Meet Geoff Mitchell | Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Geoff Mitchell and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Geoff, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
Of course, as an artist, you are very often told as you’re learning how important it is to take risks and I think that’s true, it’s how we grow – and intuitively I think we all know that, it would be hard to deny it. In college, I began as a painter and soon found myself making short films. Having been a musician since I was younger, I was able to develop my own soundtracks for these films, which led me into creating sound environments for art exhibits. My interest in filmmaking brought me to consider stop-motion animation and that led me into making miniature room dioramas, puppets and storytelling, as well as other sculptural projects. The storytelling sparked my interest in making a vintage style radio drama, which really pressed me to advance in music composition, and directing actors, as well as the question of how to create an installation to show such a project in an exhibit. I think risk taking is following curiosity. Still though, no matter what I try, painting is “home” for me, and all the rest of it is “traveling”. And so, it is great fun and adventure to travel and take risks, and also sometimes it’s nice to be home.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
At the moment I’m most proud of the project I’m involved in with a group of artists to create a new museum here in Southern California named “Museum of Make Believe”, a special subject that can encompass almost anything you can imagine! The story of how I came to be involved with this started years ago … likely when I was in graduate studies where I often found myself pushing back against the conceptual framework of what was being taught in art school. I grew up inspired by and loving things like Disneyland – and being quite driven by visuals and personal concepts of beauty and what is magical. Suddenly I found myself immersed in an academic world of art theory and at times, I felt at odds with all I believed that I knew. As it turns out, that’s really a good thing, because often we can learn what we are by finding what we are not. I think of it as drawing the negative space in order to find and see the positive. So, I’m thankful for that schooling, although I struggled for years trying to fit in. I believe it was when I began making dioramas, miniature rooms that tell stories in a sequence – that’s when my exhibits started to flower – I really let go of all of the expectations and began making the work I wanted to make, including large props and puppetry and sound environments, as well as character costumes and live entertainment events. Eventually, the group of people I was working with all seemingly at the same time had the thought – “what if we could open a place and do this all the time” – and so the idea for “Museum of Make Believe” was born. Please watch our website at museumofmakebelieve.org for announcements on where to visit us soon!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I know it’s not exactly L.A. but I’d have to take them to Disneyland and perhaps Universal Studios, and particularly Hogwarts, with dinner at Three Broomsticks or The Toothsome Chocolate Emporium, Griffith Park Observatory, The Magic Castle, The Huntington Library, El Cholo Mexican Restaurant and Naples Canals just to name a few!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Absolutely! I agree, and there are so many people. First and foremost, I thank my wife, Amy, who has been a constant supporter, critique source, and has given love & encouragement all along the way. My first drawing instructor in college, Mr. Joseph DeLuca, he inspired me to change my course from what I was on at the time, as a graphic design student, and go into fine art. He really began to show me what I wanted to be. Many other artists have inspired me from Matthew Barney to Walt Disney. There are too many friends to name in Minneapolis, where I went to college, and in Chicago and Southern California. But also, if we can bear it, I’d like to point out that there is also much to be learned sometimes where love and encouragement are missing. There may be gold lying there … if we can tie it to the idea of how important it is to take risks and really look into it.

Website: geoffmitchellstudio.com

Instagram: instagram.com/geoff.mitchell.studio/

Facebook: facebook.com/geoffmitchellstudio

Youtube: youtube.com/@museumofmakebelieve

Other: Please also visit us at : museumofmakebelieve.org/ And follow us on instagram! instagram.com/museumofmakebelieve/