101 Woonideeën Mention

by ruralpearl | Dec 21, 2010 | News & Events

Thank you to the Dutch magazine 101 Woonideeën for mentioning my Etsy store in their special edition blogbook for December! Check them out online at http://www.101woonideeen.nl.

Photos from Carnegie Arts Center Opening Reception

by ruralpearl | Dec 8, 2010 | News & Events

A very big THANK YOU to the Carnegie Arts Center in Leavenworth, KS, for hosting my paper cuttings and for the lovely reception with live music, cheese, wine, etc. It was a great time.

My exhibit will run through January 7. Visit the Carnegie Arts Center online at www.carnegieartscenter.org.

Leavenworth Times Interview

by ruralpearl | Dec 2, 2010 | News & Events

Photo by Tim Linn

Atchison artist finds beauty in simplicity
http://www.leavenworthtimes.com/entertainment/arts/x1790514919/Atchison-artist-finds-beauty-in-simplicity

by Tim Linn, Leavenworth Times
Leavenworth, Kan. —
Angie Pickman, a resident of Atchison, Kan., will present 22 of her cut paper art pieces in a show that begin with a reception from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday at the Carnegie Arts Center, 601 S. Fifth St. in Leavenworth. The reception, as well as the show in the Stacks Gallery that will be up until Jan. 7, is free and open to the public.

1) How and when did you become interested in art?

I don’t know, I just always knew. Ever since kindergarten and preschool, I was saying I wanted to be an artist. I don’t know what drove that. My mom is a musician and a lot of my family members are into music. I just assumed that family influence played some part.

2) You left Kansas to pursue a master’s degree in New York City, where you also opened a wholesale bakery that continues today. Is there a connection between the way that you make your cut paper art and other interests you have, like baking?

After I finished my master’s degree, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, so I friend and I opened a restaurant, and that didn’t really work out. When that failed, we thought ‘What are we going to do with all this stuff?’ So we ended up doing a wholesale bakery. It’s not really tied in with the art. I think maybe what’s more so tied is just kind of always wanting to do my own thing, kind of wanting to be independent.

3) What is your process for making a cut paper piece?

I usually have a basic idea. Sometimes I sit down ready to do something and I have no idea and I try to come up with something fast. I try to keep it very basic because I like to have basic messages in my work. Sometimes I do a preliminary sketch in my sketchbook but most of the time I don’t. I pretty much start sketching out what my idea is on the back. It’s usually pretty rough, and then I just go at it with my X-acto knife and the X-acto knife kind of gives it its own character, the way it cuts. What you see is the reverse and sometimes I use tissue paper to add color.

4) You said you were originally inspired on your current path by seeing “The Adventures of Prince Achmed,” a cut paper stop-motion silhouette animation from 1926. What else informs and inspires your work?

I started doing cut paper work because of that (film). When I saw that style, it was automatic — I knew that’s what I had to do. But I think my main influence is nature and, not to sound corny, but being at peace with nature. I spend a lot of time every day driving around country roads. The stuff out there, it’s just where I feel at peace. Sometimes the New York City influence comes in but not as much lately.

5) On your website you said you strive for simplicity. How do you work to portray that in your art?

At first it was just the black and the white and getting the basic image and trying to portray it as best as possible most simply. But now I find myself wanting to incorporate more colors, so I think it’s gone from the work being simple to the idea behind the work being simple.

(Copyright 2010 Leavenworth Times. Some rights reserved)

Available Originals & Stacks Gallery Show

by ruralpearl | Nov 28, 2010 | News & Events

I’ve finally updated my Available Originals page! If you’re interested in purchasing something, please contact me for pricing and shipping information. I’ll be hanging these works up at the Stacks Gallery inside Carnegie Arts Center in Leavenworth, Kansas, on Tuesday and they’ll be available for purchase there through January 7th. You can contact me for more info. or visit them at www.carnegieartscenter.org.

There will be an opening reception this Friday, Dec. 3, 2010, from 6 – 8pm. I’d love to see you there if you can make it! I’ll have some prints and greeting cards available for sale that night as well. The Carnegie Arts Center is located at 601 S. 5th Street in Leavenworth, KS.