Roxanne Padgett is a mixed-media artist, with a passion for painted papers, mark-making, textiles, collage, book-making, journaling, and how to explore methods to connect these separate media through the art-making process. Roxanne teaches a variety of art classes for adults throughout the Bay Area and at art retreats around the country. She was a teacher with FodderSchool (year 1.) a year-long online course for people obsessed with collage fodder.
In addition, Roxanne is the Creative Director for the Museum of Children’s Art in Oakland, California. Is the author of “Acrylic Techniques in Mixed Media” published by North Light Books. She lives in Cottonwood, CA with her husband, one rowdy pup, and four goats.
What does mixed media art mean to you?
I hear that term used quite often now, to me it means using a variety of materials & techniques together in a cohesive way. You can combine a variety of media and techniques together but you have to think about how it works to express your ideas, thoughts and feelings. I have never been a rule follower when it comes to my own creative process, so why not try a variety of things that are not supposed to be together and see what happens, but it still has to express what I want it to say in the work of art.
How long have you been a mixed media artist?
I have been a mixed media artist my entire life, I just did not know it. The first project I remember was when I was about 5 years old, my Grandmother had just begun to teach me embroidery. I then decided that I would sew candy jellied gumdrops to an old kitchen towel. I did not follow the proper embroidery stitches at all! My Grandmother told me it was beautiful and the rest is history. After that many many projects followed that used whatever materials I could find in the house, I remember cutting the color pictures out of the set of unused Encyclopedia Britannica my Mom had collecting dust on a shelf, and pasting the images into my little handmade binder paper books. She never knew I cut those books up. I still do those projects today but I buy used and discarded books to cut up, sorry MOM!
How has art impacted or enhanced your life?
Mixed media allows me to fully realize creativity in my life, mixed media gives me the freedom to explore and play without restraint. Think about it, there are no hard and fast rules for mixed media. If you were only oil painting for example you might need to know specific ways in which oils work and how they are applied, drying time, etc. But with mixed media I can choose and experiment with different mediums and materials. In my mind, mixed media is a matter of using what you already have on hand and not waiting until you go out and purchase items to be creative. As a child my family did not go out and buy me art supplies or sign me up for art lessons, if I wanted to make something I had to use what I could resource myself. I think this way of approaching the art making process has served me very well as an artist. Now having said all that, I do purchase a lot of art supplies, I love my art supplies and trying out new materials and I love collecting random bits and pieces that I can add to my creative stash of supplies.
I think I have tried most art and craft media at one time or another, I started with sewing, candle- making, macramé, beaded jewelry, soft sculpture figures, drawing, photography, ceramics, to name a few. Currently, I love making painted papers and fabrics that I use in mixed media collages and book-making projects. I feel that all the previous forms of media inform everything else I do now. No art experience is wasted or gone when you work in mixed media.
Tell us about your creative process.
I try to consistently make art or try to be creative everyday in some way, even if it is only 10 minutes, that might mean just sitting in my work space, it’s all about making creativity a habit. Once you have the routine down you will be able to create and make more on a regular basis. I think people believe you have to have this huge block of time, or the perfect space, or the best art supplies, and that is simply not true. If you want to create something, don’t make excuses or you will never have the creative life you want. My process is I usually have about 3 to 5 projects going at one time, I move around from project to project, I do finish 95% of my projects. I write and sketch ideas in my handmade journals almost daily , wherever I am, whatever I am doing. Sometimes I have a very clear vision of what I want to create in my mind and other times I just respond to the materials at hand. I let the creative muses come as they are, however they come to me.
What inspires you?
Nature: Clouds, trees, the stars, birds, sticks and stones and yes, bones!
Books: making books, reading books, collecting books.
Art: going to art museums and galleries, looking at art on-line, watching other artists create on social media.
Color: Looking at color, understanding the principles and theory of color, color wheels, using bright and bold color palette, my personal mantra is “Fear No Color”.
Going to thrift shops with my sister when we travel to find weird and wonderful things.
What do you do when faced with a creative block or rut?
- Clean and organize my art studio.
- Pick a random book from the book shelf and browse.
- Look through my art journals for ideas.
- Work another piece of art that is in progress.
- Try a new art medium.
- Go for a walk with my dog.
- Allow myself to do nothing!
What are a few of the mixed media art supplies you find yourself returning to?
- Acrylic paint
- Black crayons
- All kinds of paper and fabric scraps
- My painted paper stash
- Random mark-making tools, the weirder the better!
- My giant paper cutter
- A sewing machine
Who are some of your favorite mixed media artists?
Roxanne Evans Stout, Crystal Neubauer, Teesha Moore, Lynne Perrella, Cait Sherwood, Roben-Marie Smith, Jeanne Oliver. But my most favorite are the folks on social media who are at the beginning of their mixed media journey and children.
Where would you like to go with your art? What are your goals?
I want to keep developing my creative practice, whatever that may be and discovering new ways to use materials and techniques and then refine those things and incorporate that into my art-making tool-kit. I need to practice my drawing skills, drawing takes time and I like to work fast, so I think for me it is a learned discipline to make time to slow down. Additionally, I want to have an artist newsletter, a web-page and teach more classes on-line.
Aside from art, what makes you giddy in life?
My family, clouds, ice cream, my dog and 4 goats, and finding a random piece of trash on the ground that I can add to a mixed media piece.
