Why do you like crafting so much?
I was trained as a fine artist with an emphasis on painting yet always found myself attracted to what critics call "outsider art." I love mixed media. I enjoy making a sculpture as much as I enjoy creating a little diorama or setting up a scene to photograph. Crafting is a word that allows for that broad swoop incorporating all the arts into one big melting pot. (But if you ask me what I am I will tell you I am an artist, not a crafter.)
Who or what inspires you?
Some of my favorite artists are Kiki Smith, Edward Kienholz, Red Grooms, and Bosch. I greatly admire P.T. Barnum and Jim Henson. I am very attracted to assemblage art and in many ways feel like that is my process. Find something and use it to create something else. I don't think you ever really need to buy something to make art. Just look around and be inspired to create with things we already have.
On a perfect [crafting] day I get to ...”
Sit around and stream movies or listen to audio books and tinker with my art projects. My hands are almost always working on something. I rarely just sit. For thinking I run or walk.
How do you complement Sophie when it comes to brainstorming and bringing new projects to life?
She describes it and I make it. We are sisters. It is just kismet. Something I can't explain but it seems to work out well for both of us. I will often create something and she will dissect how I made it and create it more simply so children can do it easier. Sophie thinks in maps and patterns. She thinks through a project beginning to end. I am a journey gal. Often what I start I have no idea where it will take me but I wander along to a completed project letting the materials guide me.
What is the one craft you have always wanted to master but have not completed yet?
I am not so hot at following directions so learning how to knit, crochet or do the Rainbow Loom has been super challenging for me. I believe I could master any of these things if I really put the time in with a decent teacher but as of yet this has not happened. I also don't have a burning desire to do any of these things.
