Carrie Lee...
Carrie once thought, at the tender age of 6, that her life was actually just a dream and wondered when she would wake up to reality. From then on she was always writing, drawing .... and creating a world of her own. Fast forward and she is no longer that little girl but she is still busy capturing bits and pieces of inspiration and always asking lots of questions. And of course, the more answers she finds the more questions she has. When she isn't taking flying lessons, traveling, gardening, or spending loads of time with family and friends..... She enjoys exploring and experimenting in paper sculpture, paper cutting, photography and digital art all the way over to paints, pastels, old ephemera and sculpture, she loves it all. To her art is more than just a word... it is a world.
I ♥ BLOGGING
My blog is such an important part of my life. It is my Journal, my scrapbook, my portfolio and most importantly my community. I first started my blog in 2006 as a means of keeping in touch with my family, since they are thousands of miles away. It was also a way for me to have one journal....
instead of several unfinished ones! Ha!
I am a girl who happens to be married... who happens to have two fascinating children. I am just like you... trying to be a happy person. :) Finding my way through the maze of life. An artist and writer... I have been writing and drawing since I was able to hold a pen. I am also a freelance web and graphic designer. I grew up in California, Arizona and Texas , but have lived in Moorhead, MN for the last 15 years. I work across the river, in historic Downtown Fargo, ND. I have had my work on display at the Plains Art Museum and was a member of Gallery 4, Ltd artist cooperative. Right now I am focusing on my work and more solo and group shows.
instead of several unfinished ones! Ha!
I am a girl who happens to be married... who happens to have two fascinating children. I am just like you... trying to be a happy person. :) Finding my way through the maze of life. An artist and writer... I have been writing and drawing since I was able to hold a pen. I am also a freelance web and graphic designer. I grew up in California, Arizona and Texas , but have lived in Moorhead, MN for the last 15 years. I work across the river, in historic Downtown Fargo, ND. I have had my work on display at the Plains Art Museum and was a member of Gallery 4, Ltd artist cooperative. Right now I am focusing on my work and more solo and group shows.
Q & A
Why are your subject mostly feminine?
Yes, they are ladies! I am captivated and inspired by women! I have always been extremely close to the women in my life... my mom, my grandma... my daughter.. my friends. But the girls I portray usually have a doll-like quality about them. I love porcelain dolls because their beauty is fantastic and unrealistic. It is obvious they have a big influence on my work. I can not help but be mesmerized by them. I feel sad that their existence is purely superficial. I can relate to that idea, that our bodies are a superficial existence. The girls are just like you and I. We are all the same and yet unique. My subjects have something profound and nurturing about them. I have compassion for the human condition. Through them I can express my empathy for the struggles of everyday life.
Why do you work with silhouettes?
They are the perfect medium on which to explain my feelings about identities. I think they are more easily related to without the influence of our own reality.
What are your influences?
People? Ultimately I have been influenced by my mother and father. They are people who struggled with their own 'roles' and 'identities' with humility. And also by their creativity, both artists in their own right. I have a complex history and can say that my life has been both bitter and sweet. Mostly, sweet I think. My perspective is to look at life as a chance to learn and grow. I love people. I think they are beautifully complicated.
And as for art? Low brow, manga, fantasy artists ( I can credit my dad for the sci-fi geek in me - when I was young my dad and mom called me 'Carifairy', everyone would give me fairy books and art. I went through a major fairy phase. Embarrassing? A little. But it was magical and I loved it), poster art, pop art, surrealism.... and of course vintage illustrators and fairy art. One of my favorite artists right now is Jin Young Yu.
What is your process or medium?
This one is complicated. Jeremy (my mister) will tell you that I draw, sketch, doodle all the time. I also have a habit of waking up the middle of the night to put a note/idea in my cell phone. I guess, I usually start out with an idea or a feeling, then just go to work. I may use photography, digital painting, or pastels etc. Lately, I have been using many mediums together in very untraditional ways. I also love reworking the same materials. It is like listening to a song you love and playing it over and over again until you have had enough. But as far as using the mediums, for an example, in one of my pieces (a small bubble glass cameo girl), I started by pencil drawing the character then put her into my pc via scan or photo ( I shrink her down digitally because I am lazy and hate drawing faces smaller than a quarter, but want her to have the right shading and depth of a larger piece- It is harder but I love small pieces, go figure) I make a background for her with digital painting, photo textures, my own traditional paintings, patterns etc. Then, I will finish her up with some graphite, charcoal or pastels. I love to ad paper cutting here and there also. I always have to have a mix. It wouldn't make sense to me to not pull from everything I have learned, or else why learn it? Who says you have to do it 'this way'? Not me. I think art is very much about exploring and learning. I don't know if I will ever teach, but I will absolutely be a student for eternity. For example, I am learning more about clay and sculpting, making new work ... It is an entirely new direction for me, and I love it! Never stop learning... thats what life is all about.
XO
Carrie Lee
(Yes it is very cold :) up here... but I like the white stuff.)
