Artist Kent Epler’s fun, fantastic and crazy mixed-media sculptured characters stem from his overactive imagination. Enjoy more of his delightful work by visiting his website.
Being and feeling creative is my life; it never shuts down. It’s how I live, breathe, and eat. It is who I am and how I express myself every minute of every day.
Working in my studio is sort of a circus, with lots of visual exposure to raw materials and music (usually Broadway or cabaret singers.) I do work alone, but with all that stimulus, I do not feel alone. It’s crazy busy and high energy, but that kind of energy in people is attractive, too.
So, when I am marketing myself at an art show or gallery opening, it is a full-on performance and the people interested in my work gravitate to the fun, positive atmosphere.
Some of my best work is the result of a mistake. It’s all in how the error is approached. Start over??? Not me. I go forward and let the mistake guide me. It is a ride into uncharted water, which is thrilling and exciting. The end result can be so successful; the lesson learned is to not fight it, but rather take it inside.
If you are a working artist, you are a selling artist. It is just how things work. You never forget the first time you sell a piece you created. They love it, get it, and get you. When you don’t sell, you doubt the work. It’s all part of the years-old game.
Would I do it even if it never sells? Of course! I would try other mediums, venues. Until the ideas stop and my heart stops.
My work produces a strong gut response—rarely lukewarm— a love it or hate it response. “What do people do with this?’ “What would I tell the neighbors?” “Is this your wife’s work?” “What kind of drugs are you on?” “What is going on in that head of yours?” Most times I find it funny and reply, “It’s a party in here!” And then, the next person says, “Oh my God, you are some kind of crazy. I love this!”
As an adult I understand that anything I might have questioned as a child helped make me who I am today. I can still laugh at that child. What great energy and abandonment I had, and still do.
I think most artists are kids who never grow up. We are the lost boys from NeverLand. Still making mud pies and putting on puppet shows. It’s a great life that I would never change.
Life is a roller coaster and you either grip the safety bar and hold on or throw your hands in the air!
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