Layers Upon Layers: Mixed Media Art

Artist Profile: Valerie Foster

by Cyndi on November 15th, 2007

Artist: Valerie Foster
Website & Blog:
Val’s Altered Heart Journey
Val’s Webshots album

How do you describe your work, Val?
I describe it as rather haphazard, or all over the map. I think I have my own style, but it’s hard for me to pin it down. Most of my art is free-style, out of my own head. I very rarely try to produce projects from art books, although I enjoy perusing them for the eye-candy, and for ideas and inspiration.

I tend to like using bold colors, and my art work is not often often subdued or subtle, unless I’m using sepia or browns. I have my favorite colors (purple is one of them) that I use a lot, but sometimes I force myself to experiment with other colors and color combinations. I don’t know much about color theory, so I mostly go with what is visually pleasing to me. I’m also a texture nut — I love texture — so you’ll find a lot of texture in my art. One day, I came home from our local book arts meeting, and was in the mood to do art, but had no clue what I wanted to create. Then, out of the blue, the idea came to me that I should make a ..super duper mega texture.. piece. So I cut a large square out of a frozen pizza box, and just started gluing all kinds of things down on it for texture.

I glued down everything I could think of (but the kitchen sink)…..used fabric sheets, plastic veggie mesh, fluffy yarns, used tea bag grounds, pieces of string and unraveled twine, seeds from my yard, silk leaves, lace, swatches of fabric. At that point it looked like a big mess. I was impatient for it to dry, but knew I should let it completely dry overnight. The next day I started painting it purple, one of my most favorite colors. The painting part was difficult and tedious because there were so many nooks and crannies to paint, due to the dimensional texture. It took much longer to paint than I had anticipated, but when it was all painted, it looked very cool and had the textural effects I’d envisioned when I started. I was very happy with the end result and self-satisfied that I’d come up with a totally new type of mixed media art work, at least new for me, just from an abstract idea in my head.

I started out making altered books 3 1/2 years ago, and have graduated into making more mixed media work now. It always amazes me — this ..art journey.. — all the twists and turns and paths one takes in evolving and growing as an artist. My evolution as an artist has been subtle to me. What I mean is, I haven’t paid that much attention to it. I just know I feel compelled, sometimes driven, to keep creating art. I think the changes and improvement in my art has been so gradual, over years, that I haven’t been very aware of it.

I started crafting 25 years ago, my last year in Chiropractic school. I was done with the academic classes, and was finishing up clinical requirements. It was in October, and Christmas was coming up, and I wanted to make bread dough ornaments for Christmas. After years of studying, I wanted to use the creative side of my brain for a change. So I first got into crafting with bread dough as my medium. For many, many years I considered myself a crafter. Being an artist never really crossed my mind. It wasn’t until I got into altered art that I dared to see myself as an artist. At first it felt very foreign and uncomfortable, but slowly over time, I got used to it. And now it feels comfortable and normal.

What is your creative process like?
My creative process is not very organized or regimented, it’s more free form and somewhat spontaneous. I’d like to be more disciplined as an artist, as in that’s a vague …goal… of mine, but I’m far from achieving that goal. For instance, I don’t do art everyday, as many artists do. Not even close, but I do more art now, more regularly, than I used to. So that’s a small step towards that goal, and I’m grateful for that.

The main reason I’m doing more art is that I started joining some yahoo group art swaps, and participating in some personal online art swaps. That definitely motivates me to do art, because there are mail deadlines and other people are counting on me. So, it’s been good for me and a positive step. It’s a thrill to make art for other artists, and a thrill to own art made by other artists.

When I jumped in and made my first altered book in 2004, I was a total newbie and novice to altered art. I didn’t know enough to even choose a theme for my book, but I had no trouble coming up with ideas for each page I altered. I was so excited to be working on my first altered book and felt compelled to finish it right away. It took four months from start to finish.

Then I immediately picked out another book and started altering that. And guess what? In three years, I haven’t finished it. It’s still ..a work in progress… In fact I now have two unfinished altered books I started on that haven’t been finished. Several spreads in book are done, but the books are not done. I started those in my first year of altering and so they have no themes either.

Since then I’ve come to appreciate using themes for my art work. Themes help keep me focused and give me something specific to work toward. At first I thought having a theme would be too confining, but that’s not necessarily the case. I’ve learned there’s still lots of flexibility and latitude using themes. Now, most times, I prefer using themes in my art. Otherwise I tend to get too distracted by having too many choices and no direction to go in.

When I’m creating, I don’t get out a lot of supplies and throw them on the table. I don’t work that way, mainly because I don’t have much room on my work table. If I did have lots of room, I might like to try that. But alas no –my work space is limited, and my small art room is very cluttered and overflowing with ..stuff… Way too much stuff, the bane of being an altered artist.

