Tell us a bit about yourself. Who you are, where you're from and what you do!

My name is Rowan and I create art through ‘Recycled.Inspiration’. I am 30, a musician, an aspiring lawyer and an artist. I have recently found that I love to make handcut collage art from vintage materials. I make primarily surreal landscapes, but I am constantly exploring my creativity.

I grew up off-grid in British Columbia Canada in the beautiful valley of the Arrow Lakes, which is only accessible by ferry or windy mountain road. I currently live in Winnipeg, Manitoba where it is really important to have an indoor hobby because it is Winter half the year.

I think this has been a huge influence on my art, growing up in the mountains and ending up in the prairies. Mountains are ubiquitous in my collage work, this was unconscious at first, but I must miss them to be re-creating them so much.

How did you get your start as an artist?

I started collaging November 2021 during the Pandemic. I was in my 3rd year of law school, and it was coming up on exam period. I had lots of stress; I was in virtual classes and was feeling pretty isolated. While music was always an outlet for me, it was nearly impossible to meet up with other musicians and make music. I wanted to try something new. I’d never done visual art prior to this and really enjoyed it. It steam rolled from there and it has become an obsession ever since. I find that collage is an amazing outlet for stressful things in life.

“There is a lot that I love about this art form. Collage is honestly such a cathartic release. It is like journaling or writing poetry in images. Each piece means something to me and when I am reviewing my work I often have those feelings brought to the surface again. ”

— Rowan, Recycled.Inspiration

What do you love most about what you do?

There is a lot that I love about this art form. Collage is honestly such a cathartic release. It is like journaling or writing poetry in images. Each piece means something to me and when I am reviewing my work I often have those feelings brought to the surface again.

Another aspect of collage that I love is the medium. Analog work has such a finality to it, a rip or a tear or a cut is permanent and there are consequences to the artistic choices that are made. I like to make impulsive and spontaneous decisions when creating so I have to commit to the process.

I also find it incredibly rewarding taking vintage sources and creating something new. It seems that whenever I go thrifting for vintage magazines, calendars or coffee table books – the space imagery is gone. I am always on the look out for more. I like to only use used materials and try to never buy anything new. That’s one of my “rules”.

What do you find the most challenging?

There are scraps and bits of paper galore throughout my studio. That’s not counting the pieces that I intentionally want to keep. I feel like I am hoarding scraps and bits sometimes, but often going back through the bin I can create some fun pieces that way.

When things get tough, where do you find the inspiration to keep moving forward?

My partner is a huge support. So are my friends, family, colleagues and of course my dog Wilbur, and two cats Orville and Amelia. I have some incredibly inspiring people around me that work so hard and seeing my friends reach their goals motivates me to keep going. I rely on my community a lot for morale support, as anyone who knows me would agree with.

Who is another artist you admire most and why?

There are honestly so many great artists, and specifically collage artists out there. The community on Instagram is inspiring. Everyone is incredibly supportive. There are many artists I had admire so it is a little hard to choose one. Nick @mr.babies is incredibly prolific and I see him the most often in my feed.

Tell me something unusual that makes you happy.

I think any collage artist would agree with me that they like ripping pages out of magazines or books. Feels very Fahrenheit 451 at the same time. It is also nice to know that we can create beauty or art out of such a destructive source.

Anything weird on your bucket list?

I’d love to listen to and even play in a traditional Gamelan band in Bali. I had a world music class where half the class was lecture based and the other half we sat around in a circle with the instruments learning songs. We even had a performance at the end of the year. This was 10 years ago but I still think about it a lot.

Top three songs you keep on repeat:

I love supporting local musicians and Winnipeg has a great music scene. Begonia, Boy Golden, Amos the Kid, Secret Beach and Yes We Mystic are on often in my household. While collaging I prefer to listen to full albums. That’s usually how long it takes to either source material or build a collage.

“Another aspect of collage that I love is the medium. Analog work has such a finality to it, a rip or a tear or a cut is permanent and there are consequences to the artistic choices that are made. I like to make impulsive and spontaneous decisions when creating so I have to commit to the process.”

— Rowan, Recycled.Inspiration

How do you fuel for the day?

I love sleep, though there is never enough time in the day to get all the things done is there? Sometimes it feels good to have a nap when you have a lot on your plate. You wake up groggy, disorientated, and grumpy but somewhere in there you have the energy to tackle that procrastinated task. Maybe its counter-productive, but I love a good nap.

Tell us about your vision for the future? Go big! We want to root you on!

I just recently had my first art sale. I’ve scanned all of my collages and I’ve started making my own prints and stickers. I am kind of a DIY buff and don’t want to outsource any steps of the process. It is incredibly rewarding creating things on your own and I think that it adds a special value to the work. (I am not discounting artists that outsource work, sometimes it is important to focus your efforts and if you’re dealing with lots of volume that may also make sense)

I have a goal to frame more of my original pieces. I’ve set up a bit of a workshop in my shed and may try my hand at making my own frames. I have a lot of originals to put behind glass and I dream of having my work in a gallery someday.

Thank you Wilder Collage for the opportunity to share about myself and my process!

Peace & Love,

Rowan (Recycled.Inspiration)

Rowan, Recycled.Inspiration

Instagram: @Recycled.Inspiration
Website: https://www.recycledinspiration.ca/