Whenever I go to someone's house, there are a few things I look at immediately to see if we have anything in common. I look at their cereal, I look at their CD collection, I look at the books on their book shelf. Ok, if the medicine bottles are out, I look for the Ambien, too, because my insurance doesn't cover it. You can tell a lot about a person by observing the art that is their life. I think artists and writers tend to tell a lot of their own stories through the stories they tell on the paper or canvas. Actually, I think the same thing can be said about a mechanic, a chef, or a lawyer. Anyone who loves what they do with great passion tells their story through their craft every day. Artists just seem so much more mysterious!
Artist (now author!) Seth Apter has taken the mystery out of the lives of some artists in his new book The Pulse Of Mixed Media. Now you don't need to travel across the globe analyzing cereal collections or book cases because Seth has interviewed a variety of artists about what makes them tick. Their responses to questions like, "What is your biggest pet peeve in terms of art?" and "If you had your choice of fame versus income as an artist, which would you choose?" are paired with their art. I found it really interesting to see that more than one artist wanted Yoko Ono to buy their art. Yoko Ono? I never would've guessed that. I bet you all think I said Neil Diamond was my dream buyer. No! What is really odd is that I recently had a little conversation with my dream buyer so I am back to thinking thoughts become reality. Anyway, that is beside the point. Well, it isn't really. If you are interested in how artists think, I highly recommend this book and not just because I am in it. It's not a how-to book. It's a book about artists and how they think and it has lovely photos of the art made by the artists interviewed. Like any good book, it is full of unique characters that will inspire you, challenge your views, and make you think about your own life.
Seth created a really cool self-portrait for the book but he did not answer the questions he posed to the artists. So typical of a question ASKER! I really like Seth. I've been following the blog book tour and it seems I am one of the very few people ON EARTH who has not met Seth in person. How can that be? I must remedy that. We met online when my ebay addiction was just getting started years ago (it's still going strong). He purchased one of the first abstract Zen pieces I sold there. This was before external hard drives and I don't even have a decent photo of the piece he bought, that is how long ago it was. Since then, I have happily followed his blog and art career and am so happy to help celebrate his success. I want everyone else to know Seth, too. Since we can't all go stand in his kitchen and analyze what's in his cupboards or on his shelf, I have asked him some questions that will tell us all we need know.
What is your favorite cereal?
In the 80's what album or song did you listen to on repeat?
What airplane seat do you prefer, window, middle, or aisle?
He's probably going to be stuck in a window seat, served Fruit Loops, and his iPod will be stuck on Enya during his next flight~that's what happens to big time famous authors.
*The Pulse Of Mixed Media is available wherever books are sold. It's also available at Amazon for your Kindle and Kindle Apps so you can read it instantly.
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