FEATURED ETSY SHOP - C'EST MAGNIFIQUE

Captured Woodland Fairy - Original Mixed Media and Found Objects
by Tania

of C'est Magnifique
(Click on photo above to learn more about this creation.)

I've been featuring Etsy shops here on DZFANTSY for a little over a year now, and it is always such fun to come across all the amazing artists and crafters, and to learn a bit about what makes each one "tick", and to see their delightful creations!

I'm happy to have Tania and her Etsy shop, C'EST MAGNIFIQUE, as a featured shop. Tania creates a wide variety of altered and mixed media creations such as, altered art dolls, assemblage, shadow boxes, altered couture, and much, much more. Do yourself a favor and pay a visit to C'EST MAGNIFIQUE where perhaps you will find something you just can't do without!

What led you to start creating your art/craft?

My whole family is crafty in one way or another. My grandmother’s sewed, crocheted, and painted. My mom sews, and paints and my dad is creative in the garage! I have always been interested in arts and crafts from the time I was young, in fact my mom recently gave me a Clue board game that I had made when I was about 12! I remember saying to my mom all the time, “I want to make something”! I used to go out to my dad’s garage looking for things to “make something with” too! I think my first experience selling my wares was at my mom’s craft shop that her and her friend co-owned. I made little faces out of nylons and made them into lapel pins. I had a little basket of them next to the cash register and believe it or not, I actually sold some! My mom worked at a bank too, and she used to take things that I made and put them on her teller window and sold them for me.

Mini Sewing Shadow Box - Altered Art Sewing Themed Collage

by Tania

How did you decide what medium you wanted to work with?

I have tried many different kinds of arts and crafts (wood carving, sewing dolls and teddy bears, decorative tole painting, etc.), but it wasn’t until I picked up an issue of Somerset Studio magazine that I discovered altered art and mixed media, I was hooked! It seems to satisfy my urge to “make something”! Following patterns and instructions just isn’t satisfying enough for me I guess.

What aspect of creating your art/craft do you find the most enjoyable?

I enjoy the process of taking something that once served one purpose and re-creating it or altering it into something else. Adding found objects and vintage ephemera to create my art is so satisfying and it also satisfies my pack-rat tendencies because I get to collect “stuff” that may be useful in my art! I still have the urge to sew and paint sometimes, but I think altered art is the most satisfying for me.

If you had to choose a fruit OR a vegetable, to describe your art/craft, what would you choose, and why?

I think the passion fruit because it has a unique flavor that is appealing, much like my art! It is unique, I hope it is appealing, and I am very passionate about my work!

If you had to choose one other medium in which to display your creativity, what would that be, and why?

I think fabric would be another medium that I would enjoy. I do a little bit of altered clothing, but I’m not that creative with it yet… I think my sewing skills need a little improving first!

What message, if any, do you want to convey with your art/craft?

I’m not necessarily trying to convey a message except perhaps the feeling that I am having when creating each piece. I think that artwork is very subjective. Two or three different people can look at the same piece and it will have a different meaning for each of them.

What advice do you have for other artists/crafters?

Do what you love. Don’t try to make something because you think people will like it, make it because you like it. Not everyone is going to like what you make and that’s okay.

Tania, thanks so much for taking the time to share your delightful creations and thoughts with all of us. You must have a great time searching for all the "goodies" that make up your creations!

To see and learn more about Tania's creations, be sure to visit her links below.

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