The Self Portrait of Lauren Alexander

This week's featured artist is Lauren Alexander of Overland Park, KS. Lauren's Etsy shop has been open since May 2006.

Walk You Home - original ACEO

Lauren says, "I am a watercolor painter and I have always been one even as a little kid with a box of Prang watercolors. I just love the way water makes the colors come alive. The first painting I ever sold was a large watercolor portrait to my high school library."

Sweet Tree

Pick one item you have created and provide link either from your shop or flickr. What inspired the “birth” of this item?

I painted this picture of a tree with hearts a little over a year ago. I was just beginning to find my voice with my work and needed a piece in my collection that would really say what I’m about. This painting came from my head – I remember just deciding to put all the different colors together in each heart and fruit…adding all the little details and specks of color within it. It felt right to me and from then on I have kept a little bit of Sweet Tree in almost everything I paint.

Does this item have any personal significance to you?

This image is symbolic to me. Hearts have always been special– a symbol of love of course but also a reminder of heart disease – something that has touched me and my family very closely in the last couple years. I see hearts as a reminder to love one another along with one’s self. Take care of your hearts!

What is your favorite part of the process of creating your item?

I remember painting in all the bright colors and just knowing that it was going to be a winner! I remember having it out on my work desk and just going back to it throughout the evening to look at it.

Please briefly describe a workday in your “studio” and how you created this item.

My “studio” is my dining room table, adjacent to my living room. I paint there in the evenings when I come home from my day job (working with special needs students and teaching art). I generally like to sketch right on my watercolor paper. I like to dive right in. I usually watch tv or listen to music while I paint. Sometimes I cook dinner at the same time!

Lauren Alexander Magnets - Set of 10

If this item is part of a special line that you do, has there been an evolution in your process? For example, if we were to compare the first one you made to this one, what differences would there be, if any?

This item sparked a whole new trend for me of painting trees in a sort of colorful, whimsical way. I have since started putting creatures in the tress, birds, owls, and such. I enjoy creating environments and little creatures to inhabit them. I love to play with color and try new combinations. I love finding new ways to make people wonder how I did that with watercolor. It is exciting and keeps me going and going.

Visit Lauren Alexander's shop on Etsy to see more of her colorful work!

Featured Artist: Karen’s Kitsch

In this week's spotlight is Karen of Karen’s Kitsch. Karen is based in the Raleigh/Durham area of NC and has been a seller on Etsy since November 2007. She also has a website she started April of 2005.

How did you choose your shop name?

Well my name is Karen and kitsch sort of means chintzy, fun, funky, campy art or collectibles, so it seemed to fit my whimsical style. Plus the great alliteration which makes the name easily memorable doesn’t hurt either!

What is your specialty and what drew you to it?

Jewelry is my current specialty and what drew me was a pair of earrings I saw in a little boutique in New Orleans, November of ‘04. I loved them and bought them for my brother’s girlfriend for the holidays. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately for me) they only had the one pair. I loved them and wanted more. I was a studio art minor at Skidmore College in ‘95 so I though “I could do that.” And, well…eventually…I did!

Vintage Image Earrings with Pearls

Custom Photo Charm Mother's Bracelet - Single Strand

What inspired the “birth” of this item?

I started off making earrings with vintage French postcards, and still do, which was what inspired me originally. But then all of my friends were having babies and my aunt sent me a mother’s bracelet when my second son was born. I immediately thought, “I should add a charm to this with a picture of my kids. Wait…I could totally make these, WITH charms of my friends’ kids!” They started off just as a new baby gift for my friends, but they were hugely popular so I added them to my shop.

Does this item have any personal significance to you?

Most of the jewelry you see on my sites I made for me or for a friend. So all of the photos are of my kids or my friends’ kids and I think that is pretty cool.

What is your favorite part of the process of creating your item?

Cropping the photos just right. I love to see the pictures people choose. Once, for cufflinks a bride-to-be was having made for her fiancé’s groom gift, she sent me photos of the wheel and the headlight of his jeep. He was totally a jeep guy. I cropped them for round cufflinks to just fit into the silver bezel. They came out so great!

Custom Sterling Silver Cufflinks

Please briefly describe a workday in your “studio” and how you created this item.

