WHEN DID YOU START BEING AN ARTIST?
Ever since I could work with tools and materials I’ve been making
things. I am compelled to work with my hands in a creative way and it’s
always been a part of me.
WHO INFLUENCED YOU?
At an early age, I was inspired by seeing art in
museums, on TV, and all around me. Art is everywhere if you take the
time to see it, even in everyday objects. Someone had to think of it,
design it, create it. I was influenced by how much it plays a part in
our everyday lives, and amazed by how often people failed to recognize
it. When I told my mother I wanted to go to art school, she said I
should do something practical, something that I could actually be
employed doing. Creative people should be encouraged. There is a lot of
“practical art” to be made.
WHAT MAKES YOUR WORK SPECIAL?
The art I’m making now is special to me
because it’s very sentimental. Maybe not so clearly to the average
viewer, but to me. I like to choose subjects that are meaningful to me
and my life. The Ball jars, for instance, are nostalgic personally, but
are also culturally historic. Every year, my mother, grandmother,
sister, and I, would gather our vegetables to can together. Both my mom
and grandmother are gone now, but I still make jellies and can
vegetables every year and think of them. I’ve had people become inspired
to tell me their personal stories about these objects when they see my
work. It’s a connection that a lot of us can still find.
WHERE DO YOU LOVE TO WORK?
Ha! I’m kind of a diva when it comes to
working! I’m one of those people that has to have everything in its
place and everything clean before I can begin. Other than the complete
OCD ritual of the clean, I like to work where there is a lot of light
and fresh air. I work more in the spring/summer/fall than in winter,
mostly because I can open the windows.
WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO SELL ON ETSY?
I opened my painting shop on Etsy
in July of 2007, so I’ve been with them for a while now. I am also a
quilter and have another shop called BtaylorQuilts and have been selling
my sewn goods since December 2007. I can’t even remember how I
discovered Etsy for the first time, but I do remember setting up my
shops and being very excited to have my first sales.
Mostly I decided to sell on Etsy because it was very pretty to look at
back then, there was a community of like minded artisans to connect
with, and it was an inexpensive platform.
YOUR MANTRA
Because art is necessary
REASON TO BUY ART
Well ... because art is necessary. LOL!