Here is a nice bit to read after the tiny break, Katie's work is based on lofty ideas and some pieces have a political tinge. She has an amazing concept of placement in her handmade and digital collages. She firmly opposes being taught "art" as a technique, and she has reason to—her art is excellent as it is.
Name (Real or Screename): Katie Gierczynska
URL (Blog, Website): http://www.damour.deviantart.com/ [website with ALL work coming soon]
Location (Where are you from?): Chicago, Illinois
Q: Describe your work in 10 words or less.
A: Witches moaning. Babies falling out of the womb still-born?
Q: What do you like to work with (magazines, photographs, vintage)? Be specific!
A: Years ago, my grandmother gave me a large amount of vintage magazines. Most of them focus on scientific development or miracle beauty products. I mainly enjoy working with that type of stuff—old articles, old faces/places. I also have a number of thrifted books that I like to use. I'm really big into newspapers as well, and used to have a 7-foot stack of Chicago Tribunes harboring in the corner of my room before I realized that they have the potential of becoming a breeding ground for silverfish. Right now I enjoy incorporating other media forms into my collages, such as small objects.
Q: How long have you been creating collages and what made you start?
A: I started at age 13, so I've been collaging for almost 6 years now. I used to cut out limbs from fashion magazines and glue them down on pictures in my school-books. Then I found myself cutting up my History book and creating collages with it. You can say I began this art form on a whim.
Q: Are you solely an artist, or do you work in another profession?
A: I actually favour writing over anything else, however, my full dedication resides in the arts—whether it be collaging, sculpture, painting, or photography. My writing always stems from the visual, whether it be mere observation, or inspiration from a piece of art or another artist. I'm also guilty of being nerdy about holography and psychology. My future profession belongs to teaching writing and literature.
A: At age 18, not yet. I've taken some experimental art classes and workshops, however, I'm not a very big fan of "formal art training." I believe art is something of your own teaching—there is no right or wrong way to create, therefore there is no need to be "trained."
Q: Explain your favourite techniques.
A: I enjoy compulsive layering! I rarely ever plan my collages. I usually just cut and paste and see what comes out, unless I focus on a specific subject.
Q: Describe your favourite piece ever created.
A: That would probably be the piece that I am constantly slaving away on in my father's basement. There is this awkward, perfectly square, high-leveled little room with a brick floor. In this room there is a tiny vent window that rarely sheds light in the day time. One day, I discovered a swarm of dead ladybugs on the sill and pondered their existence. It turns out that during the spring and summer seasons, flocks of these little red ladies fly into the vent from the outside and squirm around awaiting death.
The scenario inspired me to create an environment for this morbid ritual, by turning the walls into a giant collage. I hung red velvet curtains in the doorway to shield it off from the rest of the basement. After 2 months, I finished my first layer of the collage, which serves as the landscape of the atmosphere. The landscape presents different locations connected through the use of colour schemes. For example, in one area of the wall, there is a plot of woodland. I made the trees out of actual bark and branches, and used food seasoning for the leaves. The entirety of the room is made to look like a traveling circus show.
Currently I am working on the second layer of the collage which consists of animals, people, and animal-people. They represent spectators "going to witness the ladybugs." The third layer will be the ceiling, which will be mostly astronomy and lighting based. I've been working on this piece for about 7 months, and I think that's why it is my favourite. I favour it is because it uses a range of mixed media. Usually my collages are paper based, but this piece is like collage and sculpture intertwined.
Q: What other artists do you admire?
A: Egon Schiele, Eduardo Recife, Robert Rauschenberg, and a variety of French painters, photographers, and film-makers.
Thanks Katie!