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My artist journey really started in the latter half of 2019 when my family and I moved from New York City to Seattle. I had made art every now and then since I was a child, but much of my adult life in NYC was too busy with full-time work, multiple start-ups, and raising young kids to leave room for creative expression. After the move, life became much quieter. The start-ups failed, my friendship with our co-founder ended in heartbreak, and then the pandemic descended upon us all.

In the silence that followed, I started to see beauty in dry weeds. Every plant is special and beautiful to me, but I have a particular attraction to a yellowed, feathery fern or gnarled, twisty vine. I began to collect bundles wherever I went, especially when traveling. One bundle came from a bleak English landscape in November. Another from Siberia near my in-laws favorite camping spots. We were driving along and happened to come upon these vast, dry plains of grass. I was dumbstruck.
My family eventually had to drive off and leave me to frenzied collecting. Eventually, they came back to pick me up. To my mother-in-laws dismay, I had an armful of what looked like worthless weeds and a determination to fly with them all the way back to Seattle.

more » “Tanya Ostromogilskaya’s Artist Journey”

Q: How did you choose your partners in the tarot project?

A: Like all my Dreams & Divinities projects, this happened organically. Initially, the idea of making a collective deck had been discussed with artists Carrie Ann Baade and Michel Bassot, but I wasn’t quite sure how to do it. Having just wrapped up the Fernal Encyclopedia project with nearly 120 artists, the next project called for something more intimate. The answer came when artist Martina Hoffmann approached me with the proposition of writing a book for a Tarot deck she intended to make. It was decided then and there to create a small collective deck with all four artists. Unfortunately, Michel fell ill and was unable to finish the cards.

Thus, a replacement had to be found, and four other female artists were chosen to join the deck. The decision was made after careful consideration and discussion with Martina and Carrie to ensure that everyone felt comfortable with the new Taroistas.

more » “Liba Interview on Tarot”

The journey of an artist is one of constant learning and evolution, as emphasized by artist Leilani Bustamante in a previous interview. Bustamante, who was largely self-taught until college, highlights the wealth of resources available to aspiring artists today, especially through online platforms.

more » “4 Audiobooks That Can Help You Grow Your Artistic Process”

On Saturday, April 22^nd, downtown Los Angeles’ Corey Helford Gallery (CHG) will proudly present their next major solo show, Ephemeral Existence, from Japanese oil painter Mayuka Yamamoto in the Main Gallery.

Yamamoto is widely recognized as one of Japan’s leading second-generation contemporary artists, whose works depict children sporting animal features and enigmatic expressions. The artist’s oil paintings often appear reticent and introspective. The emotions of the child characters in Yamamoto’s works, or “animal boys” as she often calls them, are meant to be a mystery to the viewer. more » “Mayuka Yamamoto Ephemeral Existence”

Q: Please tell us how CreativeSoul Photography was born and what challenges you encountered along the way to success. 

A: CreativeSoul Photography was actually born in my mom’s garage. When Regis decided to go to school for photography I decided to learn along with him and we’ve been doing it ever since. One of our biggest challenges in the beginning was finding our own unique style and narrowing down what bought us joy. 

Q: What inspired you to work with children? Tell us about how you have empowered a new generation of young people with your thematic styling.

more » “CreativeSoul Photography”