Mélange Travel & Lifestyle Magazine April 2018 | Page 485

Stacey
shared with Mélange . . .
About when she started painting
I always enjoyed painting and creating with
other mediums from a very young age so it is
difficult to specify an age. I usually requested
arts and crafts supplies for gifts on special
occasions. But even without art supplies as a
child, I usually found myself making something
out of natural materials when I was bored. The
first real challenge was completing the CXC
visual arts exam in high school as my class
was the first to sit this exam at the local high
school. My results from the exam gave me the
confidence to choose art as my study abroad.
About her art
Although my focus has always been painting, I
also enjoy ceramics, printmaking and jewelry
making. I try to vary my mediums so as not to
become confined to one medium for too long.
This challenges me and also helps my creative
flow. New ideas evolve with the use of new
mediums. My style has always typically been to
work in layers. I like to use mixed colors and well
colors straight out of the tube, creating a sense
Quiet Whispers
12 x 24 inches
Acrylic and
mixed media on
panel
of space where colors travel through each
other and influence the dynamic within the
space. During the creation process, one
decision affects the other so, in essence, form
and space are created by a series of marks and
how they interact with one another.
About her inspiration and process
I always been inspired by the wild foliage and
lush landscape of Saba. It is so dense that plants
seem to start growing out of each other. The
varieties of shape and textures create complex
spatial relationships, which fascinate me. My
life experience also affects my art. Last year I
experienced loss and it took a while to create
again. Since then, I have been engaged in the
process of using found objects as a canvas. How
can one use objects that would otherwise be
discarded as a vehicle for creating something
beautiful? During this process there is a rebirth
and new energy emerges out of something
unrefined and crude. Through my artwork I am
exploring how loss transforms and changes us.