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

Alright, Nancy thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with 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 taught myself. To be honest. I never thought this is what I would be doing, but life gives you challenges and sometimes you have to pivot. I first started doing mixed media, making altered books, and then journals as a fun hobby in my free time. I just kept learning different techniques and moved from one new little concept to the next. It became a rabbit hole of all types of interesting ways to blend and layer. I love old paper and textiles, so those get added into a lot of my work. I hate throwing things away because they might be just the perfect thing to add to the next project or maybe one next year, who knows? So upcycling and repurposing are very important to me too.

I don’t think that there is a way to speed up the learning process for me. A lot of what I do involves discovering what might work and how it may fit with something else. Does this adhesive work with that paper? Does it change the paint that will go over it? Those types of things are more difficult to figure out…even using a paper that is 80 years old may not take paint the same as one made last year. Lots of strange things can come up when you work with mixed media.

Adaptability. Learning how to pivot quickly from one thing to the next. It is a skill that is very needed, but everyday is going to look different. For example, if I am going to be coffee dyeing fabrics, I need the sun to work it’s magic on the coated papers that I have draped lace over. So many factors to take into account and you cannot prepare for everything. Rain, wind gusts, these are things that can change very quickly, so you laugh and move things quickly and find something else to work on.

My biggest obstacles have been time. Sometimes there is never enough time to do all the things that I want to learn while doing the things that need to be done.

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?

I have been encouraged to be creative and try new things my entire life. As such I have dabbled in all types of creative hobbies over the years, but found a real inspiration when I started making artist trading cards. Artist trading cards are basically playing cards that are little pieces of mixed media art. Once I started making those, I discovered altered books and was instantly in love. Old books turned into amazing pages of art that you can look through and make your own story in or turn into just about anything. Once I had played around with that and started filling old books with new technique after new technique, inspiration from all over the place, I had friends that asked for them on boards and canvas. When you make altered books, you end up with lots of extra pages, so what do you do with them? I can’t throw perfectly good old paper away, so I needed to figure out some uses and I discovered junk journaling. I figured out ways to use leftovers and things that would be thrown away and turned them into beautiful journals that other people can enjoy. Along this journey, I learned tons of different techniques to add to both journals and mixed media pieces.

I make junk journals around all types of themes with all the embellishments to match. I sell kits to make your own junk journals, blank or unadorned junk journals waiting to be filled by their new owner, and various types of elements that can be added to a journal. In addition, I sell my mixed media pieces, one of a kind stationary sets from eco or coffee dyed paper, and prints of some of the eco-dyed papers that I have created. I have a YouTube channel, Joyful Bean Journals, where I teach techniques for mixed media and journal making. I really enjoy what I do and I love sharing it with people. My style of mixed media and journals can be anywhere from neat and tidy to grungy and gritty, antique to fantastical. That flexibility and flow makes each piece really unique. I mostly sell my journals and art locally, but I am working toward having more available online for purchase.

I am probably most proud of the journals that I have created that were commissions. I like discussing the journal and finding out what my client wants. From color palette to theme to the tiny things they would like hidden somewhere inside that will be a surprise to the receiver, they all are so important. I have gotten some really interesting challenges over the last couple of years and those have turned out to be some of my most beautiful journals to date. Commission journals are a very big challenge because there is always the fear that we were not on the same page, so to speak, when it comes to the creative process.

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

The process or challenge is the biggest reward. I love working with different media, so I can get some very different results on one day versus another. An example of that is seeing what will happen if a certain type of flower is mixed with another for eco-dye compared to the last time I used those two identical things together. The changes and ways things interact, mixing new papers with old in a journal and making them a cohesive unit that looks like it is all supposed to go together. And, of course, the final finished piece that I get to hand over to someone and see the joy that it brings them.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I would say that my main goal is to do what I love and be able to make a living doing it. Am I there yet, no. Will I be there someday? Yes, it is a big goal, but I keep trying to reach that a little bit more every day. I really love creating, using old things and mixing them with new, using things from nature to add texture and color to things more modern. It is all a big journey and I am glad that I am on it.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: unnasch_nancy
• Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/@NancerMakes
• Other: https://ko-fi.com/nancy32009

Image Credits

Nancy Unnasch