Katarzyna Rojek is an illustrator from Poland studying Fine Arts at Politecnica of Valencia. With tradeyourtalent she speaks about patterns and why it is important to find your own style.
Where do you get your own inspiration? All around the world actually. And all around me in my everyday life. There are so many really amazing artists just everywhere you look, that it's actually just that thing to open your eyes and have a careful look around. Also, I'm really interested in patterns, so I use to have a walk through the city and find those details on the buildings that are useful later on while creating a pattern. It's like you see something cool and you just want to make a note of it on the paper.
When did you know you wanted to become an artist? I wouldn't call myself an artist at all. Artist is a person ( in my opinion) that lives art everyday, has it's own workshop, goes to every exposition...and me...I'm just a normal person that always liked to make images;)I draw in my free time. And when don't...I've got a whole life apart.
Did you ever want to leave the path of becoming an artist? Make it living a moment. Not thinkin' 'bout the future.I would like to make once a book for children that I would illustrate. I would like a lot of things...;)
Is it hard, being an artist today? For sure. There are so many people that create really beautiful things and nobody will ever know that they even exist.
If you worked together with young artists, what advice would you give them? Don't try to do what others do. Try to find your own style, paint and draw what you've got inside. Put out on the paper the content of ur own mind. Coz the mind is something unrepeatable.
Karyn Ellis is an acoustic folk-pop singer/songwriter from Ontario, Canada. With tradeyourtalent she speaks about words and melody slipping into place, the emotional challenges of being an artist and why happy is hardest to bring across in a song.
When is a song special to you?
I get a skin-tingling sensation, and I know I am experiencing something that is bigger than me, bigger than the song. It is visceral and at the same time intangible. On one song it will be the particular way the drums are played, another song it is the expressiveness of the vocalist, often it is well written lyrics that set off a chain-reaction in my creative spirit… I get a kind of echoing, like when you drop a pebble in a barrel. The waves that form are like the music that resonates in me. I find melodies start to bubble up in me after I hear a great band or wonderful piece of music.
I am far more inspired by emotional authenticity than technical mastery. I am willing to forgive an out-of-tune voice if they are genuine and letting the musical spirit flow through them. Technically fabulous, but flat performances… *yawn*. I mean, I can appreciate all the dedication and work that goes into it, but most of the time I'd rather do crossword puzzles. Lyrics are especially important to me, the wrong words (ie cliches, shallow or negative concepts, unnatural phrasing) can throw me out of an otherwise fantastic song. The right words, on the other hand… wowsa! I love creative juxtapositions, turns of phrases and unique viewpoints. Tickles my brain! The people who make me tingle are the ones who are solid in their craft and open emotionally. I like the frailty and the risk that a person takes when they are playing from a deep, open place.
In terms of my own process of recognizing a "special" song when writing, there is usually a period of word wrangling that happens, and I think "How wretched! This isn't going anywhere!" Then suddenly words & melody will slip into place like the song has always been there waiting for me to discover it. I love that feeling.
Which artists have inspired you?
There's amazing alternative music scene happening in Canada right now…
Off the top of my head some artists I admire: David Newberry, Kim Beggs, Trish Robb, Tanya Davis, Christine Fellows, Evalyn Parry, Hey Rosetta, Dan Mangan, Emma-Lee.
Has it been difficult getting to where you are now?
In some ways it has not been difficult at all. What I mean is, I feel like I really didn't have a choice in the matter of being an artist. It is true I spent years muddling around waiting tables, singing telegrams, selling Christmas trees, stocking a needle exchange, anything to avoid making music… but in spite of all my efforts, the universe kept throwing me back into art by sending well-timed invitations to record and perform, or touching feedback from someone who heard my music somewhere (requests such as this invitation to be interviewed by your blog are deeply nourishing.) And every time the money burden has been too much and I have a plan to "quit for good", some sort of cheque has shown up in the mail to keep me afloat long enough to keep doing what I do for a little longer.
But let's be honest here, there is also a big yes to the question.
Let's start with the emotional challenges of being an artist: every day I struggle with the question of meaning: why do art? Does it matter, my one little world view that things could be so much better? What possible ripple can my tiny pebble make in this crazy, overwhelming world?
