People often ask me, "How do you get in the magazine?" Although I'm no longer in a position to make give input on submissions, I can talk generally about the process. The answer is that you need talent, but you also need to present something fresh. And a lot depends on timing.
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| Little Pink House of Cards by Debbi Crane |
For example, I'll never forget the day I first heard of mixed-media artist Debbi Crane.
One day in 2006, Pokey Bolton, founder of Cloth Paper Scissors, called the staff upstairs to see what had just been delivered. It was the cutest thing: a little pink paper house—stitched, painted, and collaged—with artist trading cards slid into clear vinyl pockets on the walls and roof. We had never seen ATCs presented that way.
It was serendipity—we had a couple of open pages in the next issue and Debbi's artwork was the perfect fit. We quickly had it photographed and called her to flesh out the letter she had sent explaining the process of making her ATC house.
A star was born. People went crazy for that Little Pink House of Cards. We still get emails about it.
That little pink house launched a series of articles from Debbi in which she explored the concept of making art every day (she created 365 tiny purse books that appeared on the magazine cover), mixed-media art quilting, doll making, book making, and more.
She and Cheryl Prater, also a mixed-media cover girl, wrote a book together, Mixed Mania: Recipes for Delicious Mixed Media Creations, with techniques and projects for paper crafts, painting, assemblages, books, collages, and other mixed media art ideas. Their whimsical styles are different, but they complement each other.
That little pink house of cards still resides at our offices. It's displayed on a shelf full of reader artwork in our lobby; I see it every morning when I come to work. The artwork itself delights me. But it also reminds me of how Debbi took a chance and put her art out there, and the timing was right.
Mixed Mania is now available as a downloadable eBook. In it you'll find 20 projects and loads of tips, tricks, and techniques for mixed-media art.
P.S. You can find the template for Debbi Crane's Little Pink House of Cards in our Free Resources gallery. Make one, and make it your own!