jb:*WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO BECOME AN ARTIST?

nb: I’ve always loved art, in many forms.  I studied classical music as a teenager, and often begged to be left for the day – blissfully alone – at the Australian National Art Gallery during school holidays.  I’ve long had a fascination with Art History, and also what inspires other artists.  I try to draw on all these areas when creating my own work.  I find it most rewarding when I’ve had an idea for a very long time – ruminating somewhere in the back of my mind – that I am able to bring to life.  There is nothing quite like it!

sutanvito

jb*CAN YOU TAKE US THROUGH YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS?

nb: For the past couple of years I’ve been doodling and sketching in a couple of special ideas books, and often find the medium of a pencil on paper will iron out some design flaws even before I start with my cutters, pliers and wire.  I have been known to search long and hard for a particular gem to incorporate into one of these planned designs.  For my more ornate wire wrapped designs, I nearly always start with a wire frame that is carefully shaped, hammered, tweaked, and then wrapped in a much thinner wire.  From there on in, the design dictates the process.

the sketching

the process

the completed piece

jb*HOW DO YOU PROMOTE YOUR WORK?

nb: I strongly believe that word of mouth is still the best form of advertising.  That said, I do sell online, so promoting online makes sense!  I have a blog, where I am totally self indulgent and blog about my designs, about aspects of my life, and artists that inspire me.  I also twitter and use Facebook.  I currently stock galleries and shops that have also been fabulous in promoting my work (I’ve been exceptionally lucky in the choices I’ve made there!) and I also am part of an organization called ItchyPod which promotes South Australian Art.

unfurling

bumblebee

calypso

jb: *THE BEST ADVICE GIVEN TO YOU THAT YOU WOULD PASS ON?

nb: When I first started selling online I remember being completely devastated  by some feedback from a very kind friend who told me that my photos were awful.  But, I took that on board and looked at my photos with fresh eyes – they were indeed cringe-worthy!  I suppose my advice would be – if you ask for feedback, and you trust the source it is coming from, act on it!

plumage

london fog

jb: *YOU HAVE THE MONEY AND FIVE MINUTES… WHAT WOULD YOU BUY AND WHY?

This is such a tough question, as I have a list an arm long of things that I would like in my home – one day!  As we currently have a miss-matched set of dining chairs that are teamed with a stunning Jarrah and rock maple dining table (built for me by a talented boat building friend). I think I would have to go for those fabulous dining chairs designed by Australian Iconic Designers Charles and Ray Eames from Living Edge.

To find more about Natalia and Realisations Creations just follow the links below!

Shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/realisationcreations

Blog: http://realisationcreations.blogspot.com

Thank you Natalia!

Writer’s warning…

You will be in awe of her talent as I am, and I defy you not to be touched by her interpretation of humanity…  Her sculptures might be faceless but they ‘will speak to you’… Dana is an extremely brave Artist. She just not only depict life’s gifts in the colors of the rainbow but also interprets in a tangible way the raw pain, hurt, grief and loneliness that most of us have experienced at one time or another in our our lives. Dana reveals it for the world to see.

me!

jb✶ WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO BECOME AN ARTIST?

dat – I think that for those who have this natural drive in them, there is less of an inspiration to become an artist than there is an inherent need to do so.  It is asking song birds why they sing.  For me personally, I just couldn’t imagine NOT sculpting my emotions out of me.  I think they would burst from me in other, less inspiring ways.  :)

dragonfly3

lifting you up

jb✶ CAN YOU TAKE US THROUGH YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS?

dat – My  process varies based on the moment.  I may be inspired by the color of clay and out comes a fox.  Other times I have something in me that weighs on my being and I have to expel it in clay and be able to put it on a shelf that is away from me.  I have an entire collection called In Some Dark Place that was born via that drive.  Usually once a new collection begins, I tend to obsess over it a quite a bit and mentally walk through sculpting various pieces that would belong in it.  So, to recap and give you the short answer – I am all over the place!  It definitely keeps it fresh though. As for my workspace, my clay is very portable and I sculpt all over the place, basically where ever I am seated including the car!

