me thinking and stimulate my senses.

And without going on forever:

Bas Timmer, Shelter Suits. He is my favorite this moment. Creating art on the runway with work from designer’s Upcycling material. With his mission People helping People. His work is Collage ART in 3D.

He connects the old with the new. Finds money to help the homeless to give them shelter. Creates not only wonderful art bus uses it to do good. He is an example in these challenging times.

Lastly we would like to know about current projects. What are you working on right now?

I always work on my collages at home they are ongoing projects. 

However, next to being an art teacher I am also in my third and final year of an additional art degree in Education in Art and Design and I’m working onmy graduate exhibition. As a teacher I am always giving assignments and instead of giving them I received them, which was exciting and broadened my own practice. Over the past 2 ½ years I had to work with several materials and all of them became a sort of assemblage with an organic and expressionist feel, not with a meaning but more the materials and experimenting itself. As a result, I started making assemblages out of carboard boxes. 

I find the work of Frank Stella really inspiring because he looks to form and shape, as he moved from 2D collages to 3D sculptural work seemingly coming out of the wall.

I am lucky to have been able to recently move into a studio that I share with another artist. The studio is in a repurposed publishing plant and it is there that I can create and experiment with assemblage. It is great to start a piece of work, leave it there as it is and finish it later.

I want to create my world in collages and assemblages.

This is an ongoing theme in my life and an ambition that still grows and develops over time.

Thank you!

XDaan

I use found images from magazines/advertising, my own watercolors, drawings from the dance and figure studies. I don't reproduce any of the collage elements, but in scouring my sources, I have multiples and various sizes of the found images. I use what I find "interesting" as color/shape/texture cutting away a great deal of the original context.

There are piles of paper bits around my work table that I dig through to find the right piece. It can be overwhelming but the choices I make to save an image start the process of sorting things.

How do you Define success as a creative artist?

Success for me? being able to make new work that I want to share. A kind of "I made this!" I want the viewer to see new connections in nature, landscape, the figure and movement.

Now can you tell us who your creative influences are, who's work are you adoring at the moment?

I meet people who make art on all levels and mediums. I look at a lot of contemporary collage. I teach at a retirement center and emphasise the choices we make as artists, for the "new to art practice" student and the practitioner who has made "art" through their lives, to see the visual information all around us

Lastly we would like to know about current projects. What are you working on right now?

I have a show of landscape collages in 2023 at the Glen Allen Arts Center in Virginia. Currently I have work in a juried show at the d'art Center, Norfolk, Virginia.

New paragraph

How do you Define success as a creative artist?

  Success is for me when I finish a piece and I feel this deep satisfaction that I've given my best. .

 Success is when I touch someone's heart with what I do.

  But of course there's the bigger scheme with a gallery representation, sales and all that goes along, not only with the commercial side of it but the recognition of the art world.

   I cannot say say that I'm immune to it and that I don't aspire to any of it,  and then again it is also about reaching a bigger audience for what I believe in and what I want to convey,  like my maybe simplistic but profound belief in love and the never ending friction between our limitations and our desires.

Does art help in other areas of your life? if yes can you tell us a bit about this?   

  This is a tough question as I cannot really detach my life from art making. I grew up in a family that is many ways artistic.

  My dad is a visual artist and the circle of artists surrounding him since I was a teenager has had a strong influence on me.

 My mum is very creative too. many of my friends are artists.

  I am also a writer and I teach amongst other subjects arts in school.

  Art is everywhere, its the way you look at things, how you perceive your realities and also a way to express yourself.

  It's a mindset, an attitude towards life really - at least for me.

Can you tell us who your creative influences are, who's work are you adoring at the moment?

  Well certainly my dad @piccoenea. He is an abstract painter and expressionist.

  There are so many other prolific artists who's work I like. There's Italo Valenti, Rauschenberg and Serge Poliakoff's works or the postcards of Ellsworth Kelley as well as the beautiful photography of Jean-Baptiste Huynh some of Tomoo Gokita's works.  There are also many in the collage community that are inspiring.