When I first started playing music publicly; I did a lot of busking on the streets. It upped my singing-loud chops, and it also inured me against indifference… or so I thought. I remember one time a guy walking by me on the street as I was singing my heart out. He yelled at me to "get a job"; he was menacing and his words stung. His comment brought up for me the damage I had sustained over the years: the idea that art didn't matter, that larger society didn't see art (and by association, me) as relevant.
I wonder if that attitude has changed much? It does seem that with the interconnectivity of the internet, respect for the arts among certain demographics has increased. And yet we continue to see funding slashed and declines in attendance at cultural events. In order to keep working I often have to remind myself that it IS a real job… an artist works to absorb and synthesize the world around them into a piece of music (or canvas, or whatever their particular field is) that can speak to the events/emotional landscape of the day. To affect change and social growth. Being open all the time to the world like that, it's painful. Even so-called light songs require letting things in if you want to make good work that resonates.
I sometimes let my heart break over other people's opinions (or worse, indifference) about my work. Intellectually I know not everyone needs to dig what I'm doing, but it tugs at my desire to be loved by everyone. My little approval seeker gets very clingy at those times, and I start to feel like I'm working in a vacuum. It also happens when I feel jealous (and then guilty) about fellow artists receiving opportunities over me for awards, events, grants etc. That being passed over sometimes happens is no surprise, since there are few opportunities and so many wonderful, talented artists out there. But the facts don't soothe me when I'm feeling sorry for myself. This is true even when things are going well for me… it is a barometer of my emotional, not reality, state.
It's also a yes from an administrative point of view because the reality of being an artist in today's creativity climate is that I end up wearing an awful lot of hats at any given point in time. I am manager, booker, publicist, graphic designer, web manager, sales rep, accountant, cheerleader… all in effort so that on occasion I get to be artist! The basic practicalities of being an "entrepreneur" (rrrrrrrrolll those r's, darrrrlings): dealing with money, being organized… I confess these are not things I have much talent for! Alas, a lot of creative drain goes into the simple running of things.
I also wonder sometimes if I am being suckered financially, since the burdens of making records and touring often weighs me down. Terrible economics: just when I'm getting into recording bigger production albums that serve my music better, CD sales are down. Well, at least Visa loves me!
Mind you, it beats the old Record Company model that only a few "discovered" can make it as an artist. There is so much more direct connection between artists and audience now that make it possible to eke out a profession in the creative arts. Over time, too, it has gotten easier for me as people have stepped in to help me out with some of these jobs, and I am freed up to spend more time with the music itself.
Oh my oh my, one might wonder why I do art at all with all this baggage weighing me down? That is a whole other essay, but I have figured out one thing: I continue doing art for the same reason flowers press their petals into the sun. It makes me feel whole.
What emotions- are hardest to bring across in a song for you?
Happy is hard!
The first place I go when I sit down to write is the minor chord, and my lyrics naturally resonate with sadness -- judging by my many break up and longing songs! Yes, I definitely gravitate towards melancholy. The funny thing is that I am a pretty happy gal offstage. I look at the world through the philosophical lens, yes, but every morning I am genuinely delighted to open my eyes and curious to see what the day brings. However, I find it quite challenging to express those positive emotions in my songs. I have it in my head that if I go too "happy", I will come off sounding cliche or worse… chirpy! Ugh!!
Having said that, I made it a goal on my last album to at least *try* to be a bit more chipper in my melodies and lyrics than on previous albums. There are still plenty o' sad songs on the record, though some of the lyrical doozies (I'm thinking of "Low" in particular here) are disguised in upbeat, cheerful tunes. But this record marks the first time that one can describe some of my songs, like "Little Grey Sparrow" as downright joyful!
It also impresses me when I hear other artists write eloquent political and real world event songs. I personally don't have much of a gift for that sort of thing; my attempts have bordered on preachy… or boring. Instead I tend to write metaphorically/emotionally about those sorts of issues. Maybe that's one of the reasons I write so much melancholy… because it is a beautiful, sad world out there.
If you could give advice to young artists with just a couple of lyrics, what would you sing to them?