deepest

orphanage

empty

jb✶ HOW DO YOU PROMOTE YOUR WORK?

dat – You know, right now I have been very lucky to not need to do a lot of promotion.  I get a lot of business via word of mouth from my clients and people finding me on Etsy, and am so thankful that they share my work with others.  I also have a lot of traffic coming into the shop from Facebook.  Although I have a fan page on Facebook, I maintain my personal page much better and it is a regular free-for-all in there.  I think as an artist it’s important for people to see not just the work, but the person behind it as well and be able to connect with them from time to time.  I love making friends and being playful with new people.

always with twins

soothing boo's boo boo

the harvest

jb✶ THE BEST ADVICE EVER GIVEN TO YOU THAT YOU WOULD PASS ON?

dat – I have been given so many pearls of wisdom it is hard to pick one!  Probably the advice I conjure most regularly is to keep the heart in it.  If you don’t have the passion or drive to create a certain piece, it is going to show in the results. Sometimes, although it makes me cringe to do so, I have to turn down a custom request because I worry the results won’t show the integrity and inspiration of the artist.  Without that, the feeling is muted and the voice of the piece silenced.

long distance relationship

jb✶ YOU HAVE MONEY AND 5 MINUTES…  WHAT YOU WOULD BUY AND WHY?

dat – Okay, that seriously took me 15 minutes because I am always so indecisive among wonderful things.  I am going to have to go with this little gnome and teddy because I love small faceless things that depict attachment and sentiment. I also love anything that can be held in the hand and coddled!  http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=39249213&ref=fp_feat_1
Oh Julie, I was about to plug the artist and just realized this is your piece!  Apparently we are meant to be – how funny!

Etsy:  www.themidnightorange.com
Facebook: www.Facebook.com/themidnightorange
Blogspot: www.themidnightorange.blogspot.com/
Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/38927632@N03/

T’il next week… , tourlou!

me!

jb✶ What inspired you to become an metal clay Artist?

rb: I was born in the UK and educated, trained and worked as a research scientist.  In 1996, I moved to the US and my visa wouldn’t allow me to work…and so it was time to re-invent myself!  I tried a variety of different things from massage therapy, to teaching, to going back to school for a master’s program , to non-profit work….and then one day I read a magazine article about metal clay.  I’d never made jewelry before but it seemed so clever a medium that I was immediately fascinated and had my first design already planned out in my head! I bought some clay, a how-to DVD and the rest is history!  Here I am 4 years later spending all my time creating with metal clay and loving it!  It was never a goal, not a plan, just something that came about.

mommy bird and her babes

birdhouses

doug the dog

jb✶ Can you take us through your creative process?

rb: – My creations all start with an emotion.  I firstly think of what emotion I want the piece of jewelry to evoke in the wearer and viewer whether that emotion is happy, comforted, loved, playful, or……  From there I tend to come up with my ideas as I’m falling asleep or driving and my mind is wandering somewhere else!  My pet parrot and all the birds in our garden are also key in my inspiration and many of my designs are bird-oriented.  My drawing skills are extremely limited, so I don’t draw, but figure out the design in my head and how it will hang/attach etc…..and then I get some clay and start sculpting.  I love the sculptural aspect of metal clay – you squidge (technical term :=D) it into the shape you want, then let it dry, sand and refine it, fire it in the kiln and then finish it!  The naming of the piece is all important too.  Sometimes the name comes first, sometimes after I’ve created the piece, when I look in the eyes of the little bird or whatever – and a name just pops out!

hold on to love

welsh-the-rabbit

my studio - a tiny attic space I can only stand up in the middle of!

jb✶ How do you promote your work?