When I sit down to make art, I mainly get supplies out as I need them. I usually have an idea or several ideas when I start, as to what I want to create or the direction I want to go in. The idea may not be complete, but it gives me a place to start. Once I get started, and get more excited about what I’m creating, more ideas pop into my head. Then I’m off and running with my art.

I love when that happens, when there’s no angst, no lack of ideas, no artist’s block. It’s getting more and more like that now, although I still have times when creating art doesn’t come easily and ends up being a frustrating struggle. I’ve found that as I’ve grown as an artist, and as I do more art on a regular basis, creating comes more easily with less struggle and frustration.

When I do art, I do very little if any advance planning and rarely draw things out on paper (maybe not being able to draw has something to do with that). Whatever plans I have are mostly in my head. I approach my art more spontaneously.

Sometimes I listen to music while doing art. I love to listen to old Dan Fogelberg CD’s. More often though, I listen to conservative talk radio. And sometimes, I enjoy peace and quiet, and create in silence. So I don’t have a specific routine on that.

I can work at art for 8 to 10 hours straight, and tend to get lost in it, even forgetting to eat at times. If I’m especially on a roll, I don’t like distractions or to have to interrupt my creative streak. This usually happens on the weekends, when I have more time to devote to my art. Since I have a full-time job, I don’t have that kind of time during the week. But I still often do art in the evenings for a few hours at a time. And if I get on a roll, sometimes it’s hard to make myself stop and go to bed at a decent hour. Back in 2004, when I was between jobs for a while, I pulled a lot of all-nighters doing art. And that worked out fine, because I’ve always been a night owl. But now that I’m getting older, in my mid-fifties, I just don’t have that kind of energy or stamina anymore, and my body craves more sleep. Not to mention that I couldn’t do that now due to my job. But I really enjoyed doing that years ago.

What kind of training did you have which helped you achieve your current level of artistry?
Well, I have no formal art training, except for taking three art workshops at the Artist’s Nook in Ft. Collins, CO in the past few years. I used to watch the Carol Duvall show on HGTV a lot, and I learned some things from that. In fact, that’s how I learned about altered books, which I didn’t know existed before that. That peaked my interest, so I went online to learn more about them and became a member of the alteredbooks yahoo group. From there I joined more altered art yahoo groups, and took the leap into starting on my first altered book.

Around that time I discovered there was a book arts group here locally in the Denver metro area called the Mile Hi Book Arts (MHBA) group. I was thrilled to learn there was an active group right here in Denver, and I immediately joined the MHBA yahoo group and found out when and where they met as a group. I attended my first meeting in June of 2004, and there were four other people there, including another new member. So at that time it was a small group, but I loved it from the start and knew I’d become a regular member and go to all the meetings. For so many years I’d been crafting alone. And I often wished I could join a group, but didn’t know how or where to find one. So when I found MHBA, Iwas so excited, and was gung- ho to join the group. Over the years, our group has more than tripled in size, and just keeps getting better and better.

I have to say that being a part of this group has probably helped me the most to grow as an artist. It has had a lot of positive influence on me. I learn a lot at our monthly meetings, that I then use in my art. Various members volunteer to teach projects and technics at our meetings, and I always learn something, or many things, I didn’t know before.

It’s great being a part of this group and I’d be lost without it. I feel inspired at every meeting, and sometimes do my best art after coming home from a meeting all psyched up to create. It’s wonderful to see up close and touch the art other members bring to the meetings for show and tell. I’m constantly amazed at and appreciative of the level of artistry and talent in this group. I also appreciate how well we all get along and support each other. We have a great time together and our meetings are always fun. We’re so fortunate to have Karen Campbell as our group leader. She’s a talented artist and a great leader, and is a source of motivation and inspiration to me personally, and I think to the group as a whole. All of that mixed in with her great sense of humor and singular laugh makes our group very lucky indeed. You did a profile on her last July, which of course we all read and enjoyed.

I know for sure that I wouldn’t have reached my present level of artistry if I hadn’t been a member of this group for over three years. And I wouldn’t know a lot of what I now know about altered art and mixed media, plus I doubt I would’ve had the confidence to try some of the things I’ve tried over the years since I joined MHBA.

Is there a tool or material that you can’t imagine living without?
There are several tools and supplies I use a lot and rely on heavily. I use gel medium more than I ever thought I would. I was reluctant to buy it at first because it’s expensive and I thought I didn’t need it and could do just fine without it. But I did decide to buy a 4 oz. jar just to try it out, and discovered that gel medium is great stuff and can be used in different ways for different purposes. Now I wouldn’t be without it. I also use a lot of matte Mod Podge, especially for my textural pieces. I don’t use the gloss Mod Podge, because that ends up sticky. But I like the matte a lot. A tool I love is my Japanese Screw Punch. I don’t use it a lot, but when I need it I sure appreciate having one. I misplaced it recently and couldn’t find it for a few weeks. I looked everywhere, and was very frustrated. I was quite upset until I (accidently) found it, when I wasn’t looking for it. The screw punch is so great because it can make perfect holes in different sizes anywhere on a page, and is easy to use.

It may sound crazy, but I don’t know what I’d do without frozen pizza boxes. I save them and use them a lot in my art, especially for art squared pieces and postcards. The bonus is I get to eat the pizzas (I love DIGIORNO’S), and the boxes are free. Plus, the box is a great excuse to buy the pizza. What could be better?

What inspires you to create?
Until now, I never thought seriously about this question. I know I often feel compelled, even driven, to create, but I never asked myself what inspires me to do so. I find a lot of inspiration from the local art group I belong to. When I see and touch the beautiful art works they create, it excites me and causes me to want to make art myself.

Nature also inspires me, and I look for ways to use natural items in nature, such as leaves (leaves are a big favorite of mine) and seeds and twigs in my art. The colors and textures of nature capture my attention and excite me, give me ideas for my art. I enjoy looking for found objects on the ground when I’m outside. I especially love finding rusted objects, and I’ve used many in my art. The clinic I work at is located at a truck stop, because we also do Commercial Driver’s License physicals for truckers. I started scavenging the truck stop parking lot a few years ago for rusted found objects (RFOs), and I’ve accumulated a wealth of them by now. So found objects can inspire me. It kind of makes me laugh, (or cringe), to wonder what some people would think of me wandering a truck stop parking lot for pieces of rusted metal. But you see, this is what can happen to a perfectly normal person who becomes a mixed media artist. Kinda scary, huh?

Fibers and fabrics can inspire me also. I love their vibrant colors and textures, which gets me to thinking about how I can use them in my art. I also take certain papers and fabrics and put them between two steel sheets to rust them. The results are unpredictable, but I love those rusted papers and fabrics, and use them more and more in my art.

Art books and magazines are a good source of inspiration, especially the mixed media ones. Sometimes after perusing through a good art book or magazine, I can even get giddy about jumping into making art and can hardly wait to do so. I’d have to say I find inspiration to make art from many different sources, sometimes unexpected.

What inspires you to keep going when the work gets frustrating or tough?
Sometimes just my stubbornness in wanting victory over defeat , in wanting to create something I’m satisfied with. Sometimes just the desire to get a work FINISHED and behind me, so I can move on to something else.

What is very frustrating for me is when I have the time and desire to make art, and yet can’t come up with any good ideas to get me started. I guess you could call it ..artist’s block… and I hate it when that happens. When it does, I deal with it in different ways at different times. Sometimes I give up and leave my art room and go do something else. Maybe make some home-made soup, or go shopping at a craft store or thrift store, or even watch some TV. If I really want to start on making art, and not put it off, I pull out some of my art books and magazines and look through them, hoping that will spark some ideas and motivate and inspire me. Sometimes it does the trick, sometimes not.

Sometimes I look online at art blogs or yahoo groups or artists galleries to find motivation and inspiration. Tutorials are great to view, not only to learn new technic, but to spark ideas.

If I’ve already started on an art work, and then run into problems and frustration, I generally buck up and continue working through gritted teeth. I may take a short break, but soon enough I’m back working on it, trying to problem-solve and finish it. When things get to that point, and I’m not really enjoying myself, I just soldier on and try to ..work through.. the difficult times, and realize that goes along with being an artist.

I’ve learned that not all art is enjoyable to make all the time. Hopefully it’s enjoyable most of the time, but some days and some projects will be difficult and frustrating — that just goes with the territory. I try to take that in stride and not get too stressed over it.

What is your best piece of advice for those who’d like to rise in their level of artistry?
My main advice would be to join a local art group, if at all possible. If your area doesn’t have one, maybe you could be the one to start a group. And it doesn’t have to be a large group to be fun, enjoyable, and a great learning environment. The important thing is to be with other artists who share your love of making art and desire to grow as artists. It’s a way to learn new technics, make new projects, make new art friends, and be inspired and motivated to make art and persue growth as an artist.

Also, I think taking workshops from various artists is a good idea too. It’s also a fun way to learn new things and meet other artists. Art Retreats sound wonderful to me, although I’ve never been to one. I’d like to go though. Hopefully soon I’ll be able to.

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POSTED IN: Artist Profiles, Book Arts, Collage, Creativity, Journals, Mixed Media, Paper