We were lucky to catch up with Erin Pulford recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Erin, thanks for joining us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

I learned collaging mostly by trial and error rather than formal instruction. I started following collage artists on Instagram for overall inspiration and learning some tricks of the trade, but mostly I just made enough collages to start understanding the basics of how to do them well (not that they are some giant mystery to figure out). The major hurdle that I found in learning to collage was making the paper not wrinkle, while also making sure that the collage paper adheres to the paper that you glue it to. I found that if I didn’t put enough glue on, the paper did not stick, but too much and it would be a sloppy gluey mess. I think that learning that balance just takes practice and a lot of patience. To this day, the most nerve-wracking part of collaging is the gluing. I also learned how to cut precisely and the tools to use for different shapes and materials through trial and error. Funny enough, one of the reasons I wasn’t too keen on collaging with my partner in the beginning was because growing up left-handed, I had to use right-handed scissors most of the time and my cutting was terrible as a kid. I still use right-hand scissors when I don’t use an exacto knife but have adapted over time to the point I can’t even use left-handed scissors. As far as the basic design principles of collaging go, in addition to having an eye for design, I was lucky enough to take several art history classes in college as electives that helped me understand color, composition, and textures which is important to collage. I also continue to go to museums, travel to new places, attend local art events, and hang out with fellow creatives to nourish my creativity.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My artist name is ECPCollages and I’m a collage artist, residing in Phoenix, Arizona. I’ve lived in a lot of different states growing up (NM, AZ, FL, IL, and TN) but I primarily grew up in the Midwest and moved from St. Louis, MO to Phoenix in 2014 to go to graduate school at ASU. After graduate school, I decided Arizona is the place for me and have been here ever since. The artistic and natural energy here is extremely special and I don’t think there are many places like it. However, my primary occupation is not in art, but rather in the sciences instead.

I’ve always been creative but going through college and starting a career in a different, non-creative field always made my art side take a backseat. Remember how people always ask what you want to be when you grow up when you are a kid? When people asked me, for years, I always said I wanted to be an artist. I only drew and painted back then, and I wasn’t very good, to be honest. After realizing I wasn’t exactly a prodigy and understanding that being a full-time artist is not for the weak of heart, I decided to go into the sciences, instead. While my main field of work is more on the scientific side, I’ve always wanted to find an art craft that I could dive into. Once I finally had some stability with my job and the energy to be more creative after work, I was open to the idea of going into art on the side. My partner who I live with had done collaging growing up and as a side hobby off and on and he had asked me to collage with him a few times. Eventually, I caved in and finally made my first collage as an adult around 4 or so years ago. It came out much better than I had expected, and I was hooked into making more. From there, I started to learn collaging without any formal instruction and just through trial and error. Occasionally, I’d look up certain techniques or recommendations on the best types of glue, but that’s about it.

Over the first few years, I only did collaging as a hobby with my partner and maybe a few friends sometimes. However, after the pandemic started to subside in 2021, I started going to Art Night Phoenix events and did live collaging there. The artist who created Art Night Phoenix, Aimee Ink, saw some of my collages that I was making and was really encouraging to me, asking if I’d be willing to submit a few collages to their raffle or art display, sell some of my collages, or do some live art at more Art Night events. At the time, I was still pretty unconfident in my artistic abilities, so it meant a lot to me to have an established artist encouraging me to continue with my art and get it out into the world. I even made my own art Instagram account after getting more involved, as a place for people to enjoy or purchase my art. From there, I started becoming involved in free community art gatherings, like Art Night Phoenix and Snood City events. Since I have such a vast collection of materials, I also started hosting collage workshops at Art Night Phoenix, Snood City, Walter Studios, City of Tempe cultural events, and even in my own home. I was the proudest when I was asked to display my art in the Walter Wherehouse gallery (a giant music/art warehouse in Phoenix) in Spring 2022 and sold one of my original collages there! I had gone to this venue frequently before I was a collage artist, so it was surreal seeing my art in one of my favorite places.

Now, I continue to host collage workshops, vend my collage originals and prints, and do live art at events around the Valley. If anyone is interested in having me for these types of opportunities, please reach out! I also am always growing in my craft, pushing myself to learn new design techniques, collaborating with other artists, and submitting to shows. I have an artist page on Radnaut.com with my collage prints, shirts, greeting cards, etc. for anyone interested and I’m always available to do a commissioned project for something specific. One thing I’d love to do more of is album covers as I think that my style is conducive to that. My Instagram is ECPCollages if you’d like to check out the type of work that I do. I think that one thing that sets me apart from other artists is that I don’t have one style of collaging. I try to break out from one style and change it up on myself. I’m very adaptable to a lot of different techniques, mediums, styles, and always willing to learn something new for an upcoming opportunity.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I frequently host free collage workshops for non-profit organizations and the most rewarding aspect of being an artist is showing other people how to make their own collages. Art can be such a powerful form of expression, connection, and therapy (even for non-artists). Collage is a very approachable form of art, as you don’t have to have technical skills in drawing or painting to be able to make one. Any age group can make a collage. When I host my workshops, I’m able to provide the materials, technical knowledge, and a few inspiration tips to help people achieve the type of collage they want to make. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been told by people that their life has been stressful lately and how therapeutic it is to be able to get their mind away from that by focusing on an art project instead. That is a really meaningful gift to provide to someone. I’ve also met some of the best, most well-intentioned creatives through these events which has added an important aspect to my life that I did not have before. I love being around other creatives that continue to give back to their community.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

I think that the best things that society can do to support artists is to buy from small businesses and artists that create their own products rather than Amazon or the big box stores. Go to your local art markets and galleries! Buy from real artists online! There are so many opportunities to support artists and creatives. If you aren’t looking to buy art for you or someone else, use social media to share artist’s posts, stories, photos, reels, TikToks, etc.! Attend art and music events to show support.

In a broader sense, I think that there needs to be more assistance programs helping artists with benefits such as health insurance, retirement, aid packages, etc. since many artists go without these things. Art enriches every aspect of our lives, and our society does not value artists the way that we do other professions. We need to bridge that gap so that we can ensure art is celebrated for the value it brings to community.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://radnaut.com/collections/ecpcollages
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ecpcollages/