Art-making processes, for Invicta, are like creative excursions she tells RAW. See the product of these artistic adventures hanging in the Se Hotel at the next San Diego showcase on Thursday, August 26th! 

Tell us about yourself and how you first got started making art?
I started out as a painter and progressed to photography as I found I enjoyed working on my reference photos more than the paintings they were intended to become. My father was the one who first put the pencil in my hand and encouraged me to learn how to use it. Several art instructors I had since inspired me to keep going, despite the perils of the path. 

How would you describe your aesthetic?
I try to avoid doing that because I'm all about preserving my freedom to wander in and out of different aesthetic modes without having to justify my meanderings to anyone. One day, I prefer soft and quiet, the next technicolors. I try to honor the concepts of spontaneous creation, play, and spirituality. Sometimes, this means an image full of depth and haunting meaning .... other times it's really just about the red lips. 

From where do you draw inspiration for your work?
My own personal history and finding ways to subtly document it, the great people who have filled my mind and heart with a passion for art; Michael Jackson being first on that list. Music is a great inspiration, so is performance and movies. Life in all it's fleeting glory feeds me little gems I love to polish. 

What do you love most about what you do? 
I love to feel like what I had on the inside finally made it to the outside in a form that others are at least provoked by. Maybe they understand, maybe they don't, either way it got seen, and perhaps 'heard.'

Do you engage in, or draw inspiration from, any other forms of art? 
Lots of trance music, like Armin Van Buuren, ATB, also really spacey, minimal stuff, classical music, certain movies like "American Beauty," weird horror like the Japanese "Marebito," also other visual artists; I'm a big fan of Alphonse Mucha, some John William Waterhouse. I like a lot of old, classic influences but you'd never know it from looking at my work. It's almost useless to describe things I like because it all gets put in the brain blender and comes out indecipherable to viewers, I think. I've also practiced and performed bellydancing in the past and dance in general has also helped my understanding of the human form. I believe it's made me a better photographer because I gained a sense of how to speak with a body and face.  

From start to finish, explain your process; what does a typical art-making day look like for you?
I create in the wee hours of the night, when time stands still and the world is quiet and dark. The mental takes form more easily as it's shy of harsh midday sun.  

Medium of choice?
Right now it's mainly photography, but I'd like to try to think outside the box and become a multi-media artist, ideally. 

What sort of techniques do you most like working with? 
I like to do a certain amount of photoshop manipulation, but I'm not on the level of extracting someone and putting them in another environment, etc. I like to document what really happened and then enhance it- make it look like what it felt like at the time. Or what it looked like in my mind. 

Are there any artists or art movements, past or present, that strongly inform and influence your work?
Currently I wouldn't say any movement I know of is influencing me, but in the past I've gone through phases; loving everything from Rembrandt to Mark Ryden. Dali, Van Gogh, Mucha, Waterhouse, even Rothko. When I first sat in front of a Rothko I got lost in it. It was so huge, it enveloped me and put me in a very meditative state, much like the music I enjoy listening to today. Whatever gives me a sense of escaping the humdrum of daily life, I tend to like. 

Any previous exhibitions/collaborations that you are particularly proud of? 
To be honest my career as a fine artist involved in showing has been rather short. While I was a student I participated in things like county fairs and student shows, one time I got a Best of Show for an oil painting I did during my really drippy 'loose' phase. This showcase is the perfect debut for me as a photographer and I'm very proud of being invited to show here, thank you RAW! 

Any accomplishments/goals you hope to achieve as an artist in the future?
I think the goal of staying an artist would be accomplishment enough in this economy! I just hope to keep on creating and have a life that supports my zany artistic habits. 

Favorite thing to do outside of your craft? 
Gather inspirations for my next creative excursion.