This May, I have the pleasure of interviewing artist Audrey Bagley for my continuing segment on inspiration and creativity!
What
is your process of inspiration for creating art?
I have dreams where I meet people in other
dimensions or worlds that don’t exist and wouldn’t exist had I not seen them in
my dreams. When I wake up I know that without visually documenting the worlds I
have encountered, the worlds will never be seen.
I mostly draw girls, and although they have
different colors of hair and features, I am drawing an experience or thought
that came from me, so I imagine everything as a self portrait. I like to leave questions and open
interpretation. I’m always questioning purpose and life.
I don’t believe art should be identical replicas of
anything that’s already created, i.e., a copy of a photograph.
My process for Art is to use the pieces of every
different puzzle I’ve ever encountered and put those different pieces together
into a new form that connects with a feeling. I like to arrange feeling into
something expressive and tangible.
Who
is an artist that inspires you and why?
Nobuo Uematsu. He is a video game composer for the
most beautiful video games I’ve ever played (given I haven't played video games
hard core since high school). I used to think I would become a composer because
of him. When I did more research on the video games he was involved in creating
music for, I later found Yoshitaka Amano, who was the main artist of those
games. They were both self taught artists, which really encouraged me in my
teens to work hard at what I love. I really thought I was going to work for
Squaresoft video games back then, haha.
How
do you overcome fallow spells in creativity and regain the courage to create
again?
When people say, “Wow you are doing a lot,” or,
“You’re on a roll,” I don't let these comments allow me to become too
comfortable and settle down. I’m not done yet and I never will be. I always
take note, "If I don’t do it, it isn’t going to happen.”
Not too long ago I found myself in a dizzy spell
after a few hard blows. Over time I recognized a parallel between my physical
well being and my personal energy and willpower to create. I exercise more and
take one or two days a week to focus on hanging out with friends. Then the
other days I have to say no to everything and get to work.
*View more of Audrey Bagley's fabulous art at:
