Painting intuitively, Patricia Mosca, of Rochester, New York, lets color speak to her and guide the layers she builds with whatever tools manipulate the paint to her satisfaction. An adventurer when it comes to artmaking, Patricia also makes Guardian Spirit Dolls to express what’s in her heart.
Tell us a little bit about you and what you do.
At the young age of 69, I consider myself to still be a work in progress. I would call myself an intuitive painter because I allow each layer of paint to bring the next layer forward with acrylic paint, stencils , pencils and pens. I look for images within the paint and then outline them to bring them forward. It is my intuitive pleasure to receive words for most paintings that I do. I also make Guardian Spirit Dolls from my heart. I am a lover of all mediums and am willing to try as many things creative as possible. Life just can’t get any better than that!
How did you find yourself on an artist’s path? Always there? Lightbulb moment? Dragged kicking and screaming? Evolving?
I found myself on the Artist’s path when I received my first box of Crayola Crayons with the built in sharpener and all 64 colors. I did not care if the cat was purple or the leaves were magenta; my heart knew I just needed to use them all. Growing up in the 50’s and 60’s, it was highly suggested that I eventually put those “childish” toys away. And so I did.
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But something was always missing. Until in my 40’s I picked up a paint brush and the rest has been history. There have been ebbs and tides to my creative path, but if I am not painting, I am writing. Often I do both together which is my true heart’s pleasure.
What inspires you to create?
My intuitive spirit inspires me to create. If at an ebb on my path, I look to other artists, take a class, read a book or write. That brings creativity into focus. As an artist I work alone in my studio and sharing who I am and what I do, both with my creations and words, brings everything full circle for me.
Do you have a dedicated space for creating? If so, what does it look like?
I work in a home studio (a bedroom that was once my daughter’s) that is full of all different mediums to play with. I work in the silence with only the wind, birds, or rain outside my window. It is always in some sort of disarray! Things on the work areas, things on the floor, until I no longer have anywhere uncluttered, so it is then that I have to clean. I never plan anything, nor do I use a sketchbook. Everything I create comes from deep within the colors that call to me to pick them up on any given day. I let it flow from my heart to my hand and onto the paper, canvas, or the clay.
Do you think that creativity comes naturally to people? Or do you think creativity is a skill that people can learn?
I believe that we are all creative in one way or another. As children, we had a sense of adventure, creative freedom and curiosity. As we got older, life sometimes gets in the way of allowing those things to still surface.
I know that for myself that happened. However, if we listen closely to the whispers of our inner child, we can rediscover that. It may be in paint, sketching, gardening, singing, dancing or sewing. The key is to let it come forward again to find that creative freedom. Certainly you can learn a skill that calls to your heart. The biggest thing is getting over the fear of allowing that, to not compare yourself to others. And of knowing that you will not be “perfect” at it for quite some time.
How can people overcome the challenges they feel to their creative ability?
Overcoming the challenge of “not good enough” is a difficult thing to do. I still suffer from it from time to time. I am learning that when you compare yourself to others, you end up with a negative. So what if it doesn’t look like anyone else’s work, that is the beauty of being true to yourself. When negativity approaches you, take a moment, say thank you to that voice and tell it…”I am going to do it anyway”! You will find after doing this over and over again that the voice will stop pestering you. It knows you are not listening.
If we were to visit your studio today, what would we find you working on?
If you came to my studio today, you would find me working on several different things. Guardian Spirit Dolls call me to work on them lately, but I also continue to paint Angel blessings on cradle board. There is always a journal to work in where I paint and write.
And I love to do collaborations with other artists. Lately I have been called to submit many journals and art work to national magazines. It is an honor to say that I have been published 5 times this year in Art Journaling and Somerset Studio Magazines. This October (2020) I will grace the cover of Art Journaling with one of the Oracle Cards I made along with an article.
Learn more about Patricia and her art:
FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/patricia.mosca.7
Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/pjmosca
Interview with Patricia Mosca posted September 2020
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