my love for you.

Twitterview: Jenny Hart.

image by Aubrey Edwards for Juxtapoz.

This week, readers and twitterers continue the conversation with artists and creative types in a brand new Twitterview with Jenny Hart.

An avid stitcher and a savvy business woman, Jenny is a fine artist and the proprietor of Sublime Stitching. I've long admired Jenny for her love of embroidery and strong passion for it. I really believe she is one of the movers and shakers to bring 'craft' back to the forefront and make it relevant again today.

I asked you what you wanted to hear from Jenny and you tweeted back some great questions...and Jenny answered graciously. You had great questions and Jenny was super in depth with her answers. Thanks for taking part!

Where you exposed to traditional crafts growing up? -- @momochan1974

Yes and no. I didn't really have any interest in crafting when I was younger because it was super, super uncool in the 80's. It seemed like a throwback to the 70's and was something you did in elementary school as a kid.

But, I loved to make things and work with my hands. I focused more on making art, drawing, photography etc. I didn’t do any sort of needlework growing up (but I did learn to knit when I was 10). Then, my interests seriously shifted, and so did the interests of my generation, and the DIY movement started happening. I became fascinated with embroidery, but had never done it and didn’t know how.

How did you first get interested in embroidery? -- @TheTypology

I became interested in embroidery by the mid-90's (I was in college), probably from going to flea markets and antique malls all the time and being given my grandmother’s linens. But I didn't take my first stitch until the summer of 2000.

Whenever I came across hand-embroidery I thought it looked so beautiful and wanted to see it used with non-traditional imagery or large, elaborate portraits. My father was very sick for many years, and it was during some difficult times that I first gave it a try. I became instantly addicted and obsessed with it because it alleviated the stress of what I was going through at the time.

I wanted to teach everyone how to embroider, and I wanted to embroider all the time.

I'd love to hear about how you switched from a 9-5 life to making art a full-time career. --  @butterflyinrvrs

That’s hard to answer briefly. I wrote a series of columns for Venus called “Crafting a Business” about my experiences becoming self-employed but they’re no longer online (I’m going to compile and re-release them). I also couldn’t say “making art” is my full time job. I spend less than 10% of my time “making art”. I manage my own  business every day (bills, taxes, inventory, etc) and the creative part is still a very small aspect of it. My own goal is to become a full-time working artist, so in a sense, I’m still making that switch!

What is the best way to learn beginner embroidery? -- @DesertNanaRetro

The best way is to have someone show you in person. If that's not possible, I try to make my kits and instructions the next best thing. 

When I wanted to learn embroidery, I had no idea how to do it, had no experience sewing, and books on embroidery were very intimidating, confusing and out-of-date. So, I try to write and put together everything in the way that makes sense to me. I created Sublime Stitching to be the company I wished existed when I was trying to learn embroidery and wanted updated resources and design.

What is the best transfer tools? Pens or pencils and favorite brands? -- @MaLora_Ann

I think Sulky's transfer pens are the best! This is also good stuff to have on hand: Heavy Duty Tracing Paper.

Which do you find more frustrating, Knot tying or Needle Threading? -- @luckyