MEYSPRING’s Artist of the Month - January 2022
Congrats, Lamara Inspired Resin Art!
We are over the moon to present the first MEYSPRING Artist of the Month for 2022, @lamara.inspired.resinart, aka Lamara Mikheidze! Lamara is a Canadian-based fashion designer turned mixed media/resin artist that creates incredibly lifelike artwork. Especially her resin geode art, it’s truly a marvel to admire. She has a unique style and talent, combining eye-catching textures and gorgeous color schemes in all of her work.
At MEYSPRING, we're honored to have become a part of her artistic journey last year through the launch of the Geode Art Collection, and we’re excitedly anticipating her future creations with MEYSPRING Pigments!
Meet the Artist
We’ve gotten the behind-the-scenes action with Lamara about her background, work, inspirations, and more! Read on to get to know this fabulous artist, and for a surprise fun fact, we never would have guessed!
How long have you been working with resin?
It has been three years using resin as a medium. Before, I used it to seal my acrylic paintings.
Tell us more about yourself!
I am one of those people that has always to be doing something. I love learning new things all the time. I am a fashion designer by trade. Have been for 20+ years. On a personal level, I have lots of passions but three huge loves: my dogs, my art, and my family. I love nature and animals (been vegan for 11 years now), hiking outside on a beautiful day is so integral to my soul, and I love being creative, sewing all kinds of things, and making jewelry. Most people ask me: do you ever sleep?
Fun Fact: Lamara has an impressive collection of around a thousand Barbies from the ’70s and early 80s! How cool is that?
What makes/made you choose MEYSPRING pigments?
I learned about MEYSPRING from the wonderful Susan Day of Pour Girl Art. She was always using your pigments and asked me to collaborate with the launch of the Geode Art Collection, and the rest is history.
What is your favorite pigment color and/or color scheme?
That changes all the time! I am loving greens now: Imperial Emerald, Shiny Malachite, and Mermaid Dust as some of my favorites. I also love Opulent Tanzanite, Turquoise Blue, Purple Amethyst, Rose Quartz, and Silver Druzy. I can easily say I never met a MEYSPRING pigment I did not love. They are so wonderful to work with and deliver remarkable effects.
Where do you find your inspiration and/or motivation?
Mostly from nature. I am always looking at stones and agates for inspiration. I get a lot of my color inspiration from fashion.
How much time do you dedicate to your resin art?
As much as I possibly can! I usually work a crazy schedule, but I try to do one thing a day. Some days it’s a flood coat, others a base coat, or detail work. I rarely take a day off from art in some capacity.
What are your goals for your artistic journey?
My immediate goal is to have more exposure locally. I sell most of my work in the United States and Ontario but would like more representation here in Quebec. I also want to have more shows and participate in creative outlets in our area regularly. Eventually, the plan is to work on one-on-one classes and instruction in a studio. I love watching people learn and have always believed everyone has a secret artist inside waiting to play.
Do you have any tips or tricks you'd like to share and/or your most significant "Aha moment" you've had creating resin pieces?
The most significant “Aha moment” for me was that you don’t need a lot of resin to cover an area. I used always to mix too much resin and have tons of leftovers. However, if you have a high-quality pigment, a little bit goes a long way, and you can easily cover a spot with less resin.
Another “Aha moment” was the actual discovery of resin as a medium. I had never thought about coloring resin or pouring paint on surfaces. I am self-taught, and I always loved painting people and spent endless hours copying old masters to learn from, so my view was more traditional: acrylics, oils, pastels.
Any words of advice for artists that are wanting to work with resin?
The best advice I ever got is to buy the best tools you can for your budget. Resin can be a costly medium, and having the right pigments and pastes is so important. Try out different resins as well because not all resins are created equal.
My biggest piece of advice is don’t measure yourself against others, have fun with art. If everyone hates it, but you love it, that is all that counts.
When I started this journey, I wanted to do something for myself. I was 47 and had just ended a 15-year relationship. I had never shown my art except to family. I created an Instagram account thinking I would get 500 followers if I'm lucky. Since I wanted to expand my horizons, I entered a small local show on a whim. I had 4 paintings on display in a multi-artist show. I was astonished that night to see people connecting to my pieces.
Fast forward a pandemic, two other shows, incredible partnerships, a whole lot of art, and I am at 30 thousand followers. I have sold hundreds of paintings, collaborated with so many people to create custom pieces, made new friends, built a community, and had so many beautiful moments along the way that I cannot believe that I once tried to talk myself out of this adventure.
So biggest advice, go for it.
Congratulations again to Lamara on winning January’s MEYSPRING Artist of the Month!
To see more of Lamara’s work, check out her Instagram and Etsy Store:
Instagram: @lamara.inspired.resinart
Etsy: LamaraInspired
Would you like to be featured as February’s Artist of the Month? Tag us @meyspring or use #MeyspringPigments on Instagram to be entered. The winner will be announced on February 28th, 2022, via MEYSPRING’s Instagram feed and story! All winners will receive a $100 Gift Card towards www.meyspring.com and be featured across our social media pages! Minimum 3 tagged/mentioned posts required to be eligible.
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