rb: My promotion strategy is relatively simple.  I try to take the best photos that I can and let each piece tell it’s own little story.  I have a blog where I tells the stories behind what I create and why I did it….what the piece means to me etc,  and my own website.  Additionally, I sell on Etsy and Dawanda.  My blog automatically posts on Facebook and Twitter but I don’t use Twitter for anything else.  I love to do caption competitions where my little characters “pose” in a photo and then people have to come up with their caption for the photo  and the best caption wins one of my pieces.  They always seem to bring in new people.

mallard

watch the birdie- bird track bracelet

love birds Humphrey and Trisha

jb✶ The best advice ever given to you that you would pass on?

rb: One of my favorite pieces of advice  I actually read on a sign at a department of motor vehicles office!!  While it’s not especially craft or business related, it’s definitely worth sharing.  The sign said “It is not what you say to people that matters, it is not what you do for people that matters, it is how you make them feel.”

My jewelry is all about feelings – I want to create positive feelings in the wearer and viewer through my whimsy or inspirational pieces. But the “feelings” part also comes into play and should be remembered when dealing with our customers. This piece of advice I try to live my life by, every day….’consider how you make the other person feel…’

break out of your shell

i am strong

anyone can fly

jb✶ You have money and only 5 minutes… what you would buy in a flash and why?

rb: I would buy a custom set of illustrations from Enchanted Memories.  I don’t need a banner or logo or anything like that but her designs are so sweet that I’d like to do a collaboration with her work – she’d draw a little story and I’d make it in silver as a bracelet.  I’ve done this before with artists and I think her work would fit really well with my style. http://www.etsy.com/shop/enchantedmemories

I have just featured a snippet of Ruth’s work…. To see much more of Ruth’s stunning pieces please visit the links below and before you do make sure you have made yourself a cuppa!

Website – for silver jewelry to make you smile: http://www.birdlandcreations.com
Blog – for the stories behind my creations: http://www.insidetheartisan.blogspot.com
Etsy store: http://birdlandcreations.etsy.com
Dawanda store http://birdlandcreations.dawanda.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ruthebaillie
Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/birdlandcreations
Twitter:  http://twitter.com/birdlandcreates

T’il next week…  Tourlou!

Some of you may already know this week’s guest, if not personally, then through Etsy with her unique, vibrant and textured Wobbly Plates-Wobbly Bowls!

I fell in love with her pieces way before I had the privilege to get to know the energetic, passionate, creative and inspiring artist Brigitte Bouquet. Make yourself a cup of your favorite tea and join me in discovering Brigitte’s Art World beyond her colorful and joyful Etsy store…

jb ✶What inspired you to become an Artist?

bb ✶I really can’t tell. My mum is a seamstress and the whole house was filled with fabrics- buttons  and wool.  Beautiful materials in every color of the rainbow.
When I was little, I used to play for hours with pencils, markers, paper and my moms fabrics and I remember arranging them in all kinds of crazy color combination. Maybe that’s when it all started.  And later on, the love for colors and surface designs, got me to ceramics.

I started to paint on bisque and worked closely together with traditional Delft Blue potters, painting with my own glazes and their traditional shapes.
I learned a lot doing that but quickly realized that I wanted to shape the ceramic pieces myself.

So, I guess, I just fell in love with the material: clay.

Clay is just an amazing material, it’s so diverse. I started creating my own designs. The perfect ceramic canvases for my glazes.
Because in the end, for me, nothing is more beautiful than the bright and vivid colors of glazes.

Tulip Fields

Wobbly Bowls- Wobbly Plates

jb ✶ Can you take us through your creative process?

bb ✶I am fascinated by patterns in nature, on a leaf, in sand, on a stonewall. The textures of a tree, the ripples of water; most of my work starts in nature.
I always carry a small camera and a sketch book with me and from that point on I let my imagination go. Blow something up or give it a weird twist. More often than not things change and evolve during the process.

All my work is connected in an unexpected and organic way. Like the surface patterns of the Wobbly Plates; http://www.wobblyplates.com or http://www.atelierbb.etsy.com, I started to experiment with those textures in a sculpture I made a couple of years ago.

