It is my pleasure to introduce Meri Gold from the Pale Illusions Etsy shop! Meri Gold’s shop is filled with curiosities, and we hope you’ll take a look. You can also follow Meri Gold on Facebook. Instagram, and Pinterest, as well as check out her website!
Can you tell me a little bit about yourself and your journey with art?
I’m a lost cause living on the West Coast of Canada fighting against “adulthood” one day at a time.
I have always loved making stuff. I come from a family of makers. Music, art, clothing, woodworking, it’s in my blood. I painted my first canvas when I was 14 but I was painting and drawing all over my walls long before that. I had a few other careers before landing on art only 2 years ago. I still feel pretty fresh at the whole making a living out of it thing, but I’m addicted to the rush.
What materials do you use in your mixed media embroidered pieces? What draws you to those materials?
Well, I thrift all my embroidery materials so fabric, hoop and thread wise, whatever I dig at the thrift store will end up in my piece. As for the paint, I bought this dry pigment in Peru when I was there 2 years ago. The colours are so highly concentrated so I’ll mix those with water or white acrylic for the background. I really enjoy the typical paint on raw canvas because the threads of the canvas provide a grid for me to use. But I like expanding too. Velvet is great, anything thick enough to not show the mess of the back is great. That being said I’d like to try embroidering some sheer fabrics. That would be a challenge.
Can you tell about your Patreon initiative?
Yeah! I made it as a way for me to have an excuse to do cool things for people who feel compelled to give their support. I want to personalize my relationship with people who buy my work and show their support as much as I can so this just gives me a platform to do so. I love being able to show people my weirder creations and give sneak peeks. It’s fun for me. Plus it lets me live a regular life with some income stability which is a huge benefit to my creativity.
Do you listen to music while you create? If so, what are you currently into?
Yes. And everything. Folk is my staple. But I love hip hop for painting, ambient is good for embroidery. Classical when its raining or in the morning. Shoegaze anytime. I’ve been getting more into Vaporwave. Podcasts are an always thing. I hop around a lot. And sometimes I really like sitting in silence. It almost feels noisy at times. But right now I’ll probably put on some soul/r&b and groove out a bit.
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