#stc craft

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Meet Melanie Falick, publishing director of STC Craft on Creativebug

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Heather Ross Podcasts How to Catch a Frog

  Artist, blogger, and fabric designer Heather Ross reads from and discusses her new book How to Catch a Frog: And Other Stories of Family, Love, Dysfunction, Survival, and DIY (STC Craft). This collection of stories from Ross’s childhood, career and family life show her route to success as an artist, entrepreneur, and mother, all animated by Ross’s delightful illustrations and how-to instructions.

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Knit to Flatter: Evolution of a Cover on the STC Craft Blog. 

All of the covers we design at STC Craft have their own particular challenges. Which image is the best representation of the book? Will one beautiful image suffice, or do we need more? Should we include a burst calling out a special feature, or find a way to incorporate it into the subtitle? The answers to these questions can sometimes take months to answer, and the cover for Knit to Flatter was no exception. 

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From the STC Craft Blog: Two Days at Simon Leach's House. 

Almost exactly one year ago, I got into a car wtih Jared Flood and Karen Schaupeter, both of whom I had brought on board to photograph and style Simon Leach's Pottery Handbook. We were headed to Simon Leach's house in rural Pennsylvania, and I must admit, we didn't have much of a plan. Many people know Jared Flood as the creator of the yarn lineBrooklyn Tweed, but what many don't know is that he is also an amazing painter and a fantastic photographer--a true lover of art and master of light. And for the styling, Karen Schaupeter is our go-to girl, always adaptable, versatile, and loads of fun to have on set. Basically, I had my pottery photoshoot dream team, and we were headed to the countryside to shoot on the fly. We had a one-page shoot list that broke down the book by chapter, and we had a pretty good idea of what we hoped to photograph when we arrived, though we had no idea what would actually be waiting for us when we got there.

When we pulled up to Simon's house and saw the amazing stonework of the building, the lush green of the hillsides, the decked out studio in his garage, the throwing-wheel set-up on his front porch, and the rows upon rows of ceramics in various stages of completion, we knew it was going to be a fun time.

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Creativity isn’t 24/7.

It doesn’t occur 9 to 5. It doesn’t have a schedule.

Creativity rarely sticks around when I need it the most.

Creativity loves to play games with my head. It keeps me awake at night when I would love to be sleeping. It lies dormant for days on end when I’m trying desperately to work on a project.

Creativity likes to elude me. It hides and laughs at me from dark corners, it taunts me when I’m missing it so, it tells me I don’t deserve it in my life.

But Creativity is also the best friend I have. Creativity whispers great ideas in my ear and gives me a tingly feeling when it wants to tell me I’m going in the right direction. Creativity can make me feel on top of the world at times.

But then it will suddenly disappear and make me feel like a slug.

What do I do when Creativity vanishes from my life?

I leave my studio. I watch a movie. I read a book. I go for a walk. I meet someone for lunch. I chat with a friend over coffee. I look at magazines. I take a workshop.

When I’m ready to coax Creativity to come out of its cave, I doodle. I turn on some music and open my art journal to any page and just start doodling. I begin with my favorite shapes and build on those. Line after line, circle after circle, heart after heart, Creativity envelops me once again and whispers in my ear: ideas, dreams, thoughts, and sparks of light.

And I am whole again.

Dawn DeVries Sokol is the author of Art Doodle Love: A Journal of Self-Discovery and several other books on art journaling and doodling. She teaches online doodling and art journaling workshops at www.dawndsokol.com.