Lastly we would like to know about current projects. What are you working on right now? 

  I am currently concentrating on vintage postcards, photography and abstract collages.  But that can change anytime soon. It all depends on what material I might find in some given away box on the street or in a flea market or browsing through some magazine.

  At this very moment I'm travelling and thus I'm without my usual material. It's a challenge to work with what I find. I'm also limited in the size,  but I like it.

Describe to us how you store you're creative resources, are your images digital or analog, do you keep every scrap of paper or are you very selective with you chosen resources?

My collages are exclusively analog. I cut pieces of paper from magazines, illustrated books, pamphlets, even museum tickets. some of them are very fancy. I also use old photographs and some of my drawings. I try to be selective with the images, Choosing the images that strike me and using them straight away in a collage. I keep the leftovers in dedicated boxes, divided by subjects; animals, flowers, plants, humans and so on.   

How do you Define success as a creative artist?

If you are able to express yourself through art and use everything, it comes in handy to make art, you are a successful artist.

Does art help in other areas of your life? if yes can you tell us a bit about this?

Art helps me to see things in different perspectives, highlighting the good side of everything.

Can you tell us who your creative influences are, who's work are you adoring at the moment?

I admire several artists from which I get inspiration, to name a few I love the works of Agazart @_agazart_, Lucia D'Elia Lago @luciadelialago, TypoGrafka @typo.grafka, Deborah Di Leo @deborahselimkitty, Ottavia Marchiori @ocomeottavia, Simao Matos @glu3on.collage, Butternut collage @butternutcollage and many more.

Lastly we would like to know about current projects. What are you working on right now?

I'm going through my old collages, some of them are in need of restoration. I'm making a selection of my best collages and I would like to organise a collage exhibition here in this sleepy village of mine.

How do you define success as a creative artist?

   That's a good question. Ive discovered this fantastic community of collage makers on instagram. I notice how many follows and likes I've got, even though I know that this doesn't necessarily relate the quality of the work. I'm so proud when work gets selected for publication or exhibition or features.

  Yet the main success criteria is when I've propped a collage up in my room and a few days later I'm still thinking 'I like that' and don't want to change it.

  The conversations I've had with people like yourself have helped hugely with my confidence.

   Ultimately I'm driven by the belief that collage is a very accessible art form, anybody can have a go at it and thats the spirit I bring to it.

    
Does art help you in other ares of your life? If yes can you tell us a bit more about this? 

 I turned to collage during lock down as a way of keeping sane.

  Now it's a gorgeous occupation which helps me to explore visual ideas in a way i never thought i would or could.

Can you tell me who your creative influences are? Who's work are you adoring at the moment?

I have always loved the work of Max Ernst, Hannah Hoch, Kurt Schwitters and others. John Heartfield's political photomontages of the 1930's and Peter Kennard in the 1980's had powerful anti fascist imagery.

   There are so man contemporary collage makers who I am in awe of.  My list would be very long and I'm reluctant to single anybody out. I copy ideas and methods so they can probably see themselves in my work.

  A special mention though for my friend Jean McEwan https://instagram.com/jeanmcewanartist/. who uses collage to inspire and involve people all over West Yorkshire and beyond. also to the people like yourself who set challenges, run collectives and bring us together.

Lastly we would love to know a bit about your current projects. What are you working on right now?

  I'm usually working on several projects at once. I recently finished a series of collage illustrations of the book "Piranesi" by Susanna Clark and I've just heard that these will be exhibited in Bradford Library later this year. 

   Im making abstracted landscapes using my dad's black and white photos.

   I've made some completely abstract collages which acts like a sketchbook exercise. I try to juxtapose different Kinds of material in each collage.

   I've got more ideas than time and so many more areas I'd like to explore.

   I've tried out image transfer and adding gesso and paint and want to investigate more. This is going to keep me busy for a long while.

   Thanks for listening.

Ian.

@iantothill