The Jealous Curator’s dreamlike collages with comical captions are an ode to creativity

Something about collage art makes us want to create more. Specifically, the medium of collage allows you to take a bunch of seemingly different pieces and put them together in the name of concocting a beautiful puzzle. Making art can also legitimately help improve mental health, which is just another reason to carve out some time to get creative.

If you don’t know where to start, we recommend checking out the work of Danielle Krysa, also known as The Jealous Curator. A blogger, author, curator, and podcast host, Krysa makes some seriously trippy and dreamy pieces that have us itching to get our hands messy.

Her pieces mix bright colors and images that look like they were plucked from a 1950s magazine.  If you notice some resemblance to the work of Richard Hamilton, that’s no coincidence — she was definitely influenced by his work and “wanted to cut up every magazine [her] parents owned” after seeing it.

Krysa keeps pretty busy with her writing and podcast, but making time to create art is still really important to her.

"I try to block off all day Saturday, even if it’s just to cut images or experiment with paint strokes," Krysa tells HelloGiggles in an email. "If I don’t make anything at least once a week I get pretty grouchy — it’s really in my family’s best interest for me to have some studio time on the weekend!"

She definitely knows what it’s like to deal with a creative block, though. That’s part of the reason why she published a book with ~50 exercises~ for beating that creative blockage. “Creative Block” features the advice of some awesome creatives who know a thing or two about finding inspiration. Krysa has a few tips herself.

"I used to just sit and stare at blank canvases waiting for inspiration to strike. FYI, that doesn’t work very often. Now I either take a spin around my local thrift shop, flip through old books, or sit in my studio cutting out random images. Even if I’m not feeling very creative as soon as I start playing around, relaxing, and not expecting a perfect masterpiece out of that day’s studio time things usually start to flow. If they don’t, at least I have a whole bunch of stuff cut out and ready to go when inspiration does strike!

Krysa just recently did a TEDx talk on tackling your inner critic in light of her upcoming book on quieting the thoughts that prevent you from being the most creative you can be.

We’re definitely keeping an eye on her projects in 2017. In the meantime, we’re going to grab some magazines, paint, and any random materials we find around our place. Time to get a little messy.