I recently started working at a full time job outside of my home so a workday these days is a rushed 15 minutes here and there whenever I can. Okay let’s be honest, it’s hours into the night after my kids are asleep when I should be asleep. But I love it, and I forget the time and everything else while I’m working. It’s like when I was in College and I’d go into the studio at 4 in the afternoon, then I’d look up and it would be 3 in the morning and I had no idea how that happened. I’ve always loved getting lost in a project. The thing I love most about what I do now, is that every piece is special and unique to the person who ordered it or who will be receiving it. This way, working never gets rote or boring.

Visit Karen's shop to see more great items!

The World Is My Studio

This week we meet Christy from The World Is My Studio based in Pennsylvania. Christy is a freelance photographer and artist.

sustenance

How long has your shop been open?
I just opened my shop two months ago, in January. I spent the first month getting acquainted with etsy. Then I started posting my photography in February.

How did you choose your shop name? What is your specialty and what drew you to it?
"The World Is My Studio"... is the way I see the world. Art as with beauty is subjective but it is always full of soul. I've been taking photographs in my mind all my life, capturing images, freezing moments in time. Now that I have tools and credentials, I can bring some of those moments in time to you. The world is my inspiration and my studio.

What inspired this photograph? Does this have personal significance to you?

cat's nap

Every one of my photographs is attached with a memory or a story. Therefore, every one of them means something to me. Of course my favorite photographs are of the ones that I love or my loved ones inspired. My Muses!

Please describe a workday in your “studio” and how you create.
Since I live in my studio, nothing is planned. I photograph spontaneously. For instance, I was walking about an old farm in NY, waiting for family to arrive. My camera and I uncovered "Untold Stories". The new series that I am currently working on. With unhurried moments and a camera... the possibilities are endless!!! You know those rare days when you have "time to kill". (I hate that expression!) I'm a born observer. I take that time and find the beauty around me and create something!

E

I love learning new things. And my mind is always a buzz. My shop just opened which means, you will have to stop by often, say "Hi!" and see what I've got up my sleeve. Don't be shy! I want to know what you are all about. Do you have something you want photographed? Give me an idea and I'll run with it! I dare you!

I love watching the sun come up... it always makes me feel a sense of hope and wonder. A new chance. A new way to look at things. With all the ups and downs in life, the beauty and the ugliness, we get to choose how see things.

How do you see the world?

Introducing TBQ Designs - The Bead Queen

This week we had the opportunity to meet Lisa of TQB Designs based in Portland, OR. Lisa opened shop on Etsy in July, 2006.

Lisa says, "I first became interested in beads when I was 12 years old. My mother gave me a beaded rope necklace that she no longer wanted and I promptly started taking it apart. It has thousands of little beads in all kinds of colors and I found it utterly fascinating!"

"I have been making my beaded beads for over 10 years now. I am self-taught in the art of bead weaving and developed a system to create these textural rounds, ovals, squares, cylinders, and barrel shaped beads."

Feather Necklace, Pocket Full Of Posies

How did you choose your shop name?
Well actually, I came up with my studio name while in high school. I have always been rather exuberant and thought of myself and something special and came up with The Queen Bead - for my love of beads. Shortly after making my jewelry for re-sale in galleries years later, I realized that his was quite a popular name in all is forms. So, I shortened it up to just the initials (and it makes people chuckle when they realize it's not my initials)...

What is your specialty and what drew you to it?
My specialty is three-dimensional beaded spheres, ovals, squares and cylinders. I use the one of the smallest seed beads and hand weave them around wooded cores.

"Pin Dot Earring, faded denim"

What inspired the birth of this item?
I love bobby pins and bobby-pin like hair accessories. I was actually holding one up to put in my hair and realized that it would make a fantastic earring or pendant. I immediately went to my studio and worked up a couple of prototypes and developed the Pin Dot Earring along with a new ear wire that I call the "hair pin curl".

Does this item have any personal significance to you?
I love long earrings. I guess because I have large amounts of dark curly hair and unless the earrings are long and/or substantial, there is really no point in my wearing them. Also, they lend a lot of glamour to any outfit!

What is your favorite part of the process of creating your item?
I actually have two favorites, and I think that is appropriate since I consider the weaving to be a totally separate thing from the metal work; it's a different mind-set.

