Versailles Artist of the Month (September) is Terri Gordon

I was so honored to be choosen for Versailles Artist of the Month. I love Marie Antoinette Mail Art Group.
20 Questions for Versailles Artist of the Month

1. How did you get started in art?
Since I was a small child, I loved art. I come from a family that is very artistic. Both of my Grandmothers were very creative, one quilted and made all of her grandchildren quilts when we graduated and also made all of our wedding cakes, the other one loved to crochet. I have always done arts and crafts all my life, and found that marrying an artist helped in nurturing this love. I love to challenge myself by trying new things, and thereby pushing my art into new levels.

2. What is your favorite media to work in?
I have always loved antiques, so I found that altered art was a way to bring my love of antiquities and art together. When my children were born, I wanted to keep certain keepsakes, so I started shadow boxes for them. I made them shadow boxes with the sweater sets they wore home from the hospital and other keepsakes. Thus, altered art provides a way to exhibit items near and dear to me, but on an artistic level.

3. What is your favorite ice cream flavor?
I am not a big ice cream fan, probably because I worked in a Dairy Bar when I was a teenager, but I would say coffee flavored ice cream.

4. What is your favorite television show?
My favorite television show is Project Runway and also I love Top Chef, shows which exhibit art in various forms (i.e. clothing and food).

5. If you could have dinner with any artist, living or dead, who would it be?
I think it would be with my Grandfather. He was an artist and painter and also used to be a window designer at Marshall Fields in Chicago. He passed away before I was born and I would love to meet him and talk with him - everyone says he was a wonderful man.

6. What do you do to break through creative blocks?
I walk away for awhile. Sometimes in the evening when I am working and I get frustrated I leave what I am working on and go to bed. Usually when I get up in the morning everything is clear.

7. How long have you been creating art?
I have been making things most of my life. If I don’t create and use my hands I become anxious. When my children were young, I would work on things in the evening when they went to bed and it was a way to relax before going to bed.

8. If you were stranded on a deserted island, which two art supplies would you want with you?
I would ultimately bring an artist drawing pad and pencils, so that could draw and create while being stranded. I would also collect objects from around the island to use.

9. Do you collect anything?
Yes, too many things!: antique German dolls, antique dishes with rose designs, gold jewelry caskets, and vintage wedding cake toppers. I also love vintage linens.

10. What do you think makes your work stand out as “yours”? I really don’t know, but I love texture, dimension, intricate cutting and lots of embellishments - you can never embellish enough.

11. What is your favorite art style?Realism. I love these old works of art. They combine the “real” sense of our world, yet still remain artistic enough to be unlike any photograph.

12. What is it that you love about Marie Antoinette?
What’s not to love - her clothing and hair was amazing!

13. What is your favorite color scheme?
It changes all the time, right now I love aqua and pink. My homes interior is neutral, which is nice, since you can put any color with it.

14. What is your favorite book?
I don’t really have a favorite book. I love to read, but I don’t have a lot of time to do it. I am also a person who starts a book and can’t stop reading it until I finish it. I do love the books of Susan Wiggins.

15. What is your favorite style of music and artist within that genre?
I love all music, but I especially love the music of the 80’s. Some of my favorite groups are Duran Duran, Coldplay and I like Bryan Adams.

16. Do you listen to music while creating art?
Sometimes, but not always. Our home is a busy place, since my husband runs his businesses out of our home.

17. Do you have any pets?
Yes I have a dog; she is a rat terrier, and was a birthday present from my husband 9 years ago. Her name is Dot - she is white with a single dot on her back.

18. What is your career, job or life’s calling?
Before my children were born, I worked in business. After they were born I was lucky enough to stay at home with them. I do the accounting for my husband’s two businesses.

19. What are some of your hobbies, other than art?
I love to cook and to work in my yard. I also love to shop for antiques. When we travel it’s the first thing I like to look for. “Where are the antique stores!?”

20. What is your favorite way to relax?
Our home is very secluded and sits on the small Black River, so it is wonderful to sit on our deck and watch the birds and animals in our yard. We currently have mother turkeys and their babies feeding just outside our kitchen window right now.
Is there anything else about yourself that you would like to know?
I have been married to a wonderful man and artist for 32 years, who is very supportive of my art. I have two sons, one is 26, who lives in Seattle and works for Microsoft. He was just married at the end of July to a wonderful school teacher. My other son is 20 and is in his third year of college at University of Michigan, and is engaged to be married to an artist herself. My two children are my best creations and I am so proud of both of them.