I love to work on lots of different projects at the same time. That’s also related to the fact that most of my sculptures, like the Circle Series, (http://web.me.com/bbceramics) take over 3 months from start to completion.  I am showing some of my larger sculptures, like the Circle Series and the Driftwood Trees in April in a group exhibition in Brooklyn at the Clover Gallery.

Snowy Tree

"My little sketch book"

Work In Progress: Brigitte working on 'Grassy Patch'

jb ✶How do you promote your work?

bb: Well, I am getting better at this. It’s hard though. Just something I don’t naturally do. I want my pieces, my Wobblies and sculptures to speak for themselves. But I know it’s crucial to use all the tools available these days to get the word out.

I carry business cards with me, I post lots of images on flickr;   http://www.flickr.com/photos/wobblyplates/collections and I keep people updated through my fan-page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Wobbly-Plates/107842556560 and do a Wobbly Fan of the month pick. The lucky fan receives a Wobbly surprise.

Biscuits Bowls - Wobbly Plates

Coral Suburbs

jb ✶The best advice ever given to you that you would pass on?

bb: Do your own thing. Just do what makes you feel good. That’s it.

Focaccia Platter -lime- Wobbly Plates

Brigitte with 'Turtle Lines'

jb ✶You have money and 5 minutes… What you would buy and why?

bb: I would call my local electricity company and have them hook up a big kiln I have had for a while. All it needs is a dedicated power line and lots of amps.
It would give me a lot more flexibility and most of all: a way to fire large pieces.

Detail of orange 'Buttoned Up Vase'

In her Brooklyn studio, Brigitte working on 'Black Moon Rising'

If you are fortunate enough to be in New-York, hit the Town on Saturday, April 17th  from 4 pm – 6 pm and or Sunday, May 17th at Clover’s Fine Art Gallery to Brigitte’s “must see” opening ‘Earth Lens’ -group exhibition- ! You can then brag that you were fortunate enough to have seen her work in “real life” and the sheer scale of some of her pieces while the rest of us interstate or around the globe can only dream of it!

Art Gallery: Clover’s Fine Art, 338 Atlantic Ave, Boerum Hill, Brooklyn… NY

To find out more about BB’s up coming exhibition, you can simply convo Brigitte at: http://www.atelierbb.etsy.com

…, and if like me and you can not make it for the ‘real thing’, you can still satisfy your senses at:

http://www.atelierbb.etsy.com

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Wobbly-Plates/107842556560

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wobblyplates/collections

http://web.me.com/bbceramics

Brigitte Bouquet
studio 1 347 689 9271
cell    1 917 860 9030

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Inger Lutje Schipholt artist behind 'ingermaikee'

✶WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO BECOME AN ARTIST?

Truth be told, I have never set out to be anything. It is just who I am… I cannot remember when I began to create, I just used many different media over the years. It is something of a coincidence that I’ve landed in the fiber world and I am happy for it.

The Bridal Wrap

Seaweed

Forest

✶ CAN YOU TAKE US THROUGH YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS?

When I set out, I do not have a design in mind as such  The wool and silk that I’d dyed some time before are in a jumble in a big drawer.  I rummage in my drawer and from there I get inspired by the colors. From the colors, I find the color combination and theme.  Often I’ll start out in one direction only to have the material go in an opposite direction. From where I started originally, often a new idea has emerges.

Felt Pod Bag

Felt Crown

The Prince Frog

Phone Cat

✶ HOW DO YOU PROMOTE YOUR WORK?

I promote on Facebook, Twitter and Flick’r.  Also, I have joined Etsy’s Teams; the EuropeanStreeTeam, (EST), and the ArtisansGalleryTeam, (AGT), where I spend  most time. We make treasuries which are a great way to have your product seen on the front page. In my experience, this hardly ever leads to direct sales but it does mean my store is seen and potentially hearted as a favorite. That in turn more often than not can lead to possible future sales.

