Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Alexandra Hazel. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Alexandra, thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?
I have always been a bit of a perfectionist, and while this tends to be rather exhausting at times, it also pushes me to strive to be the absolute best I know I am capable of being.
I am sort of an extremist. It’s either all the way, or not at all. This mentality may differ from those who are pragmatic or traditional, but as an artist who strongly believes in passion and emotions, this is literally what executes my artworks and makes these pieces all that they are.
This is what drives me to work hard and expect a lot from myself. When I suspect that I somehow don’t meet my own requirements, I instinctively feel it. But when I do satisfy what I know I could, it’s like this beautiful, gigantic, joyous feeling from within that beholds much warmth and strength.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I am a Mixed-Media Collage Artist, as well as Fine Art Photographer.
At this time, I am focusing on making Mixed-Media Collages that I orchestrate to be three-dimensional, and I create them within Shadowbox Frames. I call these special, handmade pieces Dream Boxes.
I also shoot Moody, Atmospheric Photography.
I love to combine the macabre and melancholy with highly-saturated color in my artworks. My aesthetic beholds hauntingly beautiful imagery with a romantic horror quality.
What’s also special about my art creations is that my husband and I work together on most of them. I do the Mixed-Media Collage and Photography, while he does the intricate Framework of which we place our art pieces into.
Our art brand name, October Cult, comes from many places. We love the month of October and Samhain / Halloween season. We also love various music bands, most of which belong to the rock ‘n’ roll category. Some of our favorite bands heavily used both of these terms (“October” and “Cult”) in their music. We also feel our dynamic, along with our pets, is a tight-knit community. So it’s a combination of sorts, the idea of October Cult.
Our motto is “Dreaming in the Darkness”. We are always working on something new. The best place to find us is on Instagram @octobercult and / or at a local art show / event! We travel all over the Northeast where we exhibit our artwork at various, in-person, pop-up shows and events with cool, alternative themes that are usually Oddity-related on some level. We are currently on tour through mid-late December. Our Tour list is available on our IG page.
We sometimes set our page to Private due to imposters, so please send a Follow request if you find us when the page has Privacy settings up.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
While I was in college, I studied and got my B.F.A. in Fine Arts, with a Focus on Media Arts & Photography.
However, for years thereafter, I didn’t do Fine Art as a career. Instead, I made my life more about surviving in big cities such as New York City and Seattle, trying to make rent while also enjoying the amenities these places had to offer.
So I became a Makeup Artist, as this choice felt sensible at the time. I could still be creative, yet make reliable income.
After several years of being in the beauty industry, I then decided to shift into something I felt was a little more humble, to give back to the world, so to speak. I became a Dog Trainer.
In truth, as grateful as I am for learning these trades, I just was never happy in either of these atmospheres. I always knew neither of these were my calling. As an introvert, I found myself drained on a daily basis within both endeavors.
So naturally, it was a breath of fresh air to get back into creating artwork. I have found that the demands that exist within this career path feel right and acceptable to me.
Therefore, the three areas of knowledge I think are the most essential to develop would be self-awareness, listening to your gut, and following your own dreams.
Looking back, however, I will say it was important to me at one time to live in big cities. Sometimes I’m not sure how I could rewrite my story. Perhaps I don’t need to. Perhaps it worked out the way it was supposed to.
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
Since we absolutely love music, my husband and myself are hoping to add to our repertoire of art genres. We want to design album covers for rock ‘n’ roll bands that we have respect for.
Music is a huge part of what drives our work. We often listen to music while working in the art studio.
My creativity heavily depends upon alluring imagery, and I find that music helps me tap into this part of my vision.
If there are bands that would like to get in touch with us and have us design their album covers, that would be welcome.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.octobercult.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/octobercult/
- Other: As mentioned previously, our Instagram is sometimes set to Private. We do this to not only protect our artwork, but also to look out for our loyal patrons. If you look us up and find our page to be set to private, please just send a Follow request.
Image Credits
All images from October Cult
