16 July Blog

Prismajic Artist Q&A – Tracy Duck

What do you want people to know is the most important thing to you about being an artist. 

The most important thing about being an artist is that art is everywhere. I enjoy sharing a different viewpoint of the world through my art. 

What initially sparked your interest in art, and how did you begin your artistic journey? 

Both my parents are very artistic so I was always encouraged to be creative. 

Can you describe your creative process? How do you typically approach a new piece or project? 

My favorite way to create is to let the art tell me what it wants to be. Letting go and letting the work guide is a great way to get your creative juices flowing.  The best art is made when finding the ability to play.

What themes or ideas do you find yourself drawn to in your work, and why? 

I am very drawn to things from an earlier time.My favorite things are usually pre 1960’s. Back then things were built to last and people were proud of what they were putting out into the world. I love going hunting for antiques to use in my artwork. As an assemblage artist not only do I get to save something from the landfill, but I also get to tell a story.   

Could you share a particular piece of artwork that holds significant meaning to you? What is the story behind it? 

One of my favorite pieces is actually two pieces with the same story. They are called “Through  a Stranger’s Eye”.  My inspiration for my design was a set of airplane blueprints from 1947. I found the blueprints one day at an estate sale along with a scrapbook from World war II. From what I gathered from the scrapbook, the man who I believe drew the blueprints was a pilot in World War II. At the estate sale there was an airplane he was building of his own. The airplane was donated to the aviation club in Cheyenne Wyoming. I am not 100% but it also looks like he may have helped teach aviation for the University of Wyoming.  

I have always been fascinated with history and am often drawn to old photos. I often incorporate them in my artwork. I feel like it is a way to tell a story about the person, even though I may have never met them; that their story is not forgotten. It is kind of my way of carrying on their legacy.  I may not be a pilot or an aircraft mechanic, but I am an artist who appreciated his work. I used one page of the blueprints to create a college using some of his photos from the war. The piece of art holds a few surprises including a switch that lights up little bits of history. I had racked my brain for a while on what to do with the other blueprint. One day it just hit me. I wanted to try and transfer the blueprint to a piece of leather. After some research I found that you can engrave an image on leather. I reached out to a few friends and was able to figure out the process. Before I laser engraved the leather, I took some recycled leather from my brother’s upholstery shop and changed the plain black leather. I gave it a beautiful blue, green, and purple patina. This served as a nice backdrop. I used a nice white pearl paint to highlight my design. I also had some old bank bags from the 40’s or 50’s. The bank bags were used for the zippers of the shoes as well as all of the army green on the shoes. My favorite part of using the bank bag zippers is that they are brass. They really add a nice touch and make taking the shoes on and off a breeze. To stay with my theme of the airplane blueprints, I found some old air force flight patches. These patches were from about the same year as the blueprints were drawn. When I was working on the shoes, I discovered a nice surprise. The blueprints were actually drawn on the same day as my birthday.

Can you recall a project during the creation of Shiki Dreams and Night Owls that inspired you the most or just liked working on? 

I really enjoyed working on the boat dock room. The moving floor was a really fun challenge. 

Can you talk about a project or piece that pushed you out of your comfort zone while creating Shiki Dreams and The Night Owls?  What did you learn from that experience? 

The biggest thing for me was making the materials we used durable. I come from a theatre background where people aren’t necessarily touching it.  So making things where they will survive thousands of people coming in contact with them was a challenge. I learned a ton and now have some exciting new materials to try for phase 2.

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