DOWNTIME w/ Karen Lynch

1) Location? Adelaide, South Australia 🇦🇺

2) Years collaging? Started three years ago but have only taken it seriously for the past 12 months.

3) What do you love and hate about collage? I love the whole process of transformation. How cool is it that two or more seemingly unrelated pieces of materials can come together to form a surreal or retro-futuristic world? I hate the storage nightmare of hoarding books and magazines.

4) Biggest influences? Photography, architecture, advertising, and the incredible colours that occur in nature. As far as fellow collage artists go, I adore Jesse Treece, Hugo Barros, Cur3es, Eugenia Loli and Sammy Slabbinck.

5) Analog Vs Digital? Analog is what I know and love. The feel of paper and the actual process of cutting I find very therapeutic. Some people get blown away when they see what I’ve made out of paper and say “Cool! What app do you use?” which makes me laugh. However I know I need to get more familiar with Photoshop down the track. I’ve definitely missed out on some great opportunities because I’m analog. People expect you to be able to edit things but when they’re stuck down, they’re there to stay!

6) How do you spend your downtime? I’m pretty collage obsessed at the moment, so my downtime is often spent on the treasure hunt, visiting markets, garage sales or second hand bookstores looking for new old material. As a material driven artist, you can pretty much guarantee that if I find an old book on New Zealand or a National Geographic featuring the Rockies, there are going to be plenty of mountains in my collages the following week. I’m also a big reader, music fan and beach dweller.

7) Three tips for someone starting out in collage?

1. Get into good creative habits by doing something every day if possible, and gathering a decent body of work along the way.
2. Surround yourself with like-minded positive people who “get” you and be part of a creative community.
3. Take the time to find good local suppliers of cheap, quality books and magazines.

8) Up and coming shows or projects we should know about? I’m excited about a group show with the Adelaide Collage Collective for the SALA Festival in July. There will also be plenty of album artwork this year and I’ll be co-hosting some free collage workshops.

Links:

Insta: https://www.instagram.com/leafandpetalvintage/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/leafandpetal
Shop: http://www.society6.com/leafandpetal

Artworks (top to bottom)
'The Pink' cut paper collage
'Beyond The Opera' cut paper collage
'Celestial Charlock' cut paper collage
'Adrift' cut paper collage
'Red Wall' cut paper collage
'The Golden Trail' cut paper collage
'Futuroscope' cut paper collage