FilzFun Magazine Cover!
This week I was so excited to find out that my work was featured on the front cover of the German felting magazine FilzFun! In honor of that honor I thought I would put up a sneak peek of what you might find in that issue. I'm posting a few (not all) of the interview questions they sent me and my responses.
Question: What was the initial spark [that made you become an artist]?
I have always gravitated towards the fantastical even as a very young child. I can recall how I spent most of my 6th grade study-hall time illustrating a little book I wrote myself about unicorns. It wasn't until I combined my love of fantasy with my developing felting skills that I created my first Witch Hat. When I sold that first hat at a local craft fair I remember being so relieved. This really cool couple bought it and I was thinking "...wow I am so glad somebody bought that really weird hat..." and I almost didn’t make any more because sometimes it takes more courage to be different than most might realize and highlighting a difference can make you feel vulnerable. But asking someone to give you money for being different can touch you down into your deepest ego and leave you the most vulnerable of all.
Question: How does your artistic work influence your life?
My art and my daily life are very intertwined. When my art became my family’s main source of income the amount it influenced my life grew. My art is both a job and a joy, some days it can be overwhelming, but I am so happy that I get to do what I love for a living. Packing hats to be shipped, answering dozens of e-mails from customers, and posting on social media are more the job end of it. I know that without my art I would not be doing fun photoshoots, going on trips to teach felting workshops, or traveling to wool conventions. So my art has shaped my current life greatly!
Question: How do you work? Exact planning or spontaneously?
I might draw a few sketches, but I sit and think about how to craft the envisioned design in a technical way before I make the hat. Once I have walked myself though the process enough times in my mind I begin. At this point I let things become a little more spontaneous. Maybe this color instead of that. I don’t like to go into a new design without a plan but I do allow for moments of spontaneity. In my early felting days there was lots of experimenting! Which means I have a box in my closet filled with projects that didn’t work out. But I have a rule that every person who visits my home studio for the first time gets to choose an item from the box of misfits.
And that's it! I only posted a little bit of the five type-written pages I sent back to them, so this is only a small spoiler. FilzFun publishes in German, but they publish internationally so I think they have an (UK) English version (so go check out their website). The Fall issue is the one that will be featuring my hats, and you'd better believe I will be posting more about it when I get my hands on that issue. See you then!