Wherever you roam, no matter how wide --
Wherever you go, remember you'll be fine!
So fly! Little sparrow.
Fly! Little teacup.
Fly! Little arrow.
Heart's an archer, points you to the marrow.
I think as an artist it is essential to remind yourself that just as migratory birds are born knowing where home is, so do you. Artists do well to follow that internal compass; it takes you where you need to go. A reminder to myself as well: trust in that.
Red Cortez is a band from East Los Angeles, band members are Harley Prechtel-Cortez, Ryan Kirkpatrick, Diego Guerrero and Calvin J. Love. With trade your talent Harley Cortez speaks about recording their debut album, idiosyncratic choices and studying phone books.
You recently released your debut album. Has the path leading up to it been hard?
Harley: We've recorded our debut record but haven't released it. The path leading up to making the record wasn't so hard, but choosing which songs to put on it was a little tricky--we had written so many songs at that point. It's been said you know you have your whole life to make your first record a just a short time to make your second. I supposed there are pressures with both as one makes a statement and the other reaffirms that
statement.
What inspires you to your songs?
Harley: Our songs are filled with odd characters, idiosyncratic choices, the average outsider, influenced by bizarre films, adversity, writers, pirates, and about 100 years of varying musical styles. I used to write a lot about taking down kings, then it became a little more about taking down walls, now it's more about taking down blame --as long as it doesn't lead to taking out the trash.
Which other bands influenced you to your music?
Harley: Influences are probably so innate that we wouldn't even know. We're all so different from each other and at the same time very the same in our music palette. One day Philip Glass or Charlie Parker and the next day Link Wray or Suicide. Stax records or Trojan records or Creation records. Just got a great Alan Lomax record 'Saints and Sinners' . We're like sponges. Everything influences us.
When we go into our rehearsal space we never try to make anything that
sounds like a specific thing -- we just make what comes out...
If you had a meeting with young talented artists, what advice would you give them in order to follow their dream?
Harley: I wouldn't give any advice, I would listen but not try and aside in any way - if you have a dream then that's all you need right there, everything else are just the mistakes you need to get you there.
Do you have a favorite song on your new album?
Harley: They are all pretty special in their own way - however cute or scary.
If your band has time off (do you ever?) what is it you do?
Harley: Build cabinets, draw, travel, see alot of music, spend time with girlfriends, friends, pub crawl (ive been nick named the pub philosopher, sadly), make films, read phone books and cook vegetarian food.
Pauline Adair is an artist from Queensland, Australia. With tradeyourtalent she speaks about being an artist in Australia, working together with young talents and the creative state she likes most.
Since I was about 5 or 6 I think..... I used to make picture story books for my brothers and sisters - looking back now they were hilarious - I wanted to become an artist then, and I still do...!!!
Your work is about Body Art. What inspires you?
My 4-year-old grandaughter asked me once why I mostly paint people with no clothes on. I answered that it was because I haven't learned to paint the clothes yet. She looked down her nose at me and said '"Well...... I can paint clothes, and people."Seriously though, I like best of all to paint faces and hands. They, in themselves are so expressive. The body is just a necessary extra to hold the parts together! Every person is so unique that I can still name my subjects in my drawings from years ago just by looking at the hands I drew or painted.
What is it like being an artist in Australia?
Wonderful.... there is so much support for the arts here. For those who paint the Australian landscape it's a fabulously rich continent of exciting colour, texture and inspiration.
Do you work together with young talents. What do you learn from them?
I do love to work with young artists.... I sometimes teach workshops for beginners to intermediate, and I love to impart the secrets I've learned over the years. Well, they're not secrets any more....... I do share all the tricks and tips I've learned over the years. On the other hand I always come away having gained a whole lot more knowledge from them as well. They share back to me!
When are you most creative?
When I have done all my housework and have nothing on my mind I can then slip into my studio and go into my meditational state of creative conciousness and sometimes unconciousness....where things just happen! That's the art I like best, and somedays it works, some days it doesn't.... but it's my passion. I paint and/or draw every single day if I possibly can... I mean to use up all my paints and I don't want to go to my grave with my paintings still inside me!
