Crew Interview – Lynne Joncas

Where do you reside? City, State, Country
I live in Kingsville, a small town in southwestern Ontario, Canada, with my husband, grown daughter, 2 dogs, and 6 cats (that’s right-I’m a crazy cat lady!!) I also have a grown son who is attending university in Shanghai, China.

Describe your design style…
My design style is pretty eclectic, but I tend to favour creating vintage or monochromatic projects. I love to add texture and dimension whenever I can, and enjoy tearing and distressing. Although 12×12 layouts are my first love and mixed media canvases are a close second, I really do enjoy challenging myself to try new and different projects, techniques and styles, like altered items and art journalling.

Who or what do you give credit to inspiring your creativity?
I have always been a crafter, but my passion for papercrafting and the like really blossomed when one of my daughter’s teachers was retiring, about ten years ago. The class had written little blurbs about her to help out another teacher who was looking for anecdotes to use when speaking at her retirement party, and I thought putting them into a little keepsake book for her would be a nice send-off. Well, that “little” book turned into a 12×12 album with photos, patterned paper and embellishments along with the kids’ stories…from then on I was hooked!
A while later I was fortunate enough to be able to take a couple classes taught by the amazing Polish artist Finnabair, whose work I greatly admired. She inspired my love of mixed media and misting, and she continues to do so with her beautiful and creative ideas.

What inspires you today?
I’m often inspired by a certain photo or a meaningful quote, and those are the starting points of many of my projects. Sometimes the lyrics of a song will get me thinking about how I could incorporate them into a piece of art, and I’m also often inspired by the unique and lovely creations of other crafters, including of course the fabulous Crew here at CCB!. Having designed for a few companies, I find I am often inspired by the interesting products I receive to work with, and I love that these products often take me out of my creative comfort zone and into new and exciting techniques and styles.

What is your favorite Canvas Corp Brand Product? and why? Just one please!!!
Ohhh, I love it all, but hands down my absolute favourite is Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist! I first saw it used in online galleries and was fascinated. I won a gift card to my local scrap store and used it on a package of three mists, then began experimenting with different ways to use it. Over the years I have tried other mists, but I find the quality and range of colours unsurpassed, and they are truly the only ones I haven’t had trouble with clogging! TA Glimmer Mists are an absolute must for my mixed media canvases, and I incorporate them in many other projects as well. I confess I accidentally misted one of our cats a lovely shade of turquoise once…oops!

We asked Lynne to choose her favorite project she has created using CCB Products.

Why is it your favorite project?
I love the way the cheesecloth looked when misted and the way the colours blended, and most of all I love that it is an expression of my faith.This canvas went together so easily and was a pleasure to create.

Do you teach and if so tell us a bit about what you teach, where you go and some of your favorite places?
Up til now I have shied away from teaching because I have a hearing problem, but maybe one of these days if I bring along a helper who can answer questions, etc.

I am the happiest doing…
Besides crafting, thinking about crafting, shopping for craft supplies and organizing my craft supplies the things that make me happiest are spending time with my fabulous best friend or my amazing daughter (sometimes eating out, sightseeing or shopping, other times just sitting and gabbing!); poking around funky thrift stores or antique shops ( I find a lot of great embellishments and things to alter in these places) or curling up with a great book, a hot cup of tea, a fuzzy blanket and several cuddly pets.

My favorite place to be creative…
After my son left home for school overseas, I commandeered his wonderfully roomy bedroom, which has a whole wall of windows! I painted over his dark purple walls with a soft grey to lighten it up even more and replaced the old carpet with tile flooring (my crafting chair is on wheels and I love to be able to roll all over the room to grab supplies!) Sometimes I craft in the living room in the evening while hubby and I watch tv, and I occasionally attend crops, but my scraproom/studio is definitely my happy place for creating.

Tell us one cool detail about your studio or craft space…
My hubby built me that paper rack and I have tons of labeled clear storage drawers all over the room; I like things put away but I need them to be accessible or I forget I have them! (out of sight, out of mind, they say).

Tell us one thing fun about you we might not know…
I’m crazy about squirrels! We once rescued and raised an orphaned baby squirrel, and she had the run of our house and played with our cats and dogs. Since then I’ve helped out a friend who has rehabbed and released several squirrels, and I have supported a squirrel rescue organization for quite a while. My friends send me squirrel pictures on Facebook, and I collect squirrel-themed home decor, clothing, dishes-you name it!

Share with us anything about your creative life that you feel would inspire others…
I’m crazy about squirrels! We once rescued and raised an orphaned baby squirrel, and she had the run of our house and played with our cats and dogs. Since then I’ve helped out a friend who has rehabbed and released several squirrels, and I have supported a squirrel rescue organization for quite a while. My friends send me squirrel pictures on Facebook, and I collect squirrel-themed home decor, clothing, dishes-you name it!