My first favorite part is actually weaving the beads. Now I know that this may sound tedious and it is, yes. But I actually now use it when I want to be calm and meditative after having a stressful or exciting day. It's my sedative.

My second favorite part is design development. I love coming up with new designs and often get side-tracked when up against deadlines for shows or wholesale order, unfortunately. There is something about the thrill of "figuring it out" -- that vision in your head that you've been carrying around for months. When I finally see if in real life I can hardly believe that it came from me.

Please briefly describe a workday in your studio and how you created this item:

So this is my "Spotted Dot Earring" - named after my handmade bead cap. With this one I start by first making the cap.

I hammer out, on my bench block, sterling sheet metal to give it texture with one of my beautiful specialty hammers (I have several that give the metal different textures). I usually do this in large pieces around 6"x 6". It's one of those processes that I don't actually enjoy since I have to wear earplugs and my arm feels like jello afterward.

Anyway, once the metal is hammered I use a series of cutters and punches to get the disc the appropriate size and punch center holes. I use then my dapping block to dome the discs to give them their cap-like shape. The final step is a bath in Liver-of-Sulfur and a ride in the tumbler for a finish and wash before I use them in any jewelry assembly.

The jewelry assembly is really straight-forward. I use a sterling head pin (also oxidized) and stack up one of my beaded rounds, head pin, and real cultured pearl. The bead cap has been "steel-wooled" in order to remove some of the LOS in order to view the "spotted" pattern. ...and fini!

I can have a studio day from anywhere between 2 hours of work to 20 hours of work, depending on deadlines on orders or shows. Much of my time, of course, is weaving beads while sitting with my lap desk covered in tubes of bead colors or standing at my work bench making ear wires.

If this item is part of a special line that you do, has there been an evolution in your process? For example, if we were to compare the first one you made to this one, what differences would there be, if any?
Oh my goodness, yes! If you were to view my work even 5 years ago, there was no way I was this into sterling silver. I was actually all over the place with the components and elements in my jewelry using many different kinds of pearls, gemstones, commercial components and I even had a gold-filled line. Four years ago, when I quit my full-time job as an Administrative Manager at a high-end gallery chain, I realized that I had so many more ideas about my jewelry and my style really started to develop after that.

I actually ran into a woman a few years ago and she was wearing a pair of my earrings from 1997! I couldn't believe the evolution of my work. But, there were no complaints from her - these were earrings she wore almost everyday she said! What's better than that!

Meet Connie of HossLass Art

Our featured interviewee this week is Connie of Hosslass Art. Connie is based in Burleson, Texas and opened her Etsy shop in August of 2007.

How did you choose your shop name?
Well, I've always been a horse girl for most of my life, I kept thinking of unique names to try. Using my name in one of these formats (...art, ....designs, ....studio) just didn't appeal to me. One day I was online reading through a message board and saw a username *****lass, and I thought, "Hosslass"! And I've used it ever since!

Desert Runners Tres

What is your specialty and what drew you to it?
I create watercolor pencil paintings and make embellished crafts using my art works, both equally! I feel a certain freedom not locking myself into "just" being a painter, or "just" being a crafter. I love being able to combine both. As a life long animal lover, especially horses, horse art is becoming my specialty. I have always had such a strong bond with horses, and feel so privileged to have them in my life.

I only have been painting in recent years, (after about 25 years of not doing any kind of art, I used to draw and paint a ton when I was growing up), so I'm learning about art all over again. It's fascinating! However, as much as I love painting horses, I also want to do well with wildlife and landscape subjects. Being outdoors in nature plays a huge part in my daily life!. I plan on completing more paintings and gift art in those areas as well.

The Polite Offering

I asked Connie to talk a little about her "The Polite Offering" picture. What inspired the “birth” of this item?
When I was forming art to promote in my shop, I explored ideas for gift items with my own unique twists. I was looking through some art supplies from a seller on Ebay and saw these larger vinyl bookmark sleeves. From there I got the idea to create embellished original painting bookmarks as my signature functional gift art. That way I could combine the desire to create art with beads and natural stones as a special touch to enhance the miniature painting. I don't really want to make jewelry since there are so many others who are much more talented at doing that than me! I am always trying to think of creating unique art pieces that offer a soothing, peaceful beauty with a functional use! Why can't you use something and enjoy original art at the same time?

