Every Monday, a new artist will be profiled for your reading pleasure. This week, we're talking to a mixed media artist who is making a mark both online and off!
Suite101: Thank you for taking the time to talk with me about your career and interests! Before we begin, can you tell us where you hail from and where you're currently making your mark?
Patricia Anders: I’m originally a Bay Area girl but moved to southern Ca about seven years ago. Galleries, museums and a wealth of art opportunities exist here. My endeavors are online and at the Ten Women Gallery in Venice (tenwomen.org) where my work has a “home base” among that of 21 other artists. Having a home base takes some of the pressure away from spending hours entering competitions and searching galleries for representation. The other advantage of being a member of a cooperative is that one hundred percent of any sale is for the artist to keep while traditionally galleries take fifty percent off the top. Because I don’t have to share a percentage of the sale with a gallery owner I am able to offer quality art at very reasonable prices. This is good for me and good for people collecting my work. I am making efforts to expand my horizons this year by more actively seeking out and staying informed about art opportunities in California.
Suite101: I've been a fan of your work for a long time and really enjoy gathering inspiration from your website, artpropensity.com. When you're not creating your mixed media art pieces, are there any blogs or websites you frequent to keep your inspirational fires burning?
Patricia Anders: For eye candy I frequent Flickr. There are endless amounts of art and photography to be seen there. Some of my favorite blogs are found here:
boing boing, beth elliot art, bitch phd, philly artblog, life on the edge, fluid thinking, art news blog, Art Fag City, another company, The eXTra finGer, gallery revisited, works in progress, militant art bitch, yaya chou, tire shop, gregg chadwick, indigoblog, l.a. observed, smog blog, l.a. blogs, esart blog, tyler green, cho!, hatamaran, meadowsweet, (re)mark, editor's life unedited, fluffy battle kitten, brainstormers, working artist's journal, oc art blog, insurgent muse, NEWgrist, anaba, megan & murray, LAist, um paro, thinking about art, the flog, abla, muerto de risa, screaming lulu, Baby Smith, pegeez artickle, dangerous chunky, up at the gate, artists unite issue, Marshall Astor, arts asylum, kristina wong, LA Voice, Journal of Artists' Books, martini republic, feminste, blogging la
Suite101: You've had quite a busy and successful career. Was it a challenge to be featured on (one of my favorite shows!) Crafters Coast to Coast?
Patricia Anders: I had a new found respect for actors after my experience being filmed for Crafters Coast to Coast. It was fun though tiring as we weren’t done until after midnight.
Suite101: As a mixed media artist, which forms of media do you consider your "comfort zone" and which do you feel like you're "breaking out of your mold" with?
Patricia Anders: Papier mache is a favorite medium. I fell in love with it after five years of directing an after school arts and crafts program where we did a whole lot of papier mache. There is so much that can be done with it once a person stops looking at it as a childs play material or only for piñatas. For more instant gratification I like to paint and I love to draw with prisma color pencils which are smooth as buttah.
I’ll be taking a workshop in a couple of weeks with the artist Keith Lo Bue where I will break out of my “mold” a bit by learning some metalsmithing skills.
Suite101: Where can buyers find your work? Do you prefer selling online or off?
Patricia Anders: Buyers can purchase from me directly by sending an email to me as long as they have a pay pal account. I occasionally list work on ebay and I have an etsy shop (Triciajoy.etsy.com) that needs serious updating. My work can be purchased in person at the Ten Women Gallery in Venice Calif.
People can read my blog (patriciaanders.com) for updates about new work and availability. I don’t have a preference about where I sell my work as I long as it goes to homes where it is valued and appreciated.
