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posted August 26, 2006
By Jennifer Santos-Hamer |
Inspiration comes in many forms. It could be a lovely
object, such as a beautifully made charm or a fairy tale pattern from
the Far East, as you’ll find in the Dove of the East collection.
It could be vibrant childhood memories. Often, it’s the people
behind the products who are a wealth of inspiration in themselves.
Carmi Cimicata was drawn to Dove of the East products instantly, as
were we. She began teaching and designing for Dove of the East in Canada,
where her studio and store are currently based. In a recent interview,
she shared with us her experiences and insight, as an artist, former
Executive Director, and historical figure aficionado.
According to our research, you have been an executive
director of a charity and now, a full-time artist and teacher.
Would you like to tell us more about how your life experiences have
influenced your art… Or how your art has influenced your life?
“I think that any well-run charity has an Executive Director
who can turn a quarter into a dollar. I prided myself on being known
as such a person. I always looked for opportunities to create professional
materials and giveaways inexpensively. Most of the time, we did a
lot of great things in-house. We found creative ways to bind books
and reports and we were known for our interesting invitations and
announcements. Because we were an educational organization we had
to produce a lot of paper materials such as posters and pamphlets.
Printed materials, clipart and other artistic supplies were always
close by. I also had the opportunity (when funding permitted) to work
with some amazing illustrators and graphic artists. When we couldn't
afford to hire anyone, I designed the materials myself.”
In your artist statement, you cite your collection
of books, many of art and history books, as your greatest teacher.
We love the prints in the Dove of the East paper collections -- they
also look inspired by the regional art and historical prints and
patterns from Russia and China. Did this influence your decision
to teach for Dove of the East?
“I wanted to create cards from the Dove of The East line as
soon as I saw the first red China Journey Box. Everything in the box
could be turned into an embellishment for a card…and the box
itself was just so beautiful. I knew that just having it in my studio
would be inspiring. Once the papers came out to match…well,
there was no stopping me. The second box, however, is closer to my
heart. Russia is a place I would like to visit someday because I have
been reading about Catherine the Great for many years. She is my favorite
woman in history. I also collect Russian boxes (the traditional hand
painted wooden boxes), so the themes in the Russia Journey papers
were familiar to me. No one has focused on Russia as a paper arts
theme. The country is rich with fairytale and royal imagery and Dove
of the East uses these themes in their papers. My biggest obsession
though is Napoleon Bonaparte and his role in French history. He appears
constantly in my collages. I have a pretty impressive collection of
bookson Napoleon and find that his quotes and statements are relative
even to this day.”
Do you ever hit a creative block? If you do,
what do you do to gain your creative energy back?
“I wouldn’t say I ever hit a block, well not yet anyway.
I think I have enough ideas right now to last a decade. I never seem
to get everything I want to get done in any given month. I keep a
journal of ideas and keep flipping through it to see if I have knocked
anything off the "list." I do know that I can get
overwhelmed with too many options. For example, right now I have at
least 30 different card designs laid out in my studio, which are half
completed. So I am avoiding the studio and working on my website.
I guess it could be called procrastinating. Eventually, I’ll
take a deep breath, remind myself that you can only do one card at
a time and dig into the pile. If I am feeling restless about
what to start on next I usually clean my studio. This allows me to
see everything that I have accumulated and I usually get excited about
something I forgot I bought. My paper stash is pretty great and I
am always trying to figure out a better way to file it by theme. Travel
is really great for me too. I always have a journal with me and I
get all sorts of ideas for cards or altered book pages when I walk
through galleries or a shopping district. The other thing, which
inspires me, is my art club: The Extraordinary and Exceptional Society
of Mixed Up Media Artists. We meet monthly (not in the summer) and
have a project to work on for each meeting. On my website,
you can see the results of our "dollar store challenges."
I also give myself assignments and publish these goals on my
blog. In May I said I would do a collage a day in June, and the pressure
of knowing that people would be checking in made me meet that goal
everyday”
According to our customer surveys, most of our customers
scrapbook traditional 12x12 layouts, with a majority also creating altered
art books and projects. Do you have a preferred book or layout size
to work with? Why?
“I work in an altered book format almost all the time. I usually
choose a book to alter based on its title, age or whether or not I
think I am saving it from a landfill. Smaller is better. I always
have five or six partially completed books. Because I use a lot of
paint, I hate to wait for things to dry, so having more than one book
on the go is handy. The 12x12 format is way too big for me,
so given a choice, I use 8X8 sized layouts. When I make samples for
the store where I teach, they are always 8X8. I do buy a lot of 12x12
paper though!”
Do you have a photo of a favorite piece, which you'd
like to share with our customers?
“Favorite it hard to decide. Usually it is the last thing I
worked on. But if I have to choose it would be these altered book
collages. The angel for this first collage was cut from a very
old French publication that has water damage. I was able to colour
it and hide the stains. The background came together over a few hours.
I just kept layering on the paint. I would work for five minutes and
come back again later and add some more. The only thing I regret is
that I didn't keep a copy of the angel to work on another time. I
used the original.”
“This second favorite collage is coincidentally, about Catherine
the Great. Her profile is just fabulous!”
What is your favorite product by Dove of the
East? Why?
“Russian Journey Paper: Tzarina’s Garden. Paper
seems like a weak work to describe this amazing piece of cardstock.
It is thick enough to use for a card body or as a dynamic background
layer. I also love the lush brocade ribbon. Did I mention I collect
ribbon?”
Are there other products or tools by scrapbook or
craft manufacturers that you use frequently as well?
“I use my black Staz-on inkpad everyday. I love my Genesis
paper trimmer. I cannot live without American tag tools. I use
them to set eyelets, nail heads and rivets. They just released an
attachment to set rhinestones…so even more embellishment opportunities
await!
I also create a lot of my own embellishments by encasing small objects
and words in bezels, which are covered with resin. The resin I use
in Envirotex Lite and you are certain to see a box of it in my studio
at all times. I have even been pouring resin into small niches in
my altered books.”
Our customers come from all over the world, and may
be very interested in your workshops. Is there an online or published
calendar of workshops taught by you?
“Right now, I teach in the Toronto area only. I have a class
list on my site: www.carmi.ca”
We would love to ask more questions, but we know your
time is limited with your art, community programs, and workshops.
Is there anything else you'd like to share with us?
“In August, I am challenging myself to create a new ATC (artist
trading card) everyday to post on my blog. I really believe that you
can make a tiny piece of art everyday. I limit myself to no more that
20 minutes for most of the pieces I create. I love knowing that people
will be peeking on my blog to make sure I posted my new ATC. Deadlines
really motivate me….sometimes I post at 11:58pm, but I meet
the challenge!”
Visit Carmi’s blog here:
http://carmicimicata.blogspot.com/
See the Dove
of the East product line
Read the Dove
of the East story
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