Artist Profile: June Campbell

Altered Playing Cards

Artist: June Campbell
Business name: Scrappbookinging By Design
Location: North Vancouver, BC, Canada

Websites & Blog:
Scrapping by Design
Scrapping by Design blog
Altered Book
June’s videos

How do you describe your work?
I do a variety of paper crafting projects, including scrapbooking, card making, altered books, making mini albums and journals, altered art, mixed media collage, etc. I incorporate stamping, polymer clay (occasionally), beads, wire art, tea bag folding, iris folding, quilling, pergamano, ribbon, fibre, or anything else that inspires me at the time.

Altered Book Spread

I often look for ways to create embellishments and trims using items found around the house, or easily obtainable at places like the Dollar Stores. It amuses me, sometimes, to find ephemera or “strange” objects and turn them into something unusual or pretty. For instance, I found metal corner braces at the Dollar Store, then painted them, stamped with a floral design and covered with several coats of UTEE. They became interesting frame-like embellishments for a book cover.

My online businss, Scrappbookinging by Design, is new. I have worked online as a writer since 1996. A few years ago, I launched my altered book web site, which contains a number of how-to instructions and various information pertinent to altered books and altered art.

I launched Scrapping by Design in June of 2008, offering video tutorials for making mini albums and other similar projects using scrapbooking and paper arts techniques. I choose Scrappbooking by Design because I wanted a term that people might be looking for in the search engines and I thought “scrapbooking” and “design” are two words that people might search for. My first choice domain name was not available, so I used the next best thing, scrappingbydesign.com.

Eagle Greeting Card

What is your creative process like?
I am a completely disorganized crafter. Sometimes I plan in advance with paper and pen, but that is rare. It is more typical for me to start making a project and figure it out as I go along. Sometimes I do not know what it will be when it is finished. Sometimes I change my mind, maybe more than once, during the process.

My crafting area is a maze of jumbled up supplies. I often cannot put my hand on what I want. I keep promising myself I will become better organized, since I waste a lot of time looking for things, but so far, my promises to myself never seem to get carried out. There is always something more pressing (or interesting) to do.

For the most part, I work in silence. Music distracts me. I tend to do most of my crafting on weekends, sometimes working for several hours straight on Saturdays and Sundays.

Fairy Shoes

What kind of training did you have which helped you achieve your current level of artistry?
I have had no formal training in design, but I did take a 10 month course in multimedia production back in 1995. That covered a little bit about design, but not a lot. I have also taken workshops at craft stores, of course. For the most part, I learned through watching others, through asking other people how they did things, through reading magazines and web sites and by trial and error practice. I’ve made a lot of mistakes and threw a lot of projects in the trash because they didn’t work well. Learning by disaster is another approach to acquiring skills!

I read an article on a blog recently in which a professional scrapbook designer said that the ability to design is born in us, and we either have it or we do not. I agree with that to a point, but not completely. There are many things about design that can be taught or can be learned. After all, very few of us can learn to play piano like Mozart, but most of us, if we wanted, could learn to play well enough to entertain our friends and enjoy ourselves in the process.

Is there a tool or material that you can’t imagine living without?
I could not live without my Fiskar’s paper trimmer, my bone folder and my double sided sticky tape that a local craft company makes and sells. I also could not live without my non-stick scissors for cutting the tape, and another good pair of scissors for making fine paper cuts. I like my craft knives from the Dollar Store also.

Lake Scene Greeting Card

What inspires you to create?
I really can’t answer that. I just feel within me the need to create and that need is strong. I have always had an interest in arts and crafts in various forms, but I discovered paper crafts only about six or seven years ago. I take great joy in making gifts and cards for friends and family. I have only recently began making commissioned projects for others.

What inspires you to keep going when the work gets frustrating or tough?
In 1979, I took training in something called the Silva Method, which is a way of programming our mind to produce the results we want. I have used the Silva Method ever since and have re-taken the training a few times when I needed a refresher. One of the many things this training allows me to do is tell myself at night that I want an idea, layout, design, etc., for a project, and that I want the idea to come to me in the morning. It often does. More recently, I discovered something called emotional freedom technique (EFT Tapping). I use this for a lot of things, but specific to my crafting, I use it to increase creativity and to overcome burnout. There’s information about EFT at www.emofree.com

Cigar Purse

What is your best piece of advice for those who would like to rise in their level of artistry?
Work at developing the skills first, then when you are familiar with the techniques used in your craft, allow your creativity to roam free. Do not feel you must follow the latest trends, buy the latest equipment or copy someone else’s idea of what makes a good project. Judge your work kindly and gently. We are often our own worst critics. If you don’t like something, set it aside for a few months, then look at it again. With fresh eyes, you may find that you like the project very much. And above all, do not get discovered and give up. Take a break from your art from time to time if you need to, but come back to it when the time is right

What takes up the majority of your time besides your art?
Working at my home business (writing and Internet marketing). I also have a number of interests, including kayaking, golf, hiking, Tai Chi, Pilates, reading, and following the meditational and energy-related practices that I mentioned earlier.

Altered Book Sculpture

What are some of your other favorite things?
Oh my, I do love food in almost any form. I like ice cream a lot, but if there were one food I would absolutely not want to ever give up completely, it would be cheese. Favorite book — I read a lot. I cannot say that I have a favorite book. My favorites change regularly. I currently enjoy anything by Joy Fielding.