Artist Interview With Arlissa Vaughn

Today’s Artist Interview Is With Mixed Media Artist Arlissa Vaughn from Greenville, NC.

Whopple: How long have you been an artist?
Arlissa: Since I could hold crayons and scribble.

Whopple: Tell us about your first attempts to be creative.
Arlissa: As a child, I loved to draw mermaids, princesses, and ballerinas in every color I could try. It was often the same image repeated many times, but with a new color of dress, hair and skin. Some things never change, I still love to repeat things with new colors and see what happens!

Whopple: Do you make a living with your art?
Arlissa: Partly

Whopple: How many hours a day do you create?
Arlissa: I don’t get to work on it every day, because I have two jobs – teaching ESL to adults and running Visual Overture Magazine. On weekends I try to block in a 5 hour length of time to be creative.

Whopple: How did you pick your creative medium?
Arlissa: I experimented with things and enjoyed what I tried.

Whopple: What are your inspirations?
Arlissa: Nature, science, experiences, and the Creator never cease bringing inspiration.

Whopple: How do you recharge when your creativity hits the wall?
Arlissa: I try to get around other creative people by taking a class, doing an art residency, visiting an art gallery/museum, or reading a book or an art magazine.

Whopple: What was your first job?
Arlissa: Oh, as most teens I worked in fast food. I worked at Subway as a “sandwich artist”. J

Whopple: What are your favorite snacks when you are creating?
Arlissa: Goldfish, or hot tea

Whopple: What gives you hope in the world?
Arlissa: I have hope through faith in Christ and how my life has changed since knowing Him. I’ve seen how radically circumstances, lifestyles, and ideals can change and so I know it’s possible for anything or anyone to change.

Whopple: What do you wish you could do?
Arlissa: I wish I could narrow my wishes to a truly selfless wish, but so far I can’t genuinely do so…and so there it is, the ugly truth.

Whopple: What are your artistic goals?
Arlissa: My goal is to be a self-employed artist within the next 10 years. This really has little to do with money, and everything to do with freedom to create. That’s why I love doing art residencies in the meantime. It gives me a glimpse of what this total devotion to art could be like and motivates me to get there.