Most artists will admit creating art is in their blood, and Teri Harriet is no exception. She's worked in the graphic design, business development and marketing fields, but she'll be the first to tell you that she needs to create art.
"I do what I do because I have to; I simply love to. I really can't turn it off – it keeps me sane, or it's at least helping me get there," Harriet explained.
Harriet's creative work is whimsical and childlike, complete with beer-chugging cupids and devious characters kidnapping leprechauns. On one of her commissioned works you'll find a knife-wielding girl with a knack for carving creepy looking jack-o-lanterns.
"I've sold about a third of my series so far. But for only a couple of group shows in Los Angeles and Minneapolis, and a solo show, that's a good percentage," Harriet said.
She creates illustrations by drawing them out, scanning them into the computer, then redrawing them in Illustrator. With painting, she sketches out rough ideas prior to starting, incorporates mixed media and acrylic, and then allows the paintings to evolve with each stroke of the brush.
Harriet says the best part about doing art is finally having – and making – the time to do art. The hardest part is finding the process you really love, but once you do, there's no other feeling like it.
Harriet wants to create more functional art, something she excelled at in college.
"I received a BFA from the University of Minnesota Minneapolis for making arty furniture and unusual light fixtures from found objects and antique lamps," she said. "I love kinetics and I like things to have a purpose, not just hang on a wall."
Harriet's dream life is to not work at a regular job: "I want to paint and create unusual, weird things that first bring a smile to someone's face, then a laugh, then the desire to take it home to love."
Teri Harriet's art can be seen at the Spot Art Gallery
(www.spotart.org) until July 2006.
www.teriharriet.com |
