Visit ANormal Magazine and see the published interview if you read Spanish or below is the original questions and answers I was given and gave in English :D. ENJOY! And always thank you for following along on my visual journey!
INTERVIEW: ANGIE MASON FOR ANORMAL MAGAZINE
1 • Let’s start off with a little bio, tell us a little bit about you:
To give a bit of a back story I grew up in a disjointed chaotic life early on which truly led me to the deep relationship I have with art to this day as it brought balance to my life by taking refuge in the creation of my own worlds and characters. Art saved my life many times and gives my life meaning. Ever since I was young and made this discovery it has brought me balance and I keep navigating life by visually exploring ideas and concepts with a bit of written word thrown in the mix. I have a background in illustration having studied both fine art and illustration at Parsons School of Design back in the mid to late 90s then graduated and worked within various creative industries such as publishing and internet companies doing creative projects like illustration,character design and web design for them. In 2001 I began exhibiting my paintings and drawings publicly which continued to grow and I now show in galleries all over the United States as well as internationally. I love cats especially my own who I have taught various silly pet tricks such as playing dead, waving hello on command and rolling over. I have two very different looking thumbs though that's not enough for me to join the circus still I keep trying ;).
2 • How is a typical work day in the Angie Mason's life?
Typically I wake up most days in the early morning hours groggy eyed still dreamy I start my day with a home made cup of cappuccino or tea some kind of caffeine as I am sadly addicted to the stuff though I do love the taste of the drinks I consume. Some days I work at a day job designing things for other people to basically make money to help fund my other addiction which is art. I find that by having a some what stable life I can be more productive with my art and personal goals. Typically every day is not typical since most days I spend inside my head which mostly I don't mind some days it can be lonely but often times I enjoy the imaginary realm of my brain that conjures up characters to keep me company as I make money to finance their birth and spreading ;)
3 • When did you first get interested in art and what’s the best part of being an artist?
Like most young children I always had a love for making pictures... but as time grew on I grew even more serious about my connection and relationship toward art. I think the best part about being an artist is having the power to create an entire universe through your mind,heart and hands. Seeing a concept and idea just thought off the top of your head and to be able to make that real has always been amazing and a total gift to have! I am so happy to have dedicated myself to this path!
4• Who or what inspires you in your personal life and work and what message do you want to communicate in your paintings, drawings and sculptures?
Life inspires me. Seriously everything plays a part like...nature, music, minutia, personal life experiences, a strangers conversation next to me... it all filters together in my brain. It all acts as an ingredient to the images I cook up. My paintings are communicating different things at different times mostly there is some kind of emotional element at the core of each piece. I don't like to dissect each work publicly I feel like that is just like a magician telling you how they did their trick... the magic is lost. I like people to have a personal experience and make a stronger connection to the work and characters rather than getting tainted with my minutia as to why I created a piece. I am sure it can have it's place to discuss direct references to my life and work but typically I like to have the mystery intact not just with my work but with others work as well. I want to create my own meanings and have a deeper connection to my works and others whether that be visual,poetry or music. I want people to feel like they are an explorer and make their discoveries when looking at my works. With that said I do think I hope to express different core emotional states in my works that are universal. It would be lovely to have my art be thought of as medicine helping someone feel better by looking at a piece.
5• How would you describe your style?
I don't like to pigeon hole or categorize things typically but everyone does so to answer this I would say my works have a Grotesque Folk Pop feeling a word I have coined which mixes three elements which I feel are apparent within my works and feels like a nice fit for me.
6 • Your characters. Where do they come from?
My characters are born out of life experiences. A character can be some one I know, a personal self portrait or a world view on something presently going on. They all come from different places but all from living life.
7 • Your portfolio is an exquisite mixture of symbols and methods. Please can you describe your design process and favorites techniques?
Thank you very much. My process typically starts out in my sketchbooks. This is where the birthing process happens. Once an idea is born onto paper I then choose which ones I want to nurture and grow into a larger more detailed version of a sketch. I like many different techniques and don't hold myself to one but painting is a great great love since I was young! Acrylic and oil paint are the main mediums I use for paintings but also enjoy water colors. But honestly, as long as I can make visual marks with whatever supplies I have available to me I happy to make my marks. I have this drive inside me if I didn't have proper art materials available to me I would figure something out. I just need to make stuff. I have to. Since as far back as I can remember I needed to make visual releases... so much so I would carve pictures into my mother's good furniture. Exorcising my demons I suppose which got me into big trouble.
8 • Which of your projects has given you more satisfaction?
Most Satisfaction: Honestly I love seeing when I work on a large body of work such as a solo show and witness the growth of all the works involved come together from a simple passing thought sketch to a fully realized body of work and seeing it all come to fruition hanging side by side on the gallery wall gives the greatest joy as well as being able to share my visions with others. I have been very fortunate to be able to do so!
9 • What are your future plans? Are you working on any particular projects right now?
A recent project that I just finished at the end of August was my brand new redesigned website www.angiemason.com which I also designed and put together. I added a ton of images and information to hopefully keep all the people who visit engaged and excited. I am working on very special project that for now I am calling Project 30 this will be special because it will be involving the people who follow my work. It's in the infancy stages right now... but out of this I hope to have a brand new solo show and body of work. Any galleries reading this and interested please feel free to contact me for more information at angie@angiemason.com. I am also a part of the Lowbrow Tarot Project which will be releasing a fantastic art book and tarot deck in 2012 so be sure to keep your eyes peeled for that or stay updated by following my facebook fan page -https://www.facebook.com/AngieMasonArt or my blog http://www.brainspills.blogspot.com/ :). I have some group shows coming up such as the John Water's Inspired Art Show at the Indianapolis Museum of Contemporary Art this November 2011 and then another group show in New Jersey at the Shore Institute for Contemporary Art in December 2011. For 2012 mostly I am pretty open and just focused on Project 30 growing it and showing it ;).
10 • Finally, where are you right now while you answer this interview?
My art studio of course :) with my cat Nervil who is the best studio assistant ever though he sleeps on the job a lot!
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