Interview with Alyce Keegan

Hi, everyone!  Mitzi here.  Only 2 weeks till the announcement of our first challenge!  Are you excited?  I sure am!  I'm glad you can join us today for another installment of my Designer Interview series.  Today, I'm thrilled to introduce to you Alyce Keegan.  Everyone, please meet Alyce!

Alyce Keegan

Mitzi:  I remember the first card I saw from you with my digi was "Girl with Pansy". The coloring on the image was so unique and beautiful.  You really captured the magic and added something so special with your artistry.  How long have you been coloring/paper crafting, and how did you get started? 

Alyce's luscious card with lace and flowers with "Girl with Pansy"

Alyce: I have been crafting and colouring for just about 2 years now :) I first bought copics as my tutor suggested them to me in uni for my final assessment (I studied for a bachelor of interior design). I bought them...didn't know how to use them...and left them in the box ;) After uni I found them again and thought I spent way too much money on them not to use them! So I googled copics and found The Greeting Farm stamps... and then I was hooked! I practiced every night to get better. 

Mitzi: It's a good thing your box of Copics got a second chance.  Now they love you!  Next question.  One of the things we notice right away when looking at your cards is that you put a lot of yummy lace and flowers. The resulting look is very feminine and opulent, but remains delightfully airy. Just curious, but do you dress like that in real life, too? (I'm picturing a porcelain doll.) 

Alyce: Haha...this is my favourite question...YES! I wish I was born in the 1950s... I love that clothing style! We have a beautiful store over here called Review where all of the furnishings and outfits are vintage style and it is my most favourite shop :) And I pretty much ONLY wear dresses.

Mitzi: (Called it, didn't I?)  I knew it!! LOL  These dresses are adorable!   Now, When you're not coloring and crafting, what do you enjoy doing? 

Alyce: I love reading... but not vintage or feminine books...I love fantasy :) And I have a gorgeous gorgeous Persian cat called Lila. I love to play with her but she thinks I'm a bully hehe.

Mitzi:  A lacy, frilly girl playing with a fluffy kitty ... I totally get the picture!  Hehe.  I am so not surprised to hear that your kitty is a Persian.  Your taste in things is consistent.   Next question for you.  All of your cards are so carefully colored and elaborately decorated. On average, how long do you spend on a single project? 

Beautifully unique coloring with delightful dimension with "Peace Rose"

Alyce: Depending on the complexity of the image, it can take me between 1-2 hours to colour, and about 1-2 hours to make my card. I prefer colouring to making... but I have an amazing craft room where I sit downstairs and watch Buffy while making all of my cards in a row. I colour upstairs during the week so I can be with Jon and Lila :)

Mitzi: Nice!  Gosh, I seem to be the only one here who is completely anti-social while doing artwork...  Everything and everyone gets pretty much ignored when I'm absorbed in work.  A random question for you, Alyce.   Who is/are your favorite musical artist(s)?

Alyce: I love 80s and 90s music. I wish I was a Spice Girl...(Crafty Spice anyone?).

Mitzi: Haha, me, too, about 80s and 90s music! XD  I find myself listening to a lot of that while working.  Hehe, you would have been a cute addition to the Spice Girls.  I already know your answer, but I must ask.   I saw on your FB profile that you like the movie, "Milo and Otis" (I love that movie, too!!). Are you a dog person or a cat person? 

Alyce: I love Milo and Otis! Well, I must admit I am a cat person... but I love dogs because you can take them around. Lila is a pug nosed cat so I kind of mixed both Milo and Otis together to get her. ;) One day I would love a Pekingese dog...it's just like Lila but a dog, hehe!

"The Adventures of Milo and Otis", highly recommended by Alyce and Mitzi, is a 1986 Japanese film, originally titled "Koneko Monogatari" (A Kitten's Story).  US release version was narrated by the delightful Dudley Moore.

Mitzi: There's something irresistible about that face, isn't there?  Just so lovable!  The next question is going to be obvious, but I ask all my designers this question, so here we go.  What is your favorite art tool and why? 

Alyce: Copics...do they count? :) I'm not very good at other mediums...sometimes I practice but get frustrated so go back to copics!

Mitzi: Absolutely!!  Well, you work so well with them I can understand why you'd stick with them.  I have yet to try Copics, but I'm big on experimenting (read "playing and goofing around"), so you'll probably see me start using them at some point in the future.  OK, the next question is one of my favorite interview questions.  When you were little, what did you want to be when you grow up? 

Alyce: I think we covered this in question 5...Crafty Spice ;)

Mitzi: Haha, of course!  My bad!  Last question. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you like to go visit? 

Alyce: I would love to visit either Europe or the US. I have been to LA and Colorado twice now... but not since crafting. I would love to go over and meet some of my crafty friends/teach some classes... oh, and visit Disneyland!! (Again!) 

Mitzi: One is never too old for Disneyland! :D  Now, I'd like to show you some of Alyce's colored pieces.  Thank you for joining today for this interview with Alyce!  I had so much fun.  I hope you did,  too.  For tips and technique on Alyce's unique style of coloring, be sure to check out her site.  Links are found in the caption of the photos below. ;)

Next Monday will be our sixth and the final presentation of Designer Interview series.  I will be interviewing Donna Mundinger.  Hope you can join us!  Till then, happy coloring!!

Lovely ocean themed card with "Mermaid's Wish"

You can take a coloring course on hair from Alyce's online course, using "Snow Queen".
http://kitandclowder.ning.com/project-classes/snow-queen

You can watch Alyce's color-along video of "Elven Princess", too.
http://kitandclowder.ning.com/colour-along/sunday-23-february-9am-aest