Introduction
My name is Charissa and I’m a mixed media artist that grew up crying in art class. Really. I only discovered my love for art about a year and a half ago. I use a lot of layers, collage, paint, paper and ink in my pages. I create inside journals, books and in loosely bound pages.
What are you creatively addicted to? When did you start?
I am creatively addicted to processing trauma through art. It is important for me to be able to process all of my life’s events — both good and bad through art. As far as material I’m addicted to india ink and iridescent medium right now. Can’t get enough! I also LOVE glass bead medium — I made my own on my Youtube Channel at the beginning of April. I started creating in August of 2011, at what I affectionately refer to as a “low point” in my life. I was seeing a therapist and she told me I should pursue art if it made me happy. After years of telling myself I didn’t like art and didn’t want to “do art”, it was a hard change for me. I needed to learn that art means creating for yourself and not coloring inside someone else’s lines.
What’s your inspiration?
I’ve always been a creative person. I understand better when I can tangibly create/re-create/learn through touch. I’ve been able to process difficult things with more ease through the creation of art. Being able to abandon my critic and paint/create/splatter/drip etc for me and for no one else has been so incredibly therapeutic.
Do you have any upcoming projects?
I consistently create in about 6 journals at a time. I do a mixed myriad of watercolor journals, loose papers, cards and bound books. I also occasionally do canvases. Just really depends on my mood! A lot of my creative fervor is really geared towards teaching. I teach e-courses every other month through my blog (www.thesmashbook.com) and love helping my students harness their creative juju! (E-courses are half off for Creative Addiction readers with the code “CreateAddict” through June 1st 2013!)
Where can people find your work?
The Smashbook is where you can find my art and all the other links to my stuff online!
Blog: www.thesmashbook.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/thesmashbook
Twitter: www.twitter.com/smashbook
Instagram: www.instagram.com/smashbook
Name one thing you would like people to know about you.
I cried my eyes out in an art class when I was in third grade. Seriously. Because of that experience, I have absolutely no formal or classical training in art. A lot of people think that’s crazy, but it’s true! I’m a firm believer that you can be an artist without any sort of classical training or instruction. Creativity is something that’s natural, not taught. 
