Meet the Maker Series
Where do you get your inspiration and who inspires you?
I'm very much inspired by the act of taking time for creative practice. I'm a naturally anxious systems thinker, so creative practice is an opportunity for me to get grounded and slow down.
Favorite medium to work in/ most used medium?
I started off with a lot of drawing/pen & ink and in recent years I've found myself gravitating toward textiles. I also see how these mediums influence each other. For example, my textile work is often illustrative.
How long have you been creating?
6 years or my whole life. I grew up with creative parents. My moms an artist and my dad was an engineer that got into metalwork sculpture in his 30s. So we grew up going to art camps, coming with our parents to art openings and regularly being around creative people, but they encouraged us to be practical in choosing our career path so I ended up in the nonprofit (supplemented by the service industry for the first decade+ of adulthood.) Then 2018 I had my straw that broke the camels back moment with a toxic nonprofit job. After that I did 100 days of drawing and meditation which kick-started my ongoing focus on creative practice building to where I'm at today.
Biggest fail/ biggest success? - Share with us a little bit about your process:
Fail - lots of little fails. Taking a risk on a product that doesn't do as well as I thought. Partnerships that don't go as planned. I also feel like it's part of the process to expect some failures along the way if you're putting yourself out there.
Success - anytime an unexpected commission or project or sale happens. There are a lot of highs and lows in creative entrepreneurship but almost every time I've been in a questioning place, something has come through to remind me I'm on the right track.
Advice for anyone in the creative community?
Take risks, build community and with community, make sure there's time for experimentation and playing with new mediums.
What is your go to art making music?
Honestly anything I was listening to in high school that I still like today: Queens of the Stoneage, Metric, Radiohead, etc or my partner has curated a playlist for me if I really don't know what to listen to that's always a good listen.
Favorite thing you've learned in your creative journey?
There's a lot to learn and grow from in balancing solo practice with connecting with others.