Poppies

Summer Wrap

Daisies

Life Terrain

✶THE BEST ADVICE EVER GIVEN TO YOU THAT YOU WOULD PASS ON?

If you are a seller on Etsy, join a Team! Find an active one, join in and participate.  Above all, follow your heart and be obstinately persistent and patient.

Listing today... Weather report broadcasted by ingemaaike's team Bob and Fanta!

✶YOU HAVE MONEY AND 5 MINUTES… WHAT WOULD YOU BUY AND WHY?

I would hire a team of carpenters to get to work on my studio…The kitchen table is just not big enough any longer :-D

Tiny Witch hat

You can find ‘ingermaaike’ here:

Store: http://www.ingermaaike.etsy.com
Blog: http://www.ingermaaike.nl

(All photographs used for this Interview are with the permission of the Artist and are copyrighted…)

Meet the Artist Penny behind Pocket Carnival!

✶WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO BECOME AN ARTIST?

When I was much younger, as a child, I was very creative, but through school & university not so much. Towards the end of and after finishing my uni degree I did a few various short courses in different art forms – wet felting, ink illustration, ceramics. Around that time I also happened to lay my mitts on my grandma’s old sewing machine. My current work is a combination of my illustrations and sewing – everything happened fairly organically and slowly, but now I am finally really happy with what I create!

✶CAN YOU TAKE US THROUGH YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS?

Everything starts in my trusty sketchbook. I would be lost without it. I usually go through periods where I just do a lot of little sketches over a day or so – usually there will be a specific inspiration like a book I’ve read, something from a movie, or an illustration or photo. Then, when I am trying to work on an idea for new fabric or a new illustration, I’ll have a look through my sketches and pick out the ideas I like. Sometimes I’ll work on an idea from a long time back – I’m working on a new fabric design now featuring a flamingo which is based upon one of my very first sketches in my current sketchbook. I usually draw really tiny so the book goes back a couple of years!

Once I’ve settled on an idea, I get my special ‘good’ paper and do the illustration in ink, then scan it in and get to work.

✶HOW DO YOU PROMOTE YOUR WORK?

I’m not by any means a superstar at promotion, but I’m getting better! I’ve got a variety of techniques – great customer service helps – I love it when a customer tells me they heard about Pocket Carnival from a friend! I try and approach websites & magazines with work I think they might be interested in, and encourage them to contact me for more info. I carry one of my purses everywhere, and try to display it seductively when I’m paying for something at the shops, or am out with friends!!! And of course I always carry a business card, just in case. I think promotion is really quite a cumulative thing, definitely the longer Pocket Carnival has been running, the more people are finding out about me!

✶THE BEST ADVICE EVER GIVEN TO YOU THAT YOU WOULD PASS ON?

Something along the lines of ‘stick to your guns’ or ‘keep going’! It has taken me a long time to get my business to where I want it to be – many products I’ve created have fallen by the wayside, but finally I’m happy with my direction. If you know you’re making a unique, quality, interesting product that you love, then there’s no reason why with a lot of hard work you can’t be successful!

Also – promote, promote, promote!

✶YOU HAVE MONEY AND 5 MINUTES?  “SHOW & TELL” WHAT YOU WOULD BUY?

I’m trying to redecorate my studio at the moment, so if you’re offering to buy me something, I would like 50 sets of these little paper bunting flags from Little Mo & Friends to cover a whole wall. I think they’d just be layered all over my wall, like scales on a mermaids tail. My walls are still so plain, they need color!

Where to find Pocket Carnival:

website: http://pocketcarnival.com.au/

etsy: http://pocketcarnival.etsy.com/

my shop: http://pocketcarnival.com.au/shop/

blog: http://pocketcarnival.blogspot.com/

twitter: http://twitter.com/pocketpenny/

facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PocketCarnival

Thank You Penny… You are a Star!