Sara Christian is an artist working in San Francisco. Sara observes femininity, nature and she likes to play with colours and textures. With tradeyourtalent she speaks about expression and why trends rule.
Expression, through any tool or object or sound that can be an outlet. To play in the world, let your voice be heard, or seen, or imprint left somehow. Imagination and letting go of thought, ones that hinder.
Which role does art play in your life?
By day I'm a designer at an awesome book publisher. Then squeeze the rest of the day being creative and free in anyway feels good. What I really enjoy is drawing and playing with color and textures. If that means I just stay in the studio moving scraps of paper around 'til it forms beautiful and unexpected colors and shapes, it makes for a relaxing, fun evening.
How difficult or easy is it being an artist today?
I try to make life challenging on purpose at times for fun, or a competition in my head. But art is something I try to keep in mind as a tranquil experience, not forced or worried about getting reimbursed financially. I keep making pieces because I can be lost in enjoying the process. Yet, sometimes the hesitant blank thoughts and insecurities creep in, or wanting to experiment because you dont know a technique or how-to hang a show and time is running out. Inspiration can usually handle that problem.
Today I think art (performance, visual) is appreciated as any other time in history, too. As long as there are these creations in the world, people will be motivated. It is cool: illustration and outsider art are still strong and loved. And then lovers of the traditionally taught painters and fine-art craftmenship. Art is accepted in any shape or form, so we can get away with about any thing we want as an artist. Pretty easy.
Your favorite themes?
Clearly I love girly. Since I was a kid, I'd draw rows of women lined in a catwalk. Trends rule. And it's the female's perspective of expression or society's influence on them that intrigues me. The reoccuring theme is big adornment right now. Life themes at the moment: fashion magazines and then a walk admiring the trees and birds.
Téchnique: Acrylic, Precious Metals: Genuine 24k Gold and 12 k White Gold.
Paola Gonzalez M.
Title: Lost in my Blue Garden
Size: 150 cm X 180 cm
Téchnique: Acrylic, Precious Metals: Genuine 24k Gold and 24 K White Gold.
Paola Gonzalez M.
Title: The Golden Seed
Size: 100 cm X 170 cm
Téchnique: Acrylic, Silver Leaf and Precious Metals: Genuine 24k Gold.
Paola Gonzalez M.
Title: The Blue King
Size: 100 cm X 100 cm
Technique: Acrilic with silver leaf
Interview
Paola Gonzalez M. was born in Monterrey, Mexico. She is a self-taught artist, currently Paola is working on the dream series: " This is one of the most difficult paintings (emotionally speaking), that I´ve ever done so far", she says. With tradeyourtalent she speaks about her emotions while painting and what it is like being an artist in Mexico.
You are currently working on the "Dream Series". What inspired you to this theme?
Paola: This series represents the dreams and hopes we all carry: that dream could be something or someone, it could be anything we desire... In the middle of every painting in this series there is this forbidden chaos full of color and movement, right in the middle of the painting hope appears - and everything changes, so many emotions are mixed represented by color and signs. I really enjoyed working on this painting and also I had the opportunity to experiment a little bit more, applying only my feelings on the canvas- trying not to worry so much about the final composition or esthetic value. The painting starts talking by itself... and the most important thing for me at the end is, what it represents to you, what emotions do you feel when you look at it, what it reminds you of? How does it make you feel?
Why did you decide to become a painter?
Paola: Well it's something that I was born with, since I was a little girl I enjoyed painting and drawing everywhere so much, in my books, notebooks I remember “decorating” some brand sofas my parents just brought painting them all with colorful crayons... Since then I knew that art was a part of my life, I consider myself a self taught painter, everything is spontaneous and I love to improvise.
What is it like being an artist in Mexico?
Paola: It is great, we have so many young and great artists in the country, I think that we have this special mexican “spice” in art, rich in color and textures, that makes mexican art so unique, full of color, stories and beautiful traditions...
What kind of stories do you want to tell with your work?
Paola: I love telling stories about what am I feeling or living at the moment, for example the last series called Enchanted Garden, it is dedicated to the child we all carry inside, so this is a very special series for me, since my principal muse is my baby Pao, every single painting has a story hidden in it, I just love to express myself with color and forms it is so much fun working and experimenting with different materials and techniques.
