“Art for me comes naturally, just as walking does, and if I didn’t have art as a form of expression I would feel just as paralysed as I would if I could no longer walk.” This statement, like no other, probably represents the unique spirit and sensibility of USA mixed media artist, Misty Mawn, whom we had the pleasure of meeting in 2008.

Art is in Misty’s blood and, while she has worked in many mediums over the years, including pottery, the artist says there is always one thing she is aiming to achieve: “... trying to unveil myself through paint, inks, pencil and whatever else is there to use in front of me to reveal my inner self”.

The self portrait forms an important part of Misty’s own work and the classes she teaches. She describes painting a form of self discovery and adds: “It all comes down to  trying to connect deeply to our own core,” she says. “Taking self portraits or any photo for that matter is just one other way to explore my own  emotions, ideas, and reflections on daily life without having to speak  with my verbal voice.”

Misty’s voice is a distinctive one and comes through loud and clear on her beautiful and thoughtful blog, a part of her website. She says it is a place where she can open up share her hopes and vulnerabilities “in the hope that someone somewhere out will connect or resonate with my own personal journey, making us both  feel less alone... it is also a place where I go to meet with dear friends that I have met through blogging, teaching, and through putting myself out there.”

Misty also showcases much of her newest work, not to mention random photographs, updates on music she is listening to and, of course, news on the courses she is teaching in her globetrotting career.

Teaching is another way she shares her talent and energy. She describes her approach as “gentle and aware” and says, “I am here to help guide each student  to a place where they want to be. I learn the best through visual stimulus and so I teach the same way. My classes are filled to the  brim with demonstrations, but I also give enough time for the students  to explore what I have shown them between demos. My favourite part of the process is seeing how each student interprets my techniques making them their own. I also love the whole fact that I am there, sharing what I love to do with those that want to learn.  I cannot tell you just how grateful I am to have been given this opportunity to teach art, to open up something in those that have the desire to create art.”

Lately Misty has been intrigued by textiles and has been trying to incorporate them into her work. “I love sewing,” she says, “and have been an amateur seamstress ever since my mother let me use her sewing machine when I was a teenager. I loved sewing back then, but I have never been good at following directions or reading a pattern, so my sewing is a bit graceless, but I love it just the same. “Pulling fabric and buttons and other embellishments into my mixed media paintings has been very rewarding lately and gives my work a more sculptural feel, making me crave working with clay again. Eventually I will be able to set my pottery studio back up and I am very much looking forward to seeing how my painting influences my clay work now that I have taken several years off from working with clay as my full time medium.”

Misty is realistic about the unique pressures on someone who is using their creative talents to make a living but says she is very fortunate to have been given this path, where she can create. In the days when she and her
husband were trying to make a living as full time potters she concedes that it was a struggle and says “after many mediocre art fairs and much hard work, it lost its shiny appeal”.

Now, though, she seems to have found the balance most of us crave. “If you can be passionate about something and do it for the love of creating and not to make money, some income might show up and it can be especially rewarding,” says Misty.

Teacher profile
Misty Mawn

Her specialty
Mixed media

Where she teaches
USA & internationally

Find her at
mistymawn.typepad.com [mistymawn.typepad.com]

Australian and NZ readers can purchase Misty’s work online or check her Etsy site for listings:
www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=9837 [etsy.com]

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