I hope you all had an amazing Halloween and for my pagan friends, a blessed Samhain.
I have another guest blog/interview for today and I'm sure you all will find her fascinating. Her name is Lauren Curtis. She's a fascinating photographer/artist and her images invoke beauty out of darkness.
After you read her post, please be sure to check out her websites and artwork.
Without further delay, I give you the talented, Lauren Curtis.
Marcus: What inspired you to create art?
Lauren:My father started teaching me to draw when I was a child and ever since the 7th grade, I knew I wanted to be a professional artist. Initially I was inspired by nature and as soon as I started learning about art history and mythology in high school, ancient cultures such as Greek, Roman, Egyptian and Celtic have had a huge influence on my work.
Marcus: How do you visualize a concept so that you can "create" it? How do you bring an idea into creation?
Lauren: It all starts with an idea from something I saw, read, experienced. I then do rough pencil sketches (if it's a drawing, painting or mixed media piece) or I shoot photographs of the subject. It may then take months before I feel the right "mood" to create the final piece but sometimes it can be within days or weeks.
Marcus: Why do darker feelings/tones translate into your artwork so readily?
Lauren: I've been involved in the Gothic scene since I was about 17 and have been a practicing Eclectic Wiccan for 23+ years...these often misunderstood cultures value the mystical, mysterious and the Occult, although they in NO WAY represent the demonic sides of things for MOST practitioners. However, we do see that you need darkness in order to have light, and death to have life...these are natural cycles in nature and are to be respected so this translates into a lot of my work, especially my new photo collages series, "X-Rayted" & "Curio-cities" which utilize images photographed from x-rays, bones, Victorian woodcuts and more.
Marcus: Do you have a "Dream Project" that you hope to one day work on? If so, what does it consist of?
Lauren: I LOVE to travel and do so as often as I can afford to (which is tougher these days!) so it would be amazing to travel the world for a period of time shooting photos and sketching ideas. Egypt, Greece & Italy are 3 places I haven't been yet that I would really love to visit and experience their mythology and art 1st hand!
Marcus: Anything else that you would like to talk about concerning you, your artwork, and your field, or plans for the future?
Lauren: Two years ago I finally took the leap to do art full time. I've been doing freelance illustration and graphic work as well as exhibiting in a minimum of 2 shows a month across the US. I've been expanding my social network promotions and sales and hope to continue to build on my career, both in my personal work and commercial work. To me it is in no way "selling out" to do commissions for clients...I always do my on work as well and I'm honored that people like my work enough to pay me to create something for them! I also have a line of original greeting cards and T-shirts so those with smaller budgets can still buy artistic items even if they can't afford originals. It's a great way to get my work out there! You can view my work on:
http://www.LaurenCurtisArt.com (commercial & fine art)
http://www.laurencurtisart.mosaicglobe.com (fine art, photography, art updates)
http://www.laurencurtis.imagekind.com (cards, T-shirts, photography, illustration)
http://laurencurtis.wordpress.com (my Blog!)
Feel free to email me with any questions about my art!
Thanks to Marcus for inviting me to guest blog on his site...he will be a guest blogger on mine as well.
~Lauren Curtis
I want to thank Lauren for allowing me to introduce my readers to her amazing talent and once again, I encourage all of you to check out her sites and to drop her a line about anything you may want to ask her or to inquire about some of her awesome creations.
Best Regards,
Marcus Twyman
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