It’s time to get to know an artist with… Nice to Meet You! Today I’d like to introduce you to the inspiring art and story of Jill Russell!

From time to time I learn about some amazing artists out there who are working in mixed media and creating some fun and exciting projects. It’s always inspiring to see what others do. Sometimes they even introduce me to a new way of seeing my own materials. That’s why today I’d like to share with you Jill Russell:

Please introduce yourself to our readers and tell us where you live:

I am a librarian, artist and educator from Alameda, California. I love to garden, read, swim, craft and sew. I like to take what I have on hand and transform it into useful, colorful and beautiful art.

How do you make time to be creative?

I’m at my most creative in the early mornings, so every day I carve out dedicated time to create art, even if it’s just for 10 minutes. I feel at my best when I am creating, so it really is an act of self care. Everything I need to make art is set up in my home at several work stations, so I am always able to create when the mood hits.

What is your favorite medium to work in?

My current love is Gelli printing on a variety of papers using acrylic paints and stencils. I love creating brilliant colored paint layers with my handmade stencils and Caran d’ache wax pastels. I also enjoy the process of creating collage layers in my art journals using a variety of my handmade and collected papers. Being a lifelong sewer, both hand and machine stitching often add the finishing touch.

What inspires you to be creative?

Nature is one of my biggest inspirations. I am drawn to the beautiful patterns that nature creates. I love the idea of taking design elements from nature and incorporating them into my work. My art is inspired by other artists, art books and magazines. Cloth, Paper, Scissorswas one of my favorite magazines and I was so sorry to see it go. Other inspirations include YouTube videos, blogs and the Instagram community. Trips to museums also keep my creative flow inspired. I surround myself with local creative artists as often as possible.

Do you have a favorite artist?

I am fascinated with the work of the painter and ecological activist, Friedensreich Hundertwasser. I love his bold colors, irregular architectural designs and how he incorporated the natural features of the landscape into his work.

How did you get into art-making?

I have been creating since I can remember. My interests include collage, abstract art, sewing and contemporary quilting. After college, where I studied Food Science, I dove into the arts of papermaking, loom weaving, yarn spinning and dying, batik and shibori. These artistic experiences were a welcome change after studying for a rigorous science degree.

While teaching elementary school in 2008 I swapped art journals weekly with a creative friend and became hooked into the expansive world of art journaling. I still love swapping and collaborating with other artists and have made several friends on Instagram continuing this creative path.

In three words, how does art-making make you feel?

Expansive, free and delighted.

Thank you Jill for sharing your unique artwork and your story with us!

Be sure to check out all our Nice to Meet You! posts to learn about all the inspiring artists we’ve featured.

Nat

It’s time to get to know an artist with… Nice to Meet You! Today I’d like to present to you the inspiring art and story of my Creative Squad member Josefine Fouarge! We love Josefine’s expert use of layering and collage in her art journal pages and mixed media projects. Read on to learn more about her background:

Please introduce yourself to our readers and tell us where you live:

Hi, I’m Josefine (aka HolyLise), a blogger and teacher with a focus on card making, art journaling and mixed media. I love sharing tutorials on my blog and YouTube channel as well as teaching classes in my local craft store or online. Originally, I’m from Germany but I moved to the US in 2014 to be with my (now) husband. Together we are living in Southern California and sharing our house with a princess dog, named Freedom (she has her name from the fact that she always jumped into freedom when she was a pup).

How do you make time to be creative?

I always manage to squeeze in some minutes here and there. Plus, I usually hide in my craft room over the weekend. Being creative helps me to relief stress and calm down, so it’s very important for me to find at least 5 minutes every day.

What are some of your favorite n*Studio stamps / stencils?

Kassel is my all-time favorite, shortly followed by Hamburg (no, there is no theme with German city names ;) ). The elephant parade is great for layered techniques. And let’s not forget the foam stamps, Manhattan being the one that I tend to use most often.

How do you love to use them?

I’m a fan of experimenting with patterns, mediums and techniques, and try to combine them differently every time. I like playing with contrasts, either by using complementary colors or by aligning patterns in new ways (or both together). Nathalie’s stamps and stencils are perfect for these types of experiments without making it complicated.

What is your favorite medium to work in? 

The messier, the better. It doesn’t matter if it’s inks, paints, texture mediums – I love getting my hands all colorful. A few of my favorite craft items are my Gel Press, PaperArtsy paints, Liquitex paint pens (thanks to Nathalie for introducing me to those) and Dreamweaver texture paste.

What inspires you to be creative? 

That’s a good question and I have a hard time answering it. I was never creative when I was younger (my mom would tell you something different, but really, I never was). I discovered all of this only after I moved to the US. Now I feel inspired by watching other artist on YouTube or during classes, by the weather, by impressions from anywhere or just by sitting in front of my craft table and looking at my supplies. Really anything, I guess. I definitely couldn’t narrow it down. Plus, my husband is a total enabler. Sometimes he gives me ideas for a page or a card. The fun part is that he knows exactly what art supplies I have and how I could use them.

Do you have a favorite artist?

Carl Spitzweg has been joining me my entire life. His painting “Der arme Dichter” (the poor poet) was hanging in my grandma’s house and I always liked it. When I was young, I didn’t know the name of the painting and I thought that his life must be amazing – laying in bed and reading all day, looking out of the window – not realizing what lifestyle I was idolizing. Later she added “Der Buecherwurm” (the book worm) which I also loved, considering that I’m an avid reader thanks to my grandma and mom who always supplied me with the best books.

Another artist that I have learned about just recently is Yayoi Kusama. Her polka dot pumpkins are amazing and she has such an amazing way of expressing herself. I was lucky enough to get tickets for her exhibition in LA to see her mirror rooms and her textured paintings (which are huge). Goosebumps, I’m telling you.

How did you get into art-making?

When I moved to the US in 2014 I was not allowed to work till I received the appropriate paperwork. So, I spent my time with watching videos and scrapbooking my wedding pictures. After I was done, I started looking at YouTube, searching for other people and their scrapbook pages to get ideas for more. Not long and I got into card making and once I found a local craft store and took my first art journaling class, I couldn’t stop. Today, I don’t scrapbook much anymore, but the love for making cards and filling my art journal pages is still there.

In three words, how does art-making make you feel?

Happy and calm

Thank you Josefine for sharing your story! If you’d like to learn about every member of our Creative Squad, be sure to check out the Nice to Meet You features for Maura, Tania, and Jennifer too! And here are some of the supplies that Josefine used to create the pieces you see in this post:

Nat

Hello and welcome to Nice to Meet You! Today I’d like to introduce to you the very talented Maura Hibbitts! From time to time I learn about some amazing artists out there who are working with my stamps and stencils and are creating some fun and exciting projects. It’s always inspiring to see what others do with my designs. Sometimes they even introduce me to a new way of seeing the pattern or a new technique to try on my own. That’s what I’d like to share with you today. Let’s meet Maura!

Please introduce yourself to our readers and tell us where you live:

Hi, I’m Maura Hibbitts. I love to work in mixed media and play with color! I especially like to use my imagination when creating my art, and am often inspired by books I’ve read or places I’ve traveled. I live with my family in upstate New York in a small rural village on the border of the Adirondack Park. I am blessed with a beautiful view of the mountains outside of my studio area (a corner of our living room).

How do you make time to be creative?

The short answer is, I retired from many years of teaching science, LOL! The longer answer is, I have always tried to live a creative life. I would bring art  and creative projects into my science classes at work. When my sons were growing up, my creative time was late in the evenings when I stamped out cards, sketched, colored, embroidered, and worked on scrapbooks. It was important to me, so I found the time for it.

Now, I usually go to exercise classes in the morning and work on my art in the afternoons.

What are some of your favorite n*Studio stamps / stencils?

I love the Elephant – the stamps and coordinating stencils are great! Another fave is the Wired set. I also really like the Batik Art Foamies and Batik stencil, and the sketch stamps from around the Stroll through the Hood sets, like the Brownstone.

How do you love to use them?

I find myself reaching for Nathalie’s stamps and stencils most often when I am working in my art journals or creating an altered piece. I also like to use a lot of them for mark making when I am creating a layered piece.

What is your favorite medium to work in? 

Hands down, acrylic paints! A few years ago, I had never used acrylics, then signed up to take some classes with Nat, where she opened the world of possibilities that acrylics offer. I learned so much in her classes and have been working in this medium ever since.

What inspires you to be creative? 

I draw my inspiration from the world around me – colors, shapes, designs and ideas from nature as well as the human world. I often will take photos of details, like an interesting door, or a pattern in the water, and use these to jumpstart my art. I love to read, and books often inspire me to use my imagination. I am a lifelong learner, and I get a lot of inspiration from classes I take and the amazing teachers out there, both in person and online, like Creative Jumpstart each January.

Do you have a favorite artist?

I like a lot of artists, from old Masters to contemporary, and I truly admire so many mixed media artists today, but don’t really have one favorite.  Rather, I have a favorite painting – Fumee d’Ambre Gris (Smoke of Ambergris) by John Singer Sargent. This painting just seems to speak to my spirit, and I love to view it at the Clark Art Institute.

How did you get into art-making?

I set a goal for when I retired from teaching, and that was to develop my art and the right side of my brain. I had taught classes at my local scrapbook store which got me started working with different product lines and challenging myself to see what I could create with them. I wanted the challenge of working with a design team, and I can proudly say I now work with three, and I think really pushed my art-making forward.

In three words, how does art-making make you feel?

Joyous, Fulfilled, Balanced

Thank you Maura for sharing your art and story with us! Stay tuned for more Nice to Meet You! posts to learn about other artists :)

Nat