bio

​Errin Ironside is an artist, graphic designer, and gardener living in the U.S. Her main art practice is focused on handmade collage where she uses discarded books and magazines to create small scale pieces that inhabit concepts of mental health and commentary on societal concerns. She is deeply interested in the therapeutic quality of collage and sees it as an exceptionally accessible form of art. 

​artist statement

I welcome the unexpected in my art. My pieces are often not planned; they emerge from the process of examining how found materials can be reimagined into works of art. As I forage my stash of supplies, piles begin to accumulate on my desk. It’s like building a color palette; it all starts with color for me. There is usually one paper scrap that sparks where a piece begins and the rest flows from there. A space without words emerges and everything is just a feeling, an openness to whatever will come next.​
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​Magic Eye

There is a place I like to go.
Not a physical place, a state of mind I refer to as magic eye.

A place to notice without brain chatter.
An open airy window to fill my senses.
A flow state. Fully immersed.
A place to let things go.
A place to let things in.

Creating art takes me to this ​meditative place.

I have learned that the trick is to just jump right in. Set expectations aside and be open to what unfolds. Just make things with whatever supplies are on hand.

I call it magic eye because it reminds me of the 1990s op-art magic eye autostereogram pictures, where there is a hidden 3-D image inside a 2-D pattern. The trick is to get really close then slowly give yourself some distance and the image will come into view.

Just get right in there! Discover something new.

It’s equal parts participation and relaxation. You have to focus your eyes by looking a little deeper, looking beyond while also being present, then you see what it’s waiting to reveal.

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