Interview with Tina Mader
Tina Corrales-Mader is an American artist born and raised in Los Angeles, California.
She began her love of visual arts at a very young age mesmerized by Mexican folk art all around her. Growing up, Tina quickly recognized that colors, shapes, forms, music, and creativity is such a basic necessity and she needed to embrace it in any form.
Tina graduated from The Art Institute of Los Angeles with a BFA in Graphic Design 2005. She worked as an Illustrator and Designer for Japanese American Publishing Company, Tokyopop. Tina participated in group art shows in Los Angeles, CA while working as a Graphic Designer. She eventually moved to Dusseldorf, Germany with her husband where she began to study millinery design. It was there in Germany that Tina founded a small bridal millinery business (Velvet Owl Bridal) in 2009 and participated in group art shows in Berlin as well. She returned to the US with her husband and young family in 2013, and has slowly been reviving her love for painting and visual arts.
She uses a wide variety of mediums
including oils, acrylic, pen and ink, watercolors, pressed flowers, metallics, and gold leaf. She paints on canvas, wood panel, sheet metal, and paper.
Tina finds herself inspired mostly by her dreams. That restless period just before you fall asleep and the thoughts and images that invade your mind during that time. She attributes the evolution and style of her work to her multifaceted journey through life in all its complexities with her children and her husband 14 years.
"Creation and expression are such amazing gifts." "Feeling the days, and breathing in the colors, and spaces are so important to living with gratitude, and that's inspiring."
Can you tell us about the moment you decided to pursue a career as an artist?
Being creative seems to come so naturally to me, and so from a very young age that's all I ever wanted to do. Working with my hands and creating anything aesthetically brings me so much happiness. I wasn't sure how I would get there growing up but, my passion for creative expression has always been there with me. Exploring other avenues of visual arts like Graphic Design has allowed me to nurture my creative spirit, and still have room to paint and carve my way to develop my own style.
What kind of an artist do you ultimately see yourself as?
I always get asked this question, especially more recently. I consider myself to be a contemporary figurative painter. Even just referring to myself as an artist feels strange sometimes. I guess because the title "artist" in itself can sometimes have a bit of a stigma attached to it of not being taken seriously enough. When people ask me what I do (even though it's not in just one creative area). My response is simply, "I'm a visual artist".
What do you want your art to convey to the people who see it? What is the meaning or creative motivation behind your work?
Definitely a sense of peace and serenity. My life is more often than not chaotic raising three children with my husband. It's a little strange, but I gladly accept the chaos. Looking at how I work when I'm so pressed for time. I think some of my best work comes out of constant life changes of children simply growing and being themselves around you. So, when I do get some time to have a chance to relax and express what I love, I'm all in, my music is on, and my materials surround me. Sometimes my kids join me and we work on a project together, sometimes it's just me in my studio space.
Can you tell us about the process you use to create your works? What is your typical workday routine?
That's a good question, it really depends on what I'm feeling at that moment. Usually, starting a piece comes in two phases. Sometimes it's just as simple as choosing my canvas. Thinking about the size and textures. Other times when I'm in some type of creative slump, it's me, flipping through my sketchbook to figure out the how and what, then texturizing my canvas freely, and intuitively as possible. The time it takes to texturize and layer acrylic on acrylic is so very liberating for me and perhaps my favorite part of the whole process.
Where do you find inspiration? What motivates you to create?
We visit quite a few botanical gardens and parks regularly. There's always something that I've never seen before. Being in nature, camping, hiking, a walk in the park. Anything to break up our week usually helps get the motivational juices flowing. My kids are nature collectors, and will pick me flowers to press, which show up in many of my works. Sometimes we collect and press flowers together. If I receive flowers for a special occasion, I'll enjoy their beauty for a good week, then it's time to cut and press for my next piece. The kids like looking back at the work we have sometimes created together. They are so great at experimenting with different materials and creating unusual textures. Children are so natural at creative expression, not overthinking but just immersing themselves and really enjoying the process.
What has been your most outstanding achievement to date?
I was recently asked to join the exhibition "Equalibrium" at The Haegeumgang Museum in Geoje, South Korea. After the exhibition the work will be part of the museum's permanent collection. It still doesn't quite sink in that the public enjoys my work. It's such a great feeling knowing something you created is admired.
What are your ultimate career goals?
I'm still in search of the right representation. For now, any chance I'm given to share my work with others is really special for me.
What are you working on now, and what can we expect from you soon?
Taking it day by day has really seemed to work for me. Staying away from overloading myself with any kind of unrealistic expectations. I feel this is the best way for me to hold onto my creative essence. I'm always working on some kind of collection, perhaps for a solo show in the future. I'm just keeping an open mind and working steadily towards this little goal of mine.
Photographer credit Sandi S. Davitian
