Amy Ruppel is a wonderful designer, illustrator and encaustic/collage artist living in Portland. Her subjects are soft silhouette birds in a twiggy environment. Read more about her an her work in our conversation below:

SG: Tell me a little about your background.

AR: I'm a working artist and illustrator, and have been living in Portland, OR for the past 10 years. I received my B-FA at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee (now known as the Peck School of the Arts), with a focus in Printmaking-Lithography.

SG: What are your materials and mission?

AR: I use mainly beeswax and printed paper, derived from my photographs. I love combining digital art into the hands-on world. My mission is to stay original, stay inspired, and to keep putting smiles on peoples faces.



SG: What inspires or influences your work? (I hate that question.)

AR: (Me too.) I'm inspired mainly by other artists (those who dare to break the mold and do what they want to do), by natural color, natural shapes and good old fashioned modern design. I am a huge fan of Scandinavian art of the 60s and 70s.

SG: How do you cope with feeling drained of inspiration or ideas?

AR: I go see a movie, removing myself from the work 100%. I work at home, so it's sometimes hard to get away. So I've learned to just accept that there are creative days, and non-creative days. That gets me through the week.



SG: What's your favorite texture?

AR: A smooth rock found on the beach, worn by sand and water, that fits perfectly in my hand.

SG: What's your guilty pleasure?

AR: I adore French and Belgian ales... or a chick flick in the middle of the afternoon...

SG: What's next for you?

AR: This Fall, I have shoes coming out with Converse, rainboots (wellies) and matching bags with Tamara Henriques (Switzerland), and I am the U.S. designer for the Oilily artisanal tees for Spring 2007. I still have monthly online sales of small bird paintings, as well as shows throughout the U.S. and Europe. Also, I hope to break into a more 3-dimensional realm next year, through handmade ceramics.


This interview was conducted by boygirlpartay, a painter and proprietor of website boygirlparty.com whose initials are also SG.