" I love it when people tell me that my art makes them smile"
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| Collages hung at Old Portland Hardware, December, 2012 |
I had an email conversation today with artist Jen Hardwick of Seattle, Washington, who uses recycled elements to create playful, personality-filled assemblages.
Jen: "I signed up to do my first group art show back in July 2011. At the time, I really wasn’t sure what I wanted to make but then I started looking through all the things I’d been collecting over the years and the ideas started coming."
What qualities do you think recycled materials bring to your work?
"I think they add whimsy and maybe nostalgia. I certainly have an appreciation for the way things were made 'back in the day.' I feel that we live in such a throw away society that it inspires me to keep finding and collecting objects from an era when things were expected to last and be useful for years and years."
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| Paper Owl |
What are your favorite recycled materials and where do you find them?
"There’s so many! I love watch parts, rulers, buttons and any kind of rusty metal. My wonderful dad loves to go to garage and estate sales and he brings me boxes of stuff. I also have a few salvage places I frequent and since I’ve been doing this awhile I have people who just give me stuff they find."
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| Cyclopean Goddess of Games |
"When I was painting I was always inspired by the classic artists: Picasso, Van Gogh, Klimt. I certainly take from them when it comes to color. I’ve discovered some local artists, Terry Turrell and Alden Mason. Their work is very inspiring to me. I’ve made contact with other artists through social media and it’s fascinating to see what comes out of someone else’s mind." [Link to works by Terry Turrell; Link to works by Alden Mason]
Do you have formal training as an artist or are you self-taught?
"I’m self- taught. Art has been a part of my life from a very young age. I’ve worked in many different mediums: watercolors, oil and acrylic paints, pastels, pen & ink, pencil drawings and paper. I always thought I would be a painter but since I started making these collages I feel like this is what I’m meant to do."
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| Steampunk Bug |
As a mom, how do you find time to create?
"It’s difficult. It definitely takes some balancing and time management. There are days when all I want to do is sit at my table and create but family comes first. I try to take some time each day to do some prep work and then when my son is away visiting the grandparents, that’s when I get my creative time. My son is also starting to make collages and it’s very fun to share that time with him."
Besides Etsy, are there other venues where your art is featured?
I have a flickr page @ flickr.com/photos/redheadhardwick/ and my professional website -- jen-hardwick.com -- has a complete catalog of all my collages.
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