Carmine Magazine: What drives you to create? Also, what inspires you and your work?
Lindsay Podd: What drives me to create are my dreams and of course friends and family. I used to keep a dream journal for a while. I just come up with random beautiful images in my head and try to somehow make them work out on paper. I also combine my love for silent film, victorian gothic, and tattoo art into the mixture.

CM: Were you formally trained in art or self taught? Do you think it has
helped you or hindered you?
LP: I have always been interested in art as a small child. All through high school I was in advanced art classes and also took intensive summer courses at Parsons School of Design and Maryland Institute College of Art. In the end I decided to attend Parsons School of Design for college and majored in illustration. I am still trying to figure out where this will lead me.

CM: What mediums do you work in the most? Do you have a particular brand that you love working with? Why do you use them?
LP: My main medium is pen and ink combined with photoshop. I almost always start off with a loose sketch and slowly tighten it up with black sumi ink by Yasutome and use Sakura micron pens to fill in the tiny details. After the initial ink drawing in finished I scan it, then do all my color layers in photoshop. The rest is a secret to my own craft ;)

CM: At what point did you realize that creating was going to be a large part of your life?
LP: I think I have always known that my entire life. I have never really been a logical person, I have always followed my dreams and visions with emotion and heart. I think that it sometimes gets the best of me because I become very attached to my work and emotional about it.

CM: If there was one style of art that you could take up, what would it be?
LP: I wish I could somehow perfect my craft better and become a really awesome painter. I really admire that whimsical style that Audrey Kawasaki has or C.C. Askew possesses. If I could somehow combine those two styles together and make it my own somehow that would be amazing.

CM: How do you deal with creator’s (or writer’s) block?
LP: Its hard for me. I sometimes have huge dry spells of non-creativeness. I think the best thing for me is to travel and see and experience new things. I am always on the move searching for more inspiring things but when it comes down to it, I think it is easiest for me to find inspiration in an antique shop or old photo books.

CM: How do you prepare for art shows where your work will be shown?
LP: I would love to have a show to prepare for some time. I see my work hanging on non-white walls. My dream show would have lots of home baked goods by me and pinot noir for everyone!

CM: How do you define you style? Does it represent an inner you or
something completely different?
LP: A lot of people I know ask me these questions about my work: a. is that you? b. why women? c. why so much purple? I suppose the answer to these questions are deeply personal. I think having a mystery about my work is something that I like to keep. I want the person appreciating my work to find themselves in it somehow or to somehow conclude their own story.

CM: What kind of environment do you need to create in?
LP: First of all I live off my huge 24 inch computer. I also live off a huge amount of music while I work. That makes or breaks my work ethic. Also a lot of coffee and a lot of distractions. I actually enjoy being distracted while I work. I work rather fast and sometimes a distraction leads to a new thought to add to the art that I am currently working on.

CM: What does your workspace look like?
LP: My workspace looks like a cubical in a large room amongst other artists in DUMBO, Brooklyn. But it is filled with books, inspiration, junk and of course art supplies. I wish it was my own studio, however the shared space makes it nice to network with other creative minds.

CM: What was your worst experience with art? And the best?
LP: The worst experience with my art was when it was stolen and being sold on this website called redbubble.com. I think this situation really put me down because there was a lot of horrible drama that went along with it and I have lost a lot of trust in the internet and cyberspace. But aside from the bad I recently came out with a toy flash drive design with Mimoco (Zombie Tiki God). You can buy it now on their website (Mimoco.com). [Editor's note: That flash drive is SUPER cute, you all need to check it out.]

CM: What movies, books, music, etc get your creative juices flowing the most?
LP: I watch a lot of old movies from around 1920-1960. I listen to a huge variety of music ranging from rockabilly to big band and hardcore. I wish I had time to read more. I have “The Dante Club” by Matthew Pearl sitting on my desk right now that I need to start.

CM: Do you think the internet, technology, media, etcetera are helping or destroying the art world?
LP: I think a bit of both. I used to praise the internet for helping us artists get out there but ever since my work was jacked I now know that as an artist it is extremely important to make sure your work is credited where it is linked and of course copyrighted.

CM: Aside from art what do you do with your time? Is there anything else that drives you or that you’re passionate about?
LP: I am extremely passionate about music. From time to time I play violin as a side hobby. I have been playing for 15 years. I sort of wish I could get back into a chamber orchestra or maybe play on Broadway but the competition is so fierce.

CM: Do you have any upcoming shows, events, releases, etc. you would like our readers to know about?
LP: I don’t have anything coming up yet! I hope to have some new work brewing soon ;)

For more information on Lindsay Podd’s artwork, please check out these links:
Lindsay Podd.com
heyimlindsayp on Flickr
heyimlindsayp on Wordpress
lindsaypodd on Myspace
Zombie Tiki God by heyimlindsayp