Mixed Media Artist Jenn Hollowell Interview
Jenn Hollowell is an author, blogger, and mixed media artist. In the following interview, we discuss her use of ephemera in her work.
ephemera: Talk about your life as a mixed media artist?
Hollowell: I've been an artist for as long as I can remember, but I didn't really start experimenting with mixed media until 2003. I had heard of people swapping journals with each other to add entries to, create art in, and so on before passing it along to someone else. This intrigued me because I love working in journals—text and art journals. So, I researched it a bit further and came across two web sites where participants were active with these types of projects (nervousness.org and postcardx.net). With these discoveries came several newfound loves: collecting ephemera,making mixed media art, and participating in mail art projects. I was completely inspired by all the art I received during these exchanges, and it really opened my eyes to the many different forms of creativity is out there.
ephemera: How do you use ephemera in your work? Why is it important?
Hollowell: I love using ephemera in my work because it gives people small glimpses into my life, my interests, and my thoughts without the use of words. For example, if I've had a very busy day filled with nothing but running from here to there and back again—the collection of ephemera from all of those adventures would clearly mark what I went through without any further explanation. I also like using it to reflect wish lists and dreams. If there's a kitchen renovation I'm dreaming up, or a landscaping technique I'd love to explore one day I can easily depict these themes through use of ephemera collected from home improvement and garden centers.
ephemera: What challenges or obstacles do you encounter using ephemera in mixed media? How do you overcome these challenges?
Hollowell: The biggest challenge I've faced is covering things I want to incorporate. For example, if I've attached a piece of text that is interesting and have plans to cover over the piece with layers of paint or additional collage items... I have to figure out which part of the text to keep in the reveal and which part to cover over. To solve this problem with pieces of ephemera I really love, I photocopy them. That way, I can use it in pieces with several different aspects of the ephemera piece revealed. If I'm collecting ephemera and I have some sort of foresight into this challenge, I'll pick up multiple pieces ahead of time--particularly for things that are not easily photocopied.
Ephemera: I've heard other mention the photocopy technique—it's brilliant. What are your favorite works featuring ephemera?
Hollowell: Where do I start? It's difficult to pin down ONE favorite because there are so many mixed media artists out there using ephemera who are continuously inspiring my work. There's a book that really exemplifies the kind of ephemera use I enjoy called Alphabetica
Ephemera: What resources do you recommend for people wanting to use ephemera in their art? In other words, talk about how you've built your ephemera collection.
Hollowell: Where I gather my collections is fully dependant on what I'm doing and where I am. If I'm on an artist's date to the library or bookstore, then I'll collect items I can use later from these locations. If I'm working in my office and come across some catalogs I have no intension of buying from or other pieces of junk mail, for that matter, I'll surf through them for pieces I could cut and store in my ephemera collection.
I love finding books that people are going to throw away because their pages make excellent backdrops, envelopes, pockets, and so on. They're also very useful for tucking pieces of ephemera into and storing on the shelf. You could also cut a niche, glue the pages together, and create a box to house thicker pieces of ephemera.
I keep my ephemera collection all over my creative space in archival boxes, plastic storage bins, and plastic accordion filers. How my collection is housed and stored depends on what encompasses each collection. For example, items that are weighty and aren't flat go into the plastic storage containers and items that are easily lost, like receipts and movie tickets, go into the accordion filers.
ephemera: Thank you, Jenn.