For this particular bookmark painting, I portrayed a bonding concept between horse and human called "the horseman's handshake". Although I had been around horses since my teenage years (got my first horse at 16) and worked for all sorts of trainers and farms, vets, through many years, in 1997 I got a horse (as a "gift") that showed me I really didn't know as much as I thought I did! She was a reality check that would kick me between the teeth, literally (no wonder her previous owner gave her away to me)!

As a result, I sought out training programs to help me survive handling this horse. It was then I discovered the world of natural horsemanship (NH) which teaches people to understand the way horses really think and treat them with respect, kindness and feel (instead of fear, force and intimidation which is what most "traditional" horse training methods teach). One concept in NH circles is to offer the horse to check you out first, instead of the human just marching up and handling the horse without checking what the horse is thinking. By offering the back of the hand toward the horse and waiting to see if the horse will touch the person first is a very polite, respectful gesture to the horse. It goes a long way to the horse in building trust in the human. It's such a little thing, but it means so much for the horse. In this painting I wanted to portray this small but important gesture that I've learned to mean so much! Hence the name of the painting "The Polite Offering".


What is your favorite part of the process of creating your item?
Once I get the composition laid out and colors I will use, I think my favorite process is the actual painting, figuring out which color goes where and watching the interaction of the colors and water effects. I also enjoy having the rush of ideas about using a little different painting technique here, experimenting with a different color there while I'm "in the moment" of painting! I so enjoy seeing the subject come to life with color and depth, it's like hiking down a trail that I have a pretty good idea of where I'm going and seeing some great scenery surprises along the way!

Please briefly describe a workday in your “studio” and how you created this item.
For this bookmark, the process starts first with a visual image I get in my head of the finished product. This is my guideline. I would then look for reference photos in my magazines or online for colors, values, lighting, structures and see what says "yea that will work!" (I do not ever copy outright any subject from a copyright image). Then I usually make a drawing of the composition for the painting. For some paintings, I will first do a pencil tonal/value sketch drawing before painting. This helps me get a better guide for color values later on.

Then I usually lay a underpainting neutral color on the main subject. With horses or any animal I paint, I always start with the eyes; the eyes are what will balance the structure of the rest of the profile. I then will paint a basic tonal painting and then leave the painting alone for a while. I often paint a little, then go away for a while and then come back and see the painting with "fresh" eyes. I may leave the painting in this kind of state for a couple of days if I feel the need!

Eventually the painting gets to a point where I have to consider it finished, otherwise I run the risk of over tweaking and muddying up everything! For the bookmarks, I often will work with beading arrangements on paper while I'm taking a break from painting. That way I can bounce between the two. Once the painting is finished, I will then create the bookmark tassel with the bead arrangement I decided on. I usually do all the sewing of the beads in one sitting. Then I add glue to all the stitching and allow that to dry overnight before slipping in the miniature painting in the sleeve and finally, the beaded bookmark painting is finished!

Backcountry Lunch Break

If this item is part of a special line that you do, has there been an evolution in your process? For example, if we were to compare the first one you made to this one, what differences would there be, if any?
I would say that the bookmarks are always being improved on. My first couple of bookmark paintings I hadn't painted much with the type of paper used (lenox 100 cotton rag, printmaker paper) so it was an experiment to see how the watercolor pencil paint would react! I also hadn't done much beading, esp. wrapping around a 2mm leather cord. I just figured I would learn as I go and make it work! I now have a much better feel for the paper and am better about sewing beads on the leather cord. I now know which size and shape beads work best and my future bookmarks will use silk cord instead of wire for sewing (I think will offer a softer more finished look). I also first used some simple horse charms and now am experimenting with the matching glass pendants on the tassel end instead, as in the featured bookmark. I now have ideas of different "levels" of bookmarks I know I can create to offer in different price ranges. Everything is always such a work in process, and I love it!!

Biology 101 with The Crafty Hedgehog

This week's featured artist is Emily of The Crafty Hedgehog. Based in Burlington, Vermont, Emily opened her Etsy shop in June 2007 and has been going strong ever since!

String Bean Frog

How did you choose your shop name?
Oy! When you open your Etsy shop, you are required to choose a name. I racked my brain because I wasn't sure at that time what direction I wanted to take the shop in, crafts-wise. I finally just decided on Crafty Hedgehog because I'm crafty and hedgies are cute. I figured I could change it later. Turns out, Etsy doesn't allow that. So Crafty Hedgehog it is.

