Let's Meet a Let's Create LIVE! Designer Challenger: Traci Bautista

Our final designer in our iLoveToCreate® Let's Create LIVE interview series with the Let's Create LIVE! Design Challengers is Traci Bautista! When you think of collage art, Traci immediately pops into your head! She brings lots of color, imagination, techniques, and artistic freedom to the art table!

As owner and creative director of treiC Designs, Traci travels the globe far and wide teaching workshops and inspiring artists of all skill levels. She specializes in and teaches handmade books, art journals, and custom textile design! She has a lot of crafty tricks up her sleeve and you can learn all about her creative techniques in her book Collage Unleashed! In addition to her busy teaching schedule, she blogs, develops digital art kits and online workshops, and sells her creations! Her online workshops include everything from doodle courses to art e-marketing courses to graffiti collage! She's also the designer of iLoveToCreate's Collage Pauge® Instant Decoupage!

Here's just a sampling of Traci's colorful artwork. Isn't it inspiring??



Traci was kind enough to tell us more about herself and what gets her creative juices going in this interview. Enjoy!

1. Your art is always so colorful! Is your home décor just as colorful? I would say my closet is more colorful. :) My personal style reflects the bold, bright and layered look of my paintings and handmade journals. My home is filled with a mix of eclectic vintage furniture, thrift store finds with bursts of color. My bedroom and living room are very subdued compared to my art. They are decorated with cool tones of chocolate, baby blue and wild grass {very light green} with accents of distressed cherry red. Much of my home is decorated with Southeast Asian art and pieces I’ve collected on my travels. One of my favorite pieces is my vintage late 1970’s Danish modern teak and ceramic tile dining table which was the kitchen table I grew up with. My art studio on the other hand definitely reflects my colorful artwork...I have five large FULL bookcases that display a plethora of my colorful FAVE art materials, books, inspiration, art collection and vintage findings. My new studio table was made from a reclaimed commercial door with a tigerwood veneer finish. A collection of my work in progress and my favorite artist’s work line the walls creating an explosion of color.

2. You teach a lot of workshops (online and in-person). How do you stay so energized and focused as a teacher?
I’ve been teaching for 10 years and it’s my passion. I love sharing my techniques and inspiring others to create. I’ve had a crazy schedule the past 7 years on the road, sometimes being home only 2-5 days a month. So I make sure to spend quality time with family and friends when I’m not teaching. Personally, I make time for my yoga practice at least 4 times a week and I started doing TRX a great strength training workout..these keep me energized and in shape to lift the heavy boxes and luggages full of art supplies. :) As for energy, that’s hardly ever lacking. I’m full of ideas and wish I had more time to execute them. Staying focused when I’m teaching is easy because I am passionate about what I do, so it comes naturally.

3. You made the jump from a full-time job to a career using your art! What’s the most important piece of wisdom you would give for someone wanting to do the same? Find your passion and make a career of doing what you LOVE! Success doesn’t happen overnight but with determination, A LOT of hard work and networking mixed with a little good luck you’ll be on your way. Oh, and learning how to creatively market yourself and build your brand is key.

4. What’s the biggest collage project you’ve ever tackled? I’ve done large mural paintings. But I would have to say the biggest collage project I’ve tackled is writing two books about mixed media and collage. These are full of multiple collage projects and techniques. My new book Doodles Unleashed will be released in January 2012.

5. People get so much inspiration from you, but what other bloggers, artists, and designers are you inspired by? I take inspiration from so many avenues. I’ve always been in LOVE with fashion, so I’m super inspired by many fashion illustrators like Camilia do Rosario, Stina Pearson, Sarah Singh, Kime Buzzeli of The Moldy Doily. and Erte {he was a costume designer & fashion illustrator for Harpers Baazar in the 1920s}. I LOVE the windows at Anthropologie stores, it’s always a treat to see how their display designers mix art with fashion. Other artists and designers... anything vintage by Vera Neumann, Orla Kiely, Yellena James, Tina Givens, Jim Bradshaw, fashion stylist Jane Rotary and I can’t forget graffiti artists...Fafi & Jose Parla. Some of the blogs I love to visit for inspiration are Katie Daisy, Orly Avineri, Jeannine Peregrine, and independent fashion bloggers like The Glamourai, Late Afternoon and The Man Repeller.

We've been so lucky to work with Traci on many video projects over the past few years. Traci also creates several videos of her own! Here's a fun video showing how to digitally remix art and photos using the iPhone ArtStudio app.



Thanks so much for sharing your inspiration with us Traci!

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