5x5: Chapter 4

I may be the author of The Pulse of Mixed Media but the true, creative force behind my book is the group of artists who generously shared their secrets and passions and, of course, their art. It was important to me that this book be representative of our entire artistic community, but the total number of contributors I could include was limited by the number of pages in the book. Not wanting to be contained by page numbers, I decided that the Internet was the perfect vehicle to extend the book and be able to include more of the community. With this in mind, the 5x5 Pulse Project was born.

The Pulse of Mixed Media presented the results of a survey in which contributing artists were asked questions that they had to answer with words or provided with prompts that they had to respond to by creating art. These ideas were combined in the 5x5 Pulse Project. I put out an open call for artists to submit artwork created in response to one or more of the following questions that were part of the original book:

1. If your artwork could talk, what would it say?

2. Who has had the most impact on your creative life?

3. What is one thing you have never shared with the creative community?

Submitting artists could chose 1, 2, or all 3 of the questions and respond to each by creating artwork in any medium in the form of a 5" x 5" square. They were asked to include words as a part of their artwork as well. There was a tremendous response to this call and I will be posting each submission every Sunday throughout the months of November and December. 

The 5x5 project is also being featured in a ten-page spread in the November/December 2012 issue of Somerset Studio, now available in stores and online here.

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If your artwork could talk, what would it say?

Joanna Bennett

"She's growing"

Carolyne Morrison

"As a collage artist I use many different materials in my work...the old and the new, the precious with the rusty street finds, the unexpected...creating work that is whimsical and at the same time filled with reverie and discovery and that is so intensely personal to who I am. If my art could speak, it would express the joy it experiences at becoming a visual image of my being...of my soul."

Holly Dean

"Lose yourself in my fantastical world."

Cindy Jones Lantier

"Chill out! Play more! Don't take me -- or yourself -- so seriously!"

Darlene Wilkinson

"there are times. it brightens everything up. mixed media. strongest footprint. grunge. magical tales. dreams. celebrate. and found objects. fun and playful. layering. humor. arty. textures. really fun. inner journey. it's different when the words are coming through you. invoked miracles. organic art. embracing. you. search for meaning in our lives. play. a mirror for personal experience and breaking boundaries. the world in which we exist."

Susie Bass

"It would ask for more glitter and a frill of lace."
(this 5x5 also answers the other two questions)

Norma Conway

"Love yourself"
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What is the one thing you have never shared with the creative community?

Beth Bynum

"My fantasy name is Chloe. I have a fantasy identity."

Sarah Fishburn

"Once, when we lived in Tucson, an irate husband with a gun chased our dad home. My brothers and I were locked in a back bedroom for safety."

Wanda Hickman

"I really don't like getting messy!"

Laurel Englehardt

"I have never shared my fear of not being a real artist."

Jody Carlson Cain

"No one will hit me again."

Jann Sage

"My art. After a lot of personal drama, I lost nearly a decade in finding my way back to life again and art saved me through all of that. So now I'm finally showing up and sharing the art. As a late-bloomer this link is to my very first blog and it's a brand new baby just learning to walk. It's all part of an artistic journey and late to the party or not, here I come!"
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The next edition of 5x5 will be posted on Sunday, December 2nd.