What is your specialty and what drew you to it?
My specialty is knitting. I took up knitting about 10 years ago to help me quit smoking. I bought a ball of yarn, needles, a 1 pound bag of Twizzlers, and locked myself in my apartment over a long weekend. When I returned to work, I no longer smoked, but I still took a 5-minute break every hour to knit! I particularly like to knit toys and oddities like knitted dissections. I love making garments, too, but there is no way that I could sell those for any reasonable price. No one wants to buy a thousand dollar sweater! (P.S. It works like a charm, almost a decade smoke-free!!)
Congratulations Emily!! Way to go!

I guess the most popular thing I've ever made is Knitting in Biology 101

What inspired the creation of this item?
Hmmmm. I started out making very cute, very not-dissected frogs (which I still love to make). One afternoon, my husband made a joke about knitting a mutated frog with an extra leg. We started riffing on that idea, and soon the thought of a dissected frog came up. We argue over which of us actually thought of it (I think he just wants a finders fee!).

Does this item have any personal significance to you?
It actually does. I'm not a scientist, but I have a deep and abiding respect for what they do. I worry sometimes that egg-headedness is so looked down upon in America. Like Stephen Colbert says: many people seem to want to know things with their gut, not with their brains. I know I will never make any breakthrough scientific discoveries, but I can craft, and this is my little homage to the beauty of science.

What is your favorite part of the process of creating your item?
My favorite part is the knitting itself. I do like to come up with an idea and see it through the design process, but that can be a bit tedious and often involves a lot of math. I really just enjoy letting my hands do their work while my mind wanders. I can state definitively that needle-felting is the worst part of the process. You wouldn't think that there was anything in the fiber arts that would require you to get a tetanus shot, but you would be wrong. Yikes!

Please briefly describe a workday in your studio and how you created this item:
Well, it really depends on the piece, but many of my projects can be done in a day. Each animal is hand-knit, usually on double pointed needles. I used to knit while I was at work (my boss was awesome that way!), but the economic downturn has made me into an unemployment statistic. So, now I get up, put in a favorite DVD, plop on the couch, and knit for about 6 hours a day. I also knit on the bus, while riding in cars, while waiting for food at restaurants, and at friends' houses. A lot of my studio time is actually spent keeping up with emails and shipping. It's amazing how much time goes into boxing and labeling things.

Knitted Lab Rat in actual dissection tray

If this item is part of a special line that you do, has there been an evolution in your process? For example, if we were to compare the first one you made to this one, what differences would there be, if any?
The dissected frog is part of a biological specimen series that I am working on. It started with the frog, and soon I added a dissected lab rat. I am currently working on a dissected fetal pig, with more creatures lined up after that. The frog itself hasn't changed insofar as the body construction. I would say that I have certainly gotten faster at knitting them up. The innards have become more interesting over time, though. I discovered a beautiful, super-bulky alpaca yarn in a light blue that I have recently been making into "intestines"!

I have had some emails from actual biologists who complain that my guts aren't accurate enough, but for some things I just had to use a little artistic license. I picked out the wool roving for the innards based on my own favorite natural color scheme!

Sculpted Animals by Christina's Studio

We're starting a new series on our team blog interviewing other Etsy artists in our online community. It's a fun way to get to know who's out there and to spread the word to BUY HANDMADE!

The first interview in our series is with Christina of Christina's Studio. You may know her Etsy username as cbarjcrafts. Christina is a fellow North Carolinian from Statesville.

She opened her Etsy shop in September of 2007. Her specialty is sculpted caricature (of sorts) of mostly pets and domestic type animals. She says she enjoys clay because it gives her the instant gratification of dimension.I asked her how she chose her shop name and she said, "Ha! The shop's original name, C bar J Crafts, was a combination of my brother's and my initials...No offense to my bro, but I shoulda thought that one through a little more!"

I wanted to know more about Christy's process in creating a piece. She chose her favorite sculpture and took me through the creative process.Christy says:
As of late, my favorite piece has been one title "Sunday Kind Of Love".

