Artwork by Diane Scaccalosi (bottom left), Pablo Calderon (bottom right), Robert Margolis (top left), and Tonya Lewis (top right)

Meet the July co-winner of #CurateWithCE

Our #CurateWithCE Instagram photo contest is in it's final month! Fans have posted photographs of CE artwork in their homes, offices, gardens, garage, treehouses, etc. on Instagram using the hashtag #CurateWithCE. Each month the regramed submission with the most "likes" is featured on our blog and social media channels.

Congratulations to @WithMyHeartOnDuty whose submission of artwork by CE artists Pablo Calderon, Tonya Lewis, Robert Margolis, and Diane Scaccalosi received the most "likes" in July.

Get to know @WithMyHeartOnDuty in the following Q&A. 

1. When and how did you first discover Creativity Explored?

I was thrilled to stumble across CE shortly after I moved here from London. I loved the vibrancy of the Mission and would happily wander aimlessly for hours, having little adventures as I acquainted myself with San Francisco and my new neighborhood.

2. What stood out about Creativity Explored to you?

I am an Expressive Arts Therapist so the mission of CE instantly made sense to me, acknowledging that we all have the power to create. I was impressed with that vast space within which artists were supported to create their world and, by doing so, make sense of their worlds. My undergraduate studies in London and my belief in the importance of incorporating social justice into psychotherapy led me to discover outsider art, and I became fascinated.

The work I saw at CE reminded me of outsider art, especially its lack of self-consciousness. The art I see at CE generally has a rawness and sense of freedom that moves me. 

3. When did you start collecting?

I really don't think of myself as an art collector. Although, as I look around my home I realize I am most definitely a collector! Each nook and cranny is filled with little collections: rusty objects I've found on the street, mason jars filled with my beloved granny's button collection, or a particular beer bottle cap from the cobblestones of Berlin, etc.

I have travelled a lot over the years but I rarely buy the buddhas or artwork made for tourists. Instead, I bring home dusty matchboxes, or little plastic dolls, train tickets and schedules, candy wrappers, etc.

It is very important to me to have a relationship with everything that is in my home, for the objects I surround myself with to tell a story. Surrounding myself with beauty (albeit dusty, rusty beauty) helps me feel at peace and at home. 

4. What drew you to the work you own from Creativity Explored? 

I remember enjoying spending a rainy Saturday afternoon sifting through a big box of very affordable artwork (each piece was under $10). I'm pretty sure I found these five pieces all on that same day. Each piece jumped out at me with it's bold colors and how expressive each figure was. I was originally looking for gifts for friends but just loved the way these fellows fit together, like a bright, odd family, and chose to keep them together.

5. What advice would you give to young collectors.

Collect what you want to live with.

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