Leo New Moon August 9, 2010 8:08 pm pdt

Spotlight on Robin Rizzi Aliso Viejo, California Etsy Shop: http://www.rrizzart.etsy.com

I am a self-taught artist/artisan working mostly in mixed media jewelry and collage. Although I have only recently considered myself a professional artist, art has always been a significant part of my life. True to the sign of Leo, I am an independent spirit and confident with who I am. I believe this is why so many of my early artistic endeavors involved making altered clothes and other types of wearable art for myself, as well as personal art for my home. Perhaps the Leonine qualities of ambition and pride led me to eventually share my work with the world although I prefer to think the impetus for creating art for others had more to do with my innate generosity and a warm sharing spirit, typical of Leos.

My artwork is clearly reflective of the Leo spirit: most of my pieces are bright and richly colored, and heavily embellished. Some may see my work as gaudy but I revel in its extravagance! There can never be too much color or too much glitter and sparkle! I am a firm believer in the concept that ideas and feelings worth expressing should be delivered with drama and flair. I believe it was Emil Zola who said, "I am an artist. I live my life out loud." This is my mantra. As artists we are forced to examine and reveal our feelings; we cannot be shy about that and stay true to ourselves. This generosity of spirit, so typical of Leos, is also evident in the inspirational nature of much of my work. Many of my collage pieces are in the form of a cross, but I view them more as an expression of hope and spirituality, rather than representations of a specific faith. I like my work to provide positive energy to the viewer, to encourage others to expand their hearts and minds; thus, many pieces simply dictate "Dream" or "Inspire".

I find it uncanny how my work is influenced by my astrological sign and the more I think about it, the more I believe that I may in fact be a zodiacal late-bloomer. The more my work has evolved (I will be 51 this month), the more evident my Leo qualities have become and now that I am running my own business and selling my work, I get to be my own boss and tap into that delicious independent, controlling streak. I have no idea where my art will take me, but wherever it is, I will go roaring all the way!