If you could choose an old master to work with, who would it be?
Paola: I would choose lots of them! but I think it would be Marc Chagall.
Brooklyn songwriters Amber Rubarth and Alex Wong are behind the band The Paper Raincoat. Even though they are a young band, their debut EP was released in July 2008, Alex and Amber already have many supportive fans. Their music was even placed on the film "The Last Song", based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks. With tradeyourtalent Amber and Alex speak about curiosity and discovery.
On your website you write that your are an imaginative collaboration. What do you mean by that?
ALEX: The idea of exploration and imagination is central to the concept of this band. The whole idea for the project was born out of a creative improv exercise we decided to try one day. We started describing a world filled with certain characters and the beginnings of a storyline, and let those elements guide a lot of the song ideas.
Has it been a difficult path?
ALEX: We started the project at the beginning of 2008 and played our first band show June 2008. Honestly I think we've been really lucky with people wanting to help us and opportunities coming our way. All independent music is "difficult" at any level but I've definitely had it rougher in other projects, than we have with this project - so thanks everyone!!!
What was the best thing a fan ever said about your music?
ALEX: There was a couple in Colorado that told me they got engaged to our song "sympathetic vibrations" in their kitchen - which i thought was pretty awesome... but i think the time i remember the most was a lady in Kansas who said "your music makes me want to like myself more."
What does creativity and inspiration mean to you? What inspires your music?
ALEX: i'm sure Amber has her own take on this, but for me, it means asking questions. Curiosity is the key to creativity for me. It's much less about needing to supply an answer than just asking good questions. As far as song ideas, i think they always come from things i'm wondering, things i don't know.
AMBER: I feel like in this project especially, the inspiration has come a little differently - it's not as much self-reflection or coming up with an idea and playing it out, but more exploration into stream-of-consciousness activities of writing our story-line and then feeding that into the music. It's a lot of fun and feels like a discovery more so than a creation in many ways.
You are still a young band, but you've got many fans already. Are you sometimes overwhelmed by that?
AMBER: We've been really fortunate to be able to tour with artists we really love who've introduced us to their fans. We opened early on for Vienna Teng quite a bit and that's been amazing, she has really helped us be able to do a lot of the live shows in front of fantastic audiences.
What have you planned for your spring tour?
AMBER: Not exactly sure yet, we're mostly writing right now and working a bit on individual solo projects as well.... we want to have some new recordings to share before hitting the road again, so finishing that up first. We do have a NYC show Feb. 25th @ Highline Ballroom, and a show in Ann Arbor on April 22nd @ The Ark.
I’ve decided it’s time for me to make a small appearance on my blog and write a bit about my own inspiration and why I started this blog in the first place.
Strangely enough, I’m not an illustrator or painter myself (my friends always had a hard time guessing what my “drawings” were supposed to be in art class), but this is probably why I’ve always admired people that were able to create something with just a pencil and paper. And this is why I want to know more about how creative people work.
Once I started searching for artists on the web, I was so amazed (and still am) how many talented artists have beautiful blogs or websites filled with their inspiring work. I wish I could pick each and every one of them, wanting to know more about their life, work, inspiration and why they love art. Some are really hard to get a hold of (I’ve spent lots of time just searching for contact details) but it’s always worth it in the end, I’ve had so many great responses!
Many people think art is just about museums and galleries, but now I discovered it's much more. Art can be a career, a dream and it's most certainly a vision - and it has become global. What I enjoy most is discovering unique works in places I wouldn't expect to find something - surfers sharing their experiences through surf art just to name one example.
Sometimes (if I had more time and a VERY generous sponsor) I would love to have a meeting of artists that are active in the blog world, I think it would be an interesting experience. Even better would be to have a small competition or event once in a while, maybe something along the lines of Illustration Friday, but at the moment I can’t really decide yet. I would love to know if other artists had the urge to interact more with other bloggers on an artistic level, so please leave your own ideas below!
The last reason is a bit of a secret, but maybe one day I’ll write about it…
