1. Please tell me a bit about yourself and how you are first finding collage as one of your creative expressions?
Two years ago I moved to Brooklyn right after I graduated college. It’s a wonderful place and I am inspired by the strange and fascinating things I see everyday. I first started collaging when I was very young but I only seriously started doing it in the last three years, when I discovered a store that sold old books and encyclopedias for only $.25. I fell in love and finally found what I had been waiting for.
2.Tell me about your creative process in making a collage? Is there any specific ritual or just wait for the inspirations to come or any other way?
Well, I usually spend a whole day just cutting out images from books and then once I have a good collection, I lay them all out on the floor around me. I kind of just play with the composition and what “feels” right. I like to layer a lot so I’ll try and get a bunch of different background images, fabric, doilies or old pattern pieces. I have really vivid and wild dreams so sometimes that influences the look of different pieces if I’m thinking about it. Sometimes I'll work on somethings and put it aside for a few weeks and then come back to work on it again when i have fresh eyes.
3.What kind of materials that you have been using or even try out after all these time? How many of them is actually works and are there any failures?
Collage is definitely a trial and error process. I like to research about unusual techniques to give the art variety and this way it will grow over time and you will see differences over the years. I think it is important to learn as many different ways of achieving the affect you are going for. I usually stick to the basics in terms of materials but lately I have been experimenting with cork and the surfaces that I am working on. I also really love learning new ways of transferring images. When you do this process it’s like Christmas because you never know how it will turn out.
4. Apart from making collages, are there any other craftworks that you make?
Yes! I also embroider but not enough. I wish I did this more. I knit and make sculptures and jewelry too. I make all of the beads out of the same books as the collages so they kind of having the same old and worn look to them. Silhouettes and shadows have fascinated me for years and years so I started cutting paper silhouettes and making dioramas. This is something I am really proud of because it takes a lot of dedication and a steady hand. Soon I hope to start making dolls out of found objects. I have been thinking about doing this for awhile now.
5. Now, let’s talk about selling the craftworks. Does it take a long time for you to decide that you can sell your collages or even actually live out of it?
Well I have only recently, in the past year, been putting myself out there and exhibiting. So far it’s been pretty successful but I don’t think I am at the point yet where I can live off of this as income. The problem is there isn’t enough time to work on art and sell it when I still have a full time job. In the next few weeks I hope to start selling at street fairs and markets on the weekends and see how that goes. I thought it would be hard to let go of these pieces that I’ve sold but I am happy that other people will display them in their home or give them as gifts and be able to appreciate them in a whole new way.
6.I notice that several collage artists are also into making and selling kits and organize workshops. I love doing workshops and hoping to have more next year. How about you?
I’ve never done a collage workshop. I think this is great for people just getting started and people who are curious as to how to go about the whole process but to me it is important to maintain the uniqueness in my artwork. Making art is a very personal and organic method so following a kit just doesn’t seem natural to me. I think you can learn about of useful and interesting techniques from these workshops but part of it should also be an instinctual course of action.
7. Have you done any exhibitions? Would you like to tell us what was it like?
I have had great success in the last few months. This past summer I have exhibited in four shows and I have another solo exhibition coming up in November. It’s a lot of work to get organized and submit for these shows. I would rather spend my free time working on art instead of managing the business side of it but this is really equally as important if you want anyone to see your work. The opening receptions are really fun too! People come and want to talk to you about your work and are very supportive.
8.I’ve notice also that there are so many medium where we can put our collages in apart just make them into wall-hanging or ACEO. How about you? What kind of medium that you’ve used or plan to use for your collages?
I think it’s great to expand the idea of how to display your work. I would like to make some of my work functional and have thought about doing work on housewares recently. I would also like to make prints of my work so that they can be more affordable. I have collaborated with a few bands to do their album art and this is a great way to work with other talented artists and display the art in a different context, perhaps with someone elses interpretation behind it.
9.What do you like most about making collages? Is there anything that you don’t like about it?
I am not a very patient person and I love the satisfaction of completing collages in one sitting. I can work on many pieces all at once and when I’m done I am surrounded by my accomplishments just from that day. The only downside of collage art is that sometimes I feel like I should be doing more. Sometimes I think ‘anyone can do this’ and ‘I’m not showing my full potential or spectrum of what I am capable of.’ I try to incorporate illustrations into the pieces or do processes that take a bit longer so that I feel it has a little more value and weight to it. If I really thought this was a problem I would move on to something else but I really love doing it and I love what I make so I’m just going to keep exploring and expanding.
10. Any last words? And please share us your email, shop, gallery or anything that you would like to share with us.
I guess I just want to explain a little about what this art means to me. I want people to look at it and interpret it how they see it. I like to use images that do not have any context attached to them so that the audience can see it how they wish. I want to give people the feeling of memories or nostalgic scenes from the past. The intimacy in my work is reflected in the size and worn, used feeling, which draws people in physically and emotionally. The family photographs in my artwork are way of creating personalities and lives of people I never knew. I love to imagine what their lives could have been like when the photo was taken.
I will be setting up a website in the new few months and hopefully will have an etsy store available with prints and original works for sale! In the mean time if you want to contact me about purchasing the art or just any questions about it please feel free to email me at MollyBosley@gmail.com and check out my flickr at
www.flickr.com/photos/mustardfestival.
My artwork is on display until the end of August at Red’s Tapas Bar if you are in the Brooklyn area and would like to see it in person. The food is great too!
