MANDY
“I love this part of the process, where a clean and polished digital piece comes to life only to be deconstructed and put back together but in different forms.”
With her colourful paper cut-outs and playful abstract shapes, Mandy creates compositions that are intriguing and out of the ordinary. Her distinct style is present in all of her artwork, highlighted through rounded squiggles, flowing forms, and her use of negative space. One can sense her curiosity with shape, form, and line, which manifests through her varying configurations of repeated forms. Inspired by her surroundings, Mandy’s stimulating artworks mimic the colour palette and unique landscape of California.
Shop Works by this Artist
Q&A WITH THE ARTIST
If you had the chance to live during a different artistic movement other than now, which one would you choose?
Oooh, this is tough and tempting. If I had to choose, I would love to have been alive during the Cubism or Modernism movement. The artwork from these periods really speaks to me and is a stray from traditional teachings, which really excites me.
When was the first time that you remember realizing that you are a creative person?
Looking back, the first time I recognized my expression through creativity was around 9 years old. My grandma had and still has a beautiful garden in her backyard. It is one of those gardens with something going on in every nook and cranny, and still, every flower or plant has room to shine. Before dinner, she would ask me to make a floral arrangement from the garden. She would hand over scissors, and I was in charge of the rest. It felt so special. I would be all alone in the garden, considering each selection carefully. I felt a similar feeling then as I do now when I create, time felt slower, and there was no rush, simply focus and enjoyment. When I finished with the arrangement, I would bring it back inside to her, and she was always delighted. She would share the names of the flowers I picked with me and took great pride in putting them in a vase at the very center of the dining table on display to enjoy.
If you could interview a creative person (past or present), who would that person be?
Surprisingly if I could interview an artist, I would love to interview Ruby Sterling. His background is unexpected, and his work is so vast. He always has such a great message as well.
What inspires you?
Nature inspires me. It really knows how to show beauty through all stages and cycles. It may not come across in all of my work, but LA also inspires me. I love the colors of LA in all the random strip malls and neighborhoods. I can continually find color and composition inspiration within over-painted walls, old signage, and crammed transitions between buildings: there is so much randomness that happens here. I love it.
Do you do anything special to get your "creative juices" flowing?
There are a few things I do to get my creativity flowing. Sometimes I will take a long walk in LA, with no specific destination. It really allows me to tap into the city and explore visually. Another mode of getting inspired comes from artist documentaries, autobiographies, and conversations. I love hearing other’s experiences, and artists have a way of creating intimacy and vulnerability through conversation that is hard not to feel inspired. I definitely feed off of that.
If you had the opportunity, what creative person (living or dead) would you like to work with?
Without overthinking it, I would have to say, Richard Tuttle. As of late, I am really into his work. He knows how to do minimalism so well. The simplicity and emotion he evokes through his work is something. I recently watched a Louisiana Channel artist talk with him, and he described artists as clouds. I loved that. ”Artists they’re from nature, they come out of nature, they’re like the clouds that just happen.”
What do you focus on when you create?
I am not totally sure what I focus on when I create. Sometimes I am focused on my hand and listening to where it is at at the moment. I think my focus becomes more microscopic and simplified.
