Artist of the Week is....

Kelly Parker!!!

Name: Kelly Parker

Nickname: artsydoll

Email Address: http://us.f817.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=artsydoll@yahoo.com

Website and/or Blog: buy my art http://www.kellyparkerdesigns.etsy.com/ art ramblings http://www.kparkerdesigns.blogspot.com/
view my art at http://www.flickr.com/photos/artsydoll/

What Yahoo groups do you belong to? many and i moderate several but some of my favorites that i regularly contribute to are -
atpins
arttechniques
michiganab
alteredmichigan
collagecats
collagecomposition
embellished circus
international collage
sisters of the secret fatbook society

What kind of art do you like to do? i like to do art that is bright and colorful. i like art to speak to people through color. color can speak volumes in emotion. i like to create charms, oil paintings, journals, collage, prints, ceramics, and sometimes fabric dolls and art quilts. i am a dabbler of anything creative. i like to work on all kinds of things and learn new things.

What materials do you work a lot with on a regular basis? in my collage work, i use canvas panels, acrylic paint, gel mediums, photocipies of people, oil pastels, items to make texture, wire, beads, and other materials.

What type of materials would you not touch if it was even given to you? most glues, i use only Aleenes glues. i am not a big glue person anyway...there are other ways to put things together! all other materials are fair game, they can be made to look like something else with a little paint.

Do you like to peel stuff off your fingers or not? i peel things off my fingers everyday, especially gel mediums and acrylic paint!

Do you "collect" something? i collect all kinds of ephemera for collage, the better question is do i use it all? LOL. no i look at lots of it and wonder if and when i will use it...i have been collecting scrabble tiles and have a gallon bag of them, bingo games, lots of papers and lots more stuff, i have been collecting paper since before i started doing much collage work. most recently i have been collecting rusty things from the roads, the fields, and sidewalks. i even have my kids looking at the ground for items to use in collage.

What else do you do when you are working on something art related? i usually work on several things at once. i will have an oil painting on the easel, collage work on the table, beads on another then i have fabric items in my fabric sewing room upstairs. it is too hard to work on just one thing at a time...you have to wait for drying or just for the inspiration to come! i usually start with a painted canvas and work from there. i paint canvases when i am in a slump...then i can look at them another time and decide what i will do with them. i usually have a bunch of pictures cut and ready to use along with words/quotes ready. it just helps when i set down to work if i have things ready to go...i can then work uninterupted for several hours.

Is your art area messy or kinda neat? messy, then i get in a mood and have to clean it up so i can work and find everything. most of supplies are in those roll around units under the table for easy access but my tables are covered with things too. i like to have everything within reach or i forget about using it. hence, the collecting aspect of my personality....i forget i have it...somewhere in the studio.

Who or what has influenced your artwork the most up to this point? my family...in so many ways they are what guide me. they keep me on track and working towards my goals by just being supportive.

as for artists, i like too many to say but Wayne Thiebaud, van Gogh, Monet, Pissarro, Michelanglo, Picasso, Sisley, Wolf Kahn, etc come to mind. if you don;t who they are look them up on the internet....awesome artists.

Are you a self-taught artist? yes and no. for many years i made art on my own and then in 2003 i went back to college and received my degree in art education and learned many techiques. i still do my own thing even though i know the "correct" way to do it but rules are made to be broken as any good artist knows. lol

Tell me about the day you realized you were a "real" artist? i don;t really think about it...one day i was just making art and the next someone asks what i do and i tell them i create art. my family tells everyone i am an artist. lol....i just create art.

What colors speak to you? hummm...this is hard. i think in some ways all colors speak to me, i use them all in my work, some more than others though like reds, oranges, purples. the funny thing is, if you were to meet me in person i usually wear navy blue, tan, or sage green with white or black thrown in, very understated in what i wear. maybe that is why i use so much color in my art. wonder what a therapist would say....lol

What colors do you absolutely abhor? i really don;t like pale pink or too much teal but i do use these colors. just beacuse they do not appeal to me doesn;t mean they don;t appeal to others. i don;t mean that i create my art for others all the time, just that i have a foot in both worlds...i create art for myself and for others which is a hard line to straddle sometimes because what i like is sometimes a bit too weird or out there for my customers.

What do you think is being overdone right now? vintage, vintage everything seems to be what everyone is doing...it has been around for a long time. when i was doing primitive dolls back in the early 90s it was hot and still is today. i switched to creating art with color because everything vintage is getting drab and um...old. lol

Do you have a day or 2nd shift job? i work 3 days week. i am a part time college professor at the local community college in the art department, i teach at the art center, work with a home school group, and have several families that i give private lessons too. i cram it all in in 3 days so that i have at least 2 days a week to work on my art while the kids are in school then the weekends and most evenings are for family. what a crazy schedule i have!!

What would you rather be doing than the above job? nothing....well if i could do art everyday and make some money that would be my first choice but i have time to make art so i am happy. i have come to the conclusion that i NEED time to make art...there is no way around this...if i don't get my art fix at least several hours a week i get a bit grumpy...just ask my family!!

Do you do "cute"? no, not even on request.

Have you been published in a national art magazine or even want to do that? i have been published in a major doll magazine and yes that is one of my goals for the next year. i would like to start publishing and then work on creating some classes for the art retreats. when my kids get in college i would like to be able to travel a bit and teach art. lofty goals, i know! i have about 8 years to get it all in place....lol

Do you do something the first time and leave it or do you go back and work it some more until you get it "just right"? depends on what it is, sometimes i work on a piece for severals days or weeks, most of the time i let it go...oil paintings i work on over and over, sometimes completely painting the whole thing over before it is right. i think the materials have a great influence on if i leave it or not...oil paint stays wet for a long time, acrylic dries immediately both are fun to work in and you can do so many different things with both.

When do you feel most satisfied in your art process? when i complete something and it looks good to me. i like to get compliments and critiques on my work but if i feel it is finished and done then i am satisfied. the whole art process to me is to feel satisfied with MY work.

How do you lose yourself and forget about everything else? i listen to music from the 70s, 80s, and 90s from pop to rock, classical, jazz, you name it and i listen to it...well not country unless it is the new stuff!

Tell me about a vice that you have. well it is not art related...i am a voracious reader. i especially like fantasy, historical novels (not romance), and vampire novels. i don;t watch much tv so i read in the late evenings before going to bed to