Carmine Magazine

Carmine Magazine: How would you define your style?
Mae Jane: Creatively speaking, I’d say it’s definitely mixed media, a combination of collage with vintage & found elements, illustrations in ink & splashed with dollops of color. My work ranges from soft woodland creatures to podling girls casting emotional perception & even simple elements from nature such as trees, antlers, & flowers.

CM: What things inspire and influence you and your artwork?
MJ: I’m inspired by nature, emotion, personal growth, & the magical unknown. Our natural surrounding environment is one of my biggest influences, the other is my journey on this planet. How I perceive things & spill them from my brain is unique to the art that I end up creating. Concepts find me & I always let my imagination go, wherever it needs to.

CM: Do you listen to music when you create? Describe your perfect creative work environment.
MJ: A lot of the time I do, though the type of music always ranges, depending on my mood. I’ll listen to indie, punk, hardcore, 90s rock, classic rock, oldies, & even funky loud stuff that is basically good for dancing around to. Sometimes I’ll create in the silence of the morning or late evening. Other times I’ll draw while watching lost or I Love Lucy. My perfect work environment is simple, yet with everything I’d need on hand, organized, quiet, sunny (or super dark at night), & it would need to be close by, I’m used to having my studio within my home, but I like having an entire room/space devoted to it. It needs to reflect me as well as inspire me at the same time & my cat is always right next to me, usually stepping in paint as she did today. Green paws are cute though, no?

CM: What mediums do you work in the most? Why do you use them?
MJ: I’ll use anything I can get my hands on. I love experimenting with new mediums by I’m always faithful to my favorites: watercolor, acrylic, gouache, pencil, ink, canvas, wood, paper, journals, thread, fabric, vintage, & found elements as well as digital. I guess I use them because it’s what I’m used to, & I’ve found my own way of manipulating the materials to work in the ways I want. It’s a team effort.

CM: Name a few of your favorite artists.
MJ: Oh goodness I have a lot…
Ashley G & Drew
Audrey Kawasaki
Sabrina Ward Harrison
Dali
Van Gogh
Rosenquist
To name a few that is.

CM: If there was one style of art that you could take up what would it be?
MJ: All of it! Currently on my mind: Sculpting, pottery, & graffiti art. I could never stick to one
style of art, I even craft up little creations with felt, wood, jewelry, and other fun gunk.

Find Mae’s work at these places on the web:
Mae Jane.com Official Art Site
DOC-U-MENTING Quarter-Life Crisis Journal Blog
Mae Jane on Etsy (Art store)
Little Bones Shop on Etsy (Cute, handmade, cat toys, jewelry, etc.)

Some artwork from Mae Jane: