A peek inside the creative life of Lorri-Marie Jenkins

First off, a little backstory. Who are you? What do you make?
my name is lorri-marie.
my passion is creating art with the cast offs from other people. i love found object work...metal, wood, doll parts, fabric. there is something deep inside me that hates to see things go unused by our society. it is hard for me to buy new art/craft materials, when i can find such a juicy treasure chest in the items that people are throwing away!

What projects are you in the middle of right now that you should probably be working on instead of doing this?
right now i am getting ready for several art/craft shows in berkeley. i have created many, many, mini-monster key fobs that i will sell there (and some are listed on my etsyshop). these fun little monsters are very useful in locating your keys...and entertaining others! they were published in 'stuffed magazine' not too long ago. i am still left with lots of fun colored pieces of fabric, but the inventory of the mini-monsters is plenty...so i have started to make some fun flower pins. ordinary? that just will not do...so i am singeing the edges of the fabric first...love it! i have a passion for well loved blue jeans too.....i take old, well loved jeans and patch them up...i will be published in the february edition of'greencraft magazine' with some of these delicious jeans. i also have some small artworks that have been created on abandoned flash cards. these will be for sale in berkeley as well....that is what i should be working on now...tee hee.

Where do you find inspiration?
i have a play group that gets together once a week, and another play group that gets together once a month. female artists are so darned juicy and inspirational...i just show up and i am both inspired and nurtured by their creative ideas!

Do you have a favorite book/blog/movie/etc you’d like to recommend?
i am not one to spend a lot of time with books, movies or blog searching...my attention span is too short....so i rely on the face to face inspiration!


Where can readers see more of your work?
i have an etsy shop http://www.etsy.com/shop/LorriMarie
and a blogspot http://wingingit-wingingit.blogspot.com/
i do my best to keep up with these connections....but as a woman with family, a full time job...and lots of fun to be had everyday....i am not as diligent as some others!

Thanks so much for giving us a peek into your creative life, Lorri-Marie!

A peek inside the creative life of Shana Astrachan

This week, I'm very proud to be able to post an interview with the lovely and talented Shana Astrachan. Shana and I work a lot of the same craft shows, so I'm not quite sure where we first met. In any case, she is awesome, and here is a peek into her creative life!

First off, a little backstory. Who are you? What do you make?
My name is Shana Astrachan. I live in San Francisco, California. I make jewelry and objects, my designs evolve from my love of metal and experimenting with unexpected materials and unconventional approaches to working with them. I am always up for the challenge of transforming a new material in a unique and beautiful way.

What projects are you in the middle of right now that you should probably be working on instead of doing this?
I am crocheting a big basket from twine, and since I am in the midst of opening a retail space for my jewelry and design objects this isn't what I should be working on, but it is sitting under the coffee table unfinished for now. Plus I just knit my first pair of slippers two weeks ago. I have so much jewelry to make right now, I better get to work!

Where do you primarily create?
My studio and kitchen and living room and bedroom...

Where do you find inspiration?
Everywhere it seems. From other makers, from vintage crafts, from the materials themselves.

Do you have a favorite book/blog/movie/etc you'd like to recommend?
Two favorite books with the same title, 'I Like You' (the 1965 Sandol Stoddard book and the Amy Sedaris 2006 book)

Where can readers see more of your work?
www.shanaastrachan.com
ShanaAstrachan.etsy.com
shanaastrachan.blogspot.com
crafthaus.ning.com/profile/ShanaAstrachan

Thanks for sharing a peek into your creative life with us, Shana!

A peek inside the creative life of Kaeti Lindquist and Tyler Poncho

Today's interview is a special one. After all, it's not often that a creature gets to be part of an interview.

First off, a little back story. Who are you? What do you make?
We are Kaeti Lindquist and Tyler Poncho. Kaeti lives in Madison, Wisconsin and loves to sew, draw, paint and make up silly stories. Tyler Poncho originally was born on Peacock City Planet. A few years ago, he teleported into Kaeti's head and gave her instructions on how to recreate his body and bring his visionary toy business to life. In his true birth he was cut by turtles, sewn by birds, and stuffed by bunnies to form the true sentient being of Tyler Poncho as he exists on Peacock City Planet.
Click here to see Tyler Poncho's birth!

We make many distorted Teddy Bears and other monsters. Our favorite is our two-headed bear, the Double Bear. We also have a series of toys based on Kaeti's childhood, Stuffed Animal World. These animals are slightly less frightening than those from Tyler's Amalgamated Menagerie.

What projects are you in the middle of right now that you should probably be working on instead of doing this?

Right now we're making a Tropical Joseph Petticoat for Soft Serve at OhNoDoom! in Chicago. I also have to put together at least 9 pieces for a gallery that is opening down the street from our home. On the 27th we have a Red Heel Sock Monkey workshop at the Overture Center! We're really excited about this, we have reference books prepared (all filled with gorgeous monkeys!), our kits assembled, and Tyler's got his sewing paws ready to show the monkey enthusiasts how to make there own Red Heel Sock Monkey. Seriously, I should be sewing instead of typing.


Where do you primarily create?
I primarily create on my couch. I cut out all the animals, and machine sew their parts up in my work/storage room. I love to do all my embroidery, hand sewing, stuffing while listening to Pandora, or watching some instant movies on Netflix. Last year I made a Where the Wild Things Are full body costume and won a kick-ass LED TV, so I watch that while I make my toys.

Where do you find inspiration?
I love zoos. Right now my favorite animals are camels, alpacas,flamigos, giraffes,....there's a bit of a trend of similar features, so you get the idea. I love awkward looking animals, and always strive for silliness in my designs. My favorite book and illustration of all time is Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne, especially the original illustration by Ernest Shepard. I get a lot of inspiration from my childhood, characters and places I made up, and books I read.

Do you have a favorite book/blog/movie/etc you'd like to recommend?

HyperboleandaHalf.blogspot.com!


Where can readers see more of your work?

• tylerponcho.com

• Kooky at the Shops at Northbridge, 520 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago.

• Tyler Poncho's Amalgamated Menagerie
  is available on Amazon.com.

Thanks for giving us this peek into your creative life, Kaeti (and Tyler)!

A peek inside the creative life of Krissi Sandvik

Today's special treat is a chat with artist Krissi Sandvik. She was kind enough to answer a few questions and share some peeks at her work and her studio. (Yay! I love getting to see other artists studios!)

First off, a little backstory. Who are you? What do you make?
I'm Krissi Sandvik. I am a suburban housewife with pink, magenta, purple and sometimes blue hair. I am a white girl with a love of Dia de los Muertos. I love to drive my little car fast on curvy roads and play with lots and lots of makeup. I like glitter and graveyards. I am often obscured by my character, Skelekitty; so much so that some people think I *am* Skelekitty.

What projects are you in the middle of right now that you should probably be working on instead of doing this?
I SHOULD be finishing two custom mats that I am painting to match a couple of my art prints and getting ready to hang an art show. There are also some half-finished mixed-media collage pendants that should be completely finished AND one of my groups, Glitter Bitches Handmade, that needs some blogging done. As far as my 'housewife' duties go, I should probably also be thinking about taking my Jack Russell Terrier for another walk before it rains.

Where do you primarily create?
I have a "studio" off the kitchen in our home. I believe it was designed as a family room, but I've obscured the original ideas with artwork and storage, so you'd practically never know it. My art table sits in the middle of the room with lots of outlets and lighting within a step or two of all my storage & my desk looks out a huge window into our overgrown backyard (mental note: add "gardening" to list of projects I should be doing).

Where do you find inspiration?
I find inspiration in contradictions, pop culture icons, Day of the Dead, gothic and industrial aesthetics, bright colors and humor. My love of animals also comes through very strongly in many of my "muertos" works and in the custom pet portraits I've been painting lately.

Do you have a favorite book/blog/movie/etc you'd like to recommend?
I'm an Anglophile at heart and Withnail and I is one of my favorite movies of all time.

Where can readers see more of your work?
I feel like I'm all over the web!
My website is krissisandvik.com or you can visit Krissi's Art Studio on facebook at www.facebook.com/krissisandvik
Skelekitty is at skelekitty.com and has a fan page on facebook too: www.facebook.com/SkelekittyFans
You can be overwhelmed by photos on Flickr at www.flickr.com/misskrissi (just look for the art collection)
OR
My shop is open on ArtFire at skelekitty.artfire.com



Thanks for giving us a peek into your creative life, Krissi!