MOOD interview with Sally Herman

Sally Herman is a collage artist in Montreal, Quebec.  She is a graduate of Ringling College of Art + Design and has had a career in advertising in NYC and SF. Her art invites the viewer to make their own story, or add for themselves to what she already glued down in textures, letters and colors.  More of her work can be seen at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/108782618@N08/ and http://www.pinterest.com/herman0740/sallyhermancollage/

What’s your workspace like?

Ha! I'm in the middle of transitioning out of a walk-in closet, to a WHOLE ROOM in my home at the moment. I've actually enjoyed my time in the little space, but I'm starting to spend too much time moving things around in order to work - so my son's recently vacated room will be my new studio by summer's end.

When is the best time for you to create?

Right now, I work from 9AM till 1 or 2PM if I can pull it off. Monday through Friday. Afternoons are for art-related work on the computer, etc.

Are there any special conditions you enjoy or even require?

I prefer to work in silence - my ideas are noisy enough! I work with little scraps of paper, so while that threatens to become chaotic at times, I try to keep it fairly organized.

What feelings do you hope to evoke from your audience with your art? Is there anything about your workspace that helps you channel those energies? How do you know when you’ve made your message clear or if people “got it”?

Oh gosh, I don't know if anyone will 'get' what I do. I only hope that they see this work and respond to it emotionally. That they feel happy, rested, refreshed and even a bit energized after looking at my work. I hadn't thought of it before, but my workspace needs to be calm, happy, busy, - all the things I feel my collages reflect.

Is there anything else you want to say about how you work or what you do, or any aspect of this topic? 

I don't know if this is on topic for you, but I've been struggling with how to arrange my new space. It sounds funny, but the little space forced me to work with what I had available. In the new space, I'm almost paralyzed with the idea of how big to make the table, how many tables can I get into the space, where will the shelves (that I've never had but desperately need) go, how many will I need, etc, etc? I'm finding it more difficult to "upgrade" than I thought I would!