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| Mone' Musel | | | See more art by Mone' Musel | | How do you promote your work and what would you recommend to artists who are just starting out? | | | By far, the web is my primary focus for promotion of my artwork. There is simply no other venue out there that is going to give you that sheer number of visitors. You've got a lot better chance to find your admirers with millions of people gallery-hopping in your virtual neighborhood, versus hundreds in the physical galleries.
That said, there is an ever present temptation to display work in galleries, coffee shops, that kind of thing, but you can quickly feel like your just decorating their walls. They usually want to really jack up the prices to what they think is fitting, instead of what price point keeps you working full time. Targeting the brick and mortar gallery crowd only seems to slow down production immensely. That loss of steady sales can be discouraging to the artist which ultimately slows down your artistic energy and output. | | | | What do you remember most about the artistic endeavors from your childhood? | | | I spent all of my free time drawing and inventing imaginary worlds as a small child. My specialty was unicorns. I was the unicorn go to girl! I was about 7 years old, very shy, and starting a new after school daycare program. There was this kid named Cody...she was the beautiful, popular kid and could do absolutely everything better than any one else. I don't care what it was, she could do it better...running, puzzles, singing, gymnastics, she always won! Well, one day all the kids had a drawing contest. The subject matter was unicorns and guess who won? Not Cody. Yours truly! That was a monumental day in my childhood, the day I realized I could shine at something.
The unicorn era eventually evolved into other subject matters. In school, my creativity was my trump card...whenever I needed to stand out or ace a project, I'd pull it out and slap it on the table. Whether it was a 50 page, documentary style coloring book on the Titanic for History class, sculpting a 3 foot tall model of Shakespeare's Globe Theater for English, or scripting a play to depict the anatomy of a fish for Science lab, creating was my addiction and I used it to survive...all the way through film school...and to this day. | | | | Is boredom still a part of your creative process? | | | Boredom and artists, like oil and water, don't mix. Artists of all fields are always and forever thinking up new ideas. We don't experience boredom often. Our minds just naturally wander into the unknown when idle. As an artist, the more bland the environment, the more your mind seeks color. Rage and frustration are also powerful weapons for the artistic spirit, and when channeled, can create artistic magic.
My paintings are explorations of my moods, varying widely in composition and color. There are way too many cool things out there to learn about and experience. One human life span is nowhere near enough time to explore all of the amazing places and people this planet holds. | | | | What do you hope your work will convey to its viewers (and hopefully to its eventual buyer)? | | | Inspiration...a moment of blissful escape. Like that song that you never tire of no matter how many times it's played. | | | | If you could choose to live in one place to create your art where would it be and why? | | | I was born, raised, and now create my art in Austin, TX which is one of the most artistically fueled pockets of the country. They say we're a sanctuary for the 'weird.' We're hippyish, young hearted and free spirited...the live music capital of the world...a good place for an artist to live.
I'm incredibly inspired by the colors, textures and moods of Mother Nature. Austin is nestled between lakes and hills as far as the eye can see. Anything goes here and creativity lingers in the air. But if I ever decide to move, I will move to Costa Rica, somewhere on the beach. The beach does wonders for my soul. | | | | read something about eating the occasional termite, if you don't mind I'd like to hear about one of your interesting pilgrimages. | | | That was quite a trip...I was in the most remote part of Costa Rica, the Osa Peninsula. It is extremely remote and hard to get to. Most visitors there are scientists. I was exploring with a native Tican and we ate our way through the jungle. He shared all these secrets of the rainforest and what plants and life forms were being currently studied and for what illnesses.
We were on a journey to meet a special artist, El Ermitaño (the hermit), he was called. The hermit had been living in the rainforest for decades living solely off the land. He had literally built an outdoor gallery of sculptures made from dead branches of trees that strikingly resembled various animals and interesting shapes. He had enhanced them using other natural elements like shells, leaves, etc. It was amazing to walk through the rows of this organic, 'sculpture garden' 10 feet away from the ocean. I played with his black cat, Pantera, and bought a couple of his pieces. Strangely, he had just gotten a new new satellite dish on his tent so maybe we'll see him on Boundless someday, who knows! | | |
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