1. What is it like being an artist in Austin, where is there an abundance of great artists? Do they inspire you or create competition? I have been in Austin for a little over ten years and was a very shy person at first. I didn't really share with many that I loved art and that I have been drawing ever since I was little. I was afraid of the judgement, or critique, rather. However, being here has introduced to me many creative and wonderful people that have inspired me along the way to really embrace being who I am. Being an artist here has really been life changing.
I am not sure if there is a right or wrong to answer the question of where to go about finding an abundance of great artists. I say this because, really, they're all around! We live in a city of artists of many mediums and I find them all to be incredibly inspiring. I don't think of competition when I meet any artists - quite the opposite, actually. They're a part of your community as an artist and you can benefit from learning from them and vise-versa. Networking and being present amongst the art community is an important aspect of being an artist.
2. How did you first begin to develop your style? I have always been inspired by old fairy tale illustrations and ornate book covers. I have a love for drawing and line that was able to be expressed when I learned intaglio printmaking. More specifically, engraving. There is a beauty to the feel of pushing a tool through metal to create fine, undulating lines that is reminiscent old illustrated fairy tales. Indeed, many old illustrations were created by either etching or engraving. Although I have not engraved or etched in a while - whether it be ink or pencil -I still create work that is inspired by the line quality of intalgio.
As far as content goes, I grew up watching an abundance of Jim Henson and horror movies. As a child, I gravitated to the dark, fantastical allegorical tales of the Brothers Grimm. There is a strong belief by both Maurice Sendak and Jim Henson (and many others like, Edward Gorey) that children should not shielded from macabre or horror in writing or art. It is a forever present fact of life. Why sugar-coat it? The Brother's Grimm stories are a good example of this. To end my mini rant, I can just say that I am happy that these images and stories weren't hidden from me as a child because of their deep impact on how I work and dream.
3. Where did you find your artistic voice? Hm, that's a tough one. Although one feels that they've had their artistic voice since day one of life, I can delve deeper and say that printmaking had a lot to do with it. I was in a place of being unsure if what I did was considered art. I went through many periods of having people tell me what I did wasn't art. Hearing that at the time was a bit shattering to me until I took a printmaking class. There was something all-encompassing about the print community that shook me out of feeling alienated. Defining art is such a broad and bumpy road sometimes; it is, in a way, in a constant state of change with no bounds. You have to remember to let whatever is coming out of you be your own voice, and not what everyone else says it should be. It took a medium to coax it out of me.
4. What inspires you? What does your art mean to you? I am inspired daily by many things! I may go on a tangent here and list many things! However, to be more specific, as mentioned in a previous answer, oddities, old books - even the smell of old books, nightmares, old ghost stories, children's books, a crackly record playing in the background, The Twilight Zone, nursery rhymes, cold weather, old scientific illustration ... so many things. More importantly, David Bowie (the many phases of him) and Jim Henson were a huge inspiration growing up. They still are.
I feel that without my art, I'd be even more of a socially awkward person. It frees my brain of my beautiful chaos and overflow of dreamy nonsense. I get to channel all these things into characters, worlds and little narratives.
5. What element of your art do you feel is most important? Line. Line is king to me. There is nothing more entrancing when making (and looking) at art than lines done "right". The variations of widths, lengths and curves is very alluring to me. You can feel a sense of energy with line work. It can be really powerful.
