The work of Stephyds reminds me a bit of Brandi Strickland's, the experiments with geometric shapes (especially diamonds!) and rainbows are sort of similar. What is interesting about Stephyds is the watercolour washes she includes and the patterns she creates with her shapes. (I love how she describes her work, too!)

Stephyds
http://www.flickr.com/stephyds, http://www.stephyds.tumblr.com
Greater Toronto Area, Ontario Canada

Describe your work in 10 words or less.

A hopeful mess of colour and linear wear and tear.

What do you like to work with (magazines, photographs, vintage)? Be specific!

I mostly work with magazines, coloured papers and paint usually all on acrylic paper or canvas (so I can get really sopping wet and layered). My favourite magazines are National Geographic (vintage of course!) and also I love the current design happening in a lot of snowboarding/skateboarding/graffiti/alternative music magazines and art zines these days. If I can scribble on, paint in, over or around my collages - then I'm all for that as well.

How long have you been creating collages and what made you start?

I can't give you an exact length of time that I've been creating collages specifically. I remember in elementary school cutting up magazines and pasting them on other pieces of paper, layering different textures, or cutting out images of people and pasting them on crazy backgrounds. Its just something I did and I figured it's what all the other kids did at craft time too. This sort of thing has always seemed innate and I can't give you a better answer right now.

Are you solely an artist, or do you work in another profession?

I guess I'd be lying to say I'm solely an artist. Though I'm not sure if my other job counts: I work part time in a fabric shop, cutting material for elderly women and explaining textiles to girls who just tuned into Project Runway the night before. I do love the creative reciprocity that my job at the store inspires and it's taught me A LOT. We attract a pretty eccentric clientele at times and I gain a lot of inspiration when others come in and share their projects with me.

Do you have any formal art training?

One time when I was 12 years old I took an 8 week 'Cartooning' class every Saturday. I hated it and after my parents dropped me off and drove away, I walked to the convenience store to buy Gobstoppers instead. This pretty much sums up how I feel about most formal art training. Though I know I have a lot learn and very far to go, formal education in fine arts has not been in my cards for now and I look to learn through other sources.

Explain your favourite techniques.

I love experimentation in general. I think our best teacher can be experience through trial and error. Lately I've been playing around with different transfer gel mediums: how they preform on various surfaces, using various prints and processing lengths. I'm also attracted to incorporating painting, stenciling (or anything requiring the use of a Decocolor) into my collages to give them a deeper and more personal feel. In general, I love making a mess. I love seeing bits and clips of paper strewn on my desk, sometimes inspiring a whole new piece work. I don't have specific techniques that I am married too or divorced from, I just turn on a good song and the rest flows pretty naturally from me.

Describe your favourite piece ever created.

It's probably whichever piece I just finished creating at the time.

What other artists do you admire?

Rauschenberg, Warhol, Rothko are the classics for me. There are a million other artists I admire currently active today from unnamed graffiti artists, to friends who are photographers and filmmakers to 4 year olds I babysit.

Thanks Steph!