What inspired the “birth” of this item? I'm a big jazz and french bulldog fan and really wanted to do a larger piece with two bullies name Ella and Louis. I couldn't quite decide how to set it up until one day while listening to Etta James sing, 'Sunday Kind of Love' this little scenario popped into my head...and know Ella and Louis now reside in Michigan.

What is your favorite part of the process of creating your item? You know, it really varies. Sometimes I think that sculpting the pieces and watching them come to life is the most awesome part and I worry that when I go to paint them that I won't be able to do it justice. Other times I'm so frustrated during the sculpting process that I'm excited to lay down the paint and see what I'm able to accomplish with color.

Please briefly describe a workday in your “studio” and how you created this item--
Hmmm...well it usually starts off with me turning on some good tunes and then I sit down with a lump of clay in front of me. For the bullies above, I referenced several different photos and played around trying to come up with the most flattering and bully-like positions. Depending on what I'm doing the sculpting process can take anywhere from 2 to 8 hours. Creating fur texture and facial details are the most time consuming.

The actual 'firing' doesn't take incredibly long because polymer clay doesn't require a kiln, so unless I'm really stressed about it, I try to at least begin the painting process the same day. For frustrating coat patterns like calico and brindle or those with lots of specific markings, I may wait until the next day. Painting can take 30 minutes to 3 hours. When I'm finally finished, I do the dance of joy, clean up my ever increasing MESS, and walk in and out of the room to see the piece in different places and angles...in case I need to fix something or add to it.

If this item is part of a special line that you do, has there been an evolution in your process? For example, if we were to compare the first one you made to this one, what differences would there be, if any?
Oh my word, there's a WORLD of difference from my first pieces to what I'm doing now, and I hope that by the end of this year there will be a greater difference- be it in styling or in the execution. If I were to pick one thing that stands out obviously, it would definitely be the eyes.

Strung Out For You

Christy's work is absolutely gorgeous and I really love the way she portrays the eyes in her sculptures. Visit her shop to see what other great works of art she produces! She also welcomes custom orders if you'd like a sculpture of your pet.

Get to know the ACE Team: An interview with Merriwood

We've had shop interviews with most of our members already, but we wanted to pay a special tribute to a very hard-working member of our team, Meredith of Merriwood Designs.

Meredith has earned this distinction by her recent achievements of being awarded her BA degree while being a wife, new mother, and artist! Congratulations Meredith!

Here she is, on the right, celebrating with some ACE team members.

I had the pleasure of interviewing her with a focus more on her personal achievements rather than her art and here is what she had to say...

I earned a 4 year Bachelor of Arts in Human Services with concentrations in Criminal Justice & Psychology in 3.5 years. I felt a little rushed but I can even imagine being in school this semester so I'm glad I'm done now!

Since my degree is not at all related to art I plan on finding work in the human services field, probably in mental health, substance abuse, or foster care. I hope to work full time & still have enough energy for etsy.. well see how that goes! On that note, my shop is taking a new direction because of new regulations with regards to lead testing items made for children. I am in the process of changing things a bit to focus more on child keepsakes such as photojournals.

How did Etsy come into your life?

It was really by random chance. I was talking to someone about where they got their adorable garters and cake topper for their wedding and she told me about etsy. I was in the process of planning my own wedding so I ordered some things & instantly fell in love.

Some of Meredith's newest creations in her shop

I have always been into painting and drawing and sewing. I haven't done any drawing since high school so I have really lost my eye for it but I've been able to keep up with sewing through mending jeans and such. I also picked up a love for digital art which I'm hoping to incorporate more into my new board book projects.
The most challenging part of coping with the demands of school, motherhood, and running a business is time! There is never enough! What is odd is that now that I'm done and have less school involvement I feel like I don't have any at all for etsy because I have to do more work around the house, take care of my son, and look for a job.

If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything?
Never. I get a lot out of every minute of my life. People my age think I'm crazy to be married and have a kid, but we do things a little differently from most people and go for what we want. We always have a good time doing it in the end.

What advice would you offer someone facing the same challenges you faced?
Don't let other people push their negativity in your head. It is hard to stay positive. We're probably facing more challenges now than ever before.. but just smiling and putting some effort into having fun makes my whole day better. I would also suggest to do what you enjoy doing, despite what others may say about it. If it makes you happy, that's all that matters.