The Pulse of Mixed Media: Secrets and Passions of 100 Artists Revealed

by Seth Apter

Listen closely...can you hear it?

Can you hear the voices? Thoughts, insights, confessions from the creative community sharing ideas, trading secrets, venting frustrations; asking and answering questions such as, "What color rarely shows up in your work?" or "How do you express vulnerability in your art?" Or "What is one current trend that you wish would go away?" As artists, we are curious by nature and there is a longing to see inside the hearts and minds of artistic souls of our own kind. That is the beat of our lives - The Pulse of Mixed Media !

In this book - a complex survey of artists around the globe - there is much for you to

Visual Many questions are answered not only in words, but often through visual art, and include self-portraits from 31 spotlight artists such as Pam Carriker, Danny Gregory and Judy Wise.

A diverse sampling of provocative Over 100 artists share their thoughts on everything from color, media and tools, to emotions, secrets and self-revelations.

Insightful sidebar Data from thousands of participants collected through polls on the author's blog reveal a remarkable analysis of the creative community at large.

Indulge your inner voyeur and soak up some inspiration with The Pulse of Mixed Media today!

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Crafts

144 pages, Paperback

First published March 2, 2012

About the author

Seth Apter is a mixed media artist, instructor, author and designer from New York City. His artwork has been exhibited in multiple exhibitions and can be found in numerous books, independent zines, and national magazines. He is the voice behind The Pulse, a series of international, collaborative projects that are the basis of his two books The Pulse of Mixed Media and The Mixed-Media Artist, both published by North Light Books. He is the artist behind two workshop DVDs: Easy Mixed Media Surface Techniques and Easy Mixed Media Techniques for the Art Journal. His live workshops have been held throughout the United States, Mexico, Australia and the UK. He has a stencil line with StencilGirl Products and a stamp line with Impression Obsession. He is a member of CHA, a columnist for Cloth Paper Scissors magazine and a blogger for Spellbinders Paper Arts. Look for His own line of mixed media products from Spellbinders in January 2016.

Reviews

[Melissa Jeanette · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was interesting to read artists responses to questions posed by the author and to see what they had to say about the self portraits woven throughout the book. I can’t say that I took a lot away from the book, but it made for fun little bursts of reading when I had time to kill.

[Lillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This isn't a book about how to create mixed-media art but it's essentially full of anecdotes of how many artists created their work. Not glue this to this then paint until.... But, how one particular artist has gone through a lifelong illness and the piece demonstrates her feelings and the story of her illness. Questions about personal opinions about reusing someone else's art, the effects of the internet on their work, deep dark secrets, etc. are posed with short answers by a variety of artists (not always the same ones). Anecdotes are accompanied by a picture of the artwork.
If you've been curious about mixed-media art this can be a great introduction into the world.

[Gina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Completely unhelpful to learn to do mixed media. No technique.

[Natasha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked this book. I knew it wasn't an art technique or project book, so I had no expectations of that. I genuinely like hearing people's stories and view points on their work and so this book was really interesting to me. I didn't agree with all viewpoints (far from it in some cases!), but really you don't agree with everyone in life, so why would I expect to in a book. :)

Their was a good range of featured artists with a lot I was familiar with, and also some new faces. I was really impressed with the works and some really inspired me. Which is what I want when looking through an art book.

I really like Seth's writing, and would have liked to have known more about his thoughts, rather than acting solely as a facilitator for the other contributors.

I also felt that the last section, which was compiled from a range of people submitting their work was not as tight. There was clearly a large number of contributors to that section and so not as much of their voice was heard, and that was a shame I thought. You didn't get to connect as much, as you did with the featured artists. It felt like I was missing some sort of flow. It was a nice idea, and I saw the original call out and almost contributed so it was nice seeing everybody who did. I just didn't connect as much. Less may have been more, it didn't feel like a consistent pulse. :)

Overall however I did really enjoy the book. It was interesting seeing where I was in agreement, and where I wasn't. I did go back a few times and reread what a particular person said again in light of later responses and the questions were interesting as well I thought. Worthy of some thought from ourselves in our journals. Definitely thought provoking, and so I would say in that regard Seth was very successful. :)

[Terrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book as a drawing winner and absorbed it over a weekend. The book shares thoughts, insights, confessions from the creative community of mixed media artists. There are tons of quotes answering a range of questions from the simple "What color rarely shows up in your work?" to the thought provoking "How do you express vulnerability in your art?" 100 artists share samples of their work and answer the author's questions.

It is beautifully laid out, full of beautiful images of all sorts of artwork and interesting comments to read. As a creative type myself it was illuminating to find I have something in common with many artists but also to see how I'm different. Definitely a book worth having in the library of an artist or creatively inclined person.

[Diane Knauff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved reading the thoughts and views of other artists. As an artist, it helped to know that others struggle with the same issues as me and gave me ideas and new approaches for defining my life as an artist. It also has exposed me to several artists that I had not known about. I would have like to get a more complete impression of the individual artists. This was difficult because the book was arranged based on interview questions and with so many artists interviewed it was had to keep track of what they said in answer to each question.

[Elizabeth A · Rating 2 out of 5]

"If you gave 100 artists the same set of art supplies and asked them to create, you would end up with 100 unique works of art." This is how the book starts - sounds compelling right? Sadly, it is not. While the art and layout of the book is a delight, the actual text is simply boring. I do read Seth's blog, and while this format works for a blog, I expected more from the book.

[Lorna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really enjoyed the 1st section with the same artists answering the same questions. The second section with a lot of different artists was less interesting in some ways because you didn't get a chance to "know" them.