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SEA AND SKY TRINKETS AND TREASURES
local art - mixed media
Meet The artist
WHO ARE YOU, WHERE ARE YOU FROM, & WHAT DO YOU DO?
Hi, I’m Ellie! I’m from Augusta, lived my whole life here. I’m a graphic designer, and love to try my hand at a wide variety of art, whether it’s sculpting, drawing, blockprinting, painting, collage, or anything else I can get my hands on!
DESCRIBE YOUR PROCESS.
Typically it starts with me seeing a video of some type of art I want to try being made, and then gathering supplies and going for it! From there it’s a lot of trial and error until I get the feel for it.
One thing that I love to do for some of my blockprinting is to sketch animals I see at zoos, or my pets, and then transfer those sketches to carving material, and turning them into stamps I can put on cards or patches! As for my polymer clay sculpting, I like to try and hand mix a color, and then use that color as a base for what the creature will be, the colors of the accent scales and anything else, and let it take a life of its own.
My collages are very much a matter of first laying down a background color or pattern with the old paper I’ve collected. Once that first layer is dry, I try and decide on a loose idea for a theme or object that will be the centerpiece, and find the paper I have that most closely has the color or patterning I need to give the shading or illusion of shading I’m looking for, and then honing in from there.
WHAT INSPIRES YOU?
My mom is a photographer, and I grew up learning about light and color and how they interact with one another, and how to use that to create what you see in your mind, and I feel like that mindset influences, inspires and touches everything I do today in art. I also take a lot of inspiration from nature, especially the ocean, and birds. I love biology, and use a lot of my free time learning things about it that I didn’t learn in school. Whether I am creating things about fantasy or real animals, that love for biology deeply influences and inspires the way I think about my art and what I create.
FUN FACT ABOUT YOU.
I’ve been keeping chickens since I was 12, and also have gotten into freshwater aquariums and aquascaping recently! I have 4 tanks with a lovely variety and they bring me a lot of joy.
FAVORITE THING ABOUT DOWNTOWN AUGUSTA.
I love the shops and art so much! It’s so lovely to come down on a Saturday, grab some food from the market, and then take a walk along the river, and by the murals, and then over to the Book Tavern, Three Crows, and Art on Broad. The food is delicious, and I always find neat things and get to talk to fun, interesting people in the shops!
WHY DO YOU LOVE TO DESIGN, CREATE + MAKE?
I’ve always been making and creating things as long as I can remember. It’s so deeply satisfying to hone a skill and create something that can make people feel things, even if it’s just a quiet and simple joy. I also absolutely love to figure out how things are done, and to create my own process for doing them, if it’s something I want to try. It helps satisfy my curiosity about life and how everything works!
WHAT IS ONE PIECE OF ADVICE YOU WOULD SHARE WITH OTHER ARTISTS + MAKERS?
Don’t feel like you have to box yourself in by how you’ve always done something, or what you’ve always created! Even if it’s something you don’t make for someone else, or to sell, just try something new and different, even if you think you’ll be bad at it. It can give you a new perspective on your primary artforms, or turn out to be a new thing you love!