Visiting Artist of the Month – Mirinda Kossoff
What is your favorite medium?
Wow. It’s hard to make a choice, but I guess I’d have to say both jewelry and mixed media encaustic, though I design and create more jewelry.
Where do your ideas come from?
I might be inspired by something I see while walking my dog – the shape of a leaf or an insect or pod (I especially like the pod shape). Other artists inspire me all the time. I also love to travel and I get lots of visual and design stimulation when I’m out of my routine and my every-day environment.
When is your favorite time to work?
I’m most productive in the afternoons and evenings. I’m not much of a morning person.
Where is your favorite place to work?
I enjoy working in my studio, even though I have to work there since all my jewelry tools, torches, and materials are there. The same is true for my painting/collage studio. Both studios are places of refuge where I can get to my authentic self and also allow myself some creative play as well as work.
When did you know you were an artist?
I didn’t come to art until later in life, after my sons were grown and building lives of their own. I’ve always loved jewelry, from the time I was a small child, so it’s no surprise that I ended up being a jeweler when I had more time to pursue the training and then the practice of my craft.
Was there any one person who was instrumental in your becoming an artist?
Yes, it was Sue Anderson who taught a course called “Accessing Your Creativity” at the Carrboro Art School. She created a stimulating and safe environment in which to explore many different art forms. Sometimes my hands would start moving and making shapes in a piece of clay without my brain (and my internal critic) getting involved – and that was truly exciting. It was in Sue’s class that I got hooked on mixed media collage.
What is the biggest lesson you’ve had to learn the hard way?
Patience! That I have to allow some pieces – both beginning jewelry forms and mixed media encaustic – to sit for a while until I know what to do with them next. If I wait long enough, the piece will tell me what it needs.
What structures do you have in place to preserve your creative time and/or encourage yourself to stay engaged in your art?
I’m not sure I have that one solved yet. But I try to put in time in one of my studios every day. It’s not difficult to stay engaged, because I’m always getting new ideas that I’m in a hurry to try out, to see emerge in solid form.
Are there any sacrifices you feel you’ve needed to make in order to pursue your art in a serious manner?
Yes, a steady income for one and time for other pursuits. Since I left my day job to make jewelry full time, I work longer hours and on weekends, but it doesn’t feel like work, because I love it so much.
What is your biggest struggle when it comes to being an artist?
Wanting everything I do to be perfect – and it never is. And marketing myself!
What is your biggest joy when it comes to being an artist?
Seeing a piece come together and knowing that it’s right. Having the freedom to express myself.
How do you recharge your batteries?
I go out into nature, get exercise, or go to a museum or gallery.
Bye the Sea, Mixed Media Encaustic
