Community Rules
Contexture - Seth Apter, Bridgette Gurzon Mills, Jen Worden
For me, art has always been about community. I do not aspire to be the type of artist that is alone in the studio, working away in isolation. I find that my connections with other people are fuel for the creative fire. Of course, there are times when I lose myself completely when making art and wouldn't even notice if somebody were standing right next to me. But in between my creative projects, I find myself once again seeking inspiration from and through others.
Inner Works - Seth Apter, Supria Karmakar, Jill Zaheer, Roxanne Evans Stout,
Veronica Funk, Rita Vindedzis
My entrance into the world of art was initially social, in 2000 I met an artist quite serendipitously and we began a mail art relationship, although it wasn't until several years later that I even became aware of that label. Before that time, I had no interest in making art. After that time, art making became a part of my life.
Lost and Found - Seth Apter, Julie Prichard, Lynne Hoppe
The social aspect of being an artist continued as I began to explore the opportunities available on the computer. Initially, I joined a number of online art groups, where art was made collaboratively. I then discovered blogs, which are all about connecting, commenting and community. If I had discovered the world of art at an earlier time, I truly believe that my path would have been completely different.
The Winds of Change - Seth Apter, Roxanne Evans Stout
It seemed natural when I set out to create my own blog in 2007 that my focus would be social in nature. Within just a few months I began an online collaborative project called The Pulse, a survey of the online artistic community that sought to connect artists and art lovers. Five years later there have been 5 online versions of The Pulse, with the current edition made up of nearly 150 artists.
Nature Journal - Seth Apter, Sarah Whitmire
During those years, I also have worked collaboratively on quite a large number of projects with small groups of artists. The images of art accompanying this post were all created as part of collaborations. I have also developed and hosted a number of large-scale, international collaborations as well, including Disintegration Collaboration (DisCo).
Self Contained - Seth Apter, Vivian Paans, Stephanie McAtee
All of these experiences led me to the opportunity to publish my first book The Pulse of Mixed Media: Secrets and Passions of 100 Artists Revealed. Released in March 2012 by North Light Books, The Pulse of Mixed Media presents the words and artworks of more than 130 artists in a format that allows the reader to truly get in touch with the heart and soul of the artistic community.
I know I am not alone in the inspiration I find from my connections with others. Whether it is through emails, blog hopping, website watching, book reading, or art making, I am the artist I am today because of the bigger group of artists that I am a part of. So, fellow artists... what do you get from being a member of our community?
The Gift - Seth Apter, Jill Zaheer
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you can find Seth here:
if you are interested in learning how to create mixed media surface techniques, seth has video tutorials coming out - you can see the preview here
The Pulse of Mixed Media is available at Amazon
