Layla's beautifully feminine and detail-oriented collages are something special. She uses mainly old materials with techniques new and old. All of her one of a kind works put a little spin on "vintage" art, and if you don't look closely, you would believe it's the real thing.
Name (Real or Screename): Layla Renzi
URL (Blog, Website): www.dollfacedesign.etsy.com, www.dollfacedesign.blogspot.com
Location (Where are you from?): Rhode Island, USA
Q: Describe your work in 10 words or less.
A: Girly, vintage, modern, surreal, with an occasional dose of creepy!
Q: What do you like to work with (magazines, photographs, vintage)? Be specific!
A: Nothing makes my heart beat faster than a tattered piece of beautifully aged paper, mottled with stains and spots, delicate and fragile. i particularly like to use old ledger paper, victorian scraps, vintage catalogs from the 50's & 60's, old books, vintage magazines & photographs, and vintage wallpaper. I also love to use good old photoshop!
Q: How long have you been creating collages and what made you start?
A: I began creating collages as a kid, my mom was always really creative and always encouraged and supported my creativity as well. I got away from it for a while as an adult, but recently came back to it over the past couple of years and it's really changed the way I view and think about things... every tiny scrap of paper, every image, things that I overlooked for years have become possibilities and inspiration... it's been really eye opening and exciting.
Q: Are you solely an artist, or do you work in another profession?
A: My "job" is a clinical social worker, and although it's how I primarily support myself financially, I don't feel like it's what I'm meant to be doing... I'm working towards figuring out how to make my living from art, but it's a process... I know i'll get there, it's just going to take time... Etsy has been extremely helpful in moving myself towards that goal.
A: I'm a self-taught artist.
Q: Explain your favourite techniques.
A: I love to combine handmade, traditional, cut/paste collage with digital collage... I'll often start a collage the traditional way and then scan it into my computer and add to it, that's how many of my prints are created... I also love image transfers and using a variety of mediums, like collage, paint, and image transfers to build up an interesting, multi-layered background.
Q: Describe your favourite piece ever created.
A: I think my favorite piece is a collage called where I belong. It's a mixed media collage featuring a deer/girl hybrid, with a layered background of paint, old book text, image transfers, and vintage wallpaper, with lots of sanding between each layer, so the under layers peek through. It's also mounted on an old book cover.
Q: What other artists do you admire?
A: I love Mark Ryden, Camille Rose Garcia, Seonna Hong, Misty Mawn, vintage children's book illustrations, vintage lingerie catalog illustrations, Donald Roller Wilson, Charley Harper, Mary Blair, and countless artists on etsy that I absolutely love. Each day I discover someone new on etsy that has the most fantastic work, it's pretty amazing and inspiring.
Thanks Layla!
Comments (1)
hi!
thank you so much for your lovely post on your fabulous blog, i appreciate it more than you know!
♥
xo
layla
Posted by layla | June 5, 2008 1:21 AM
Posted on June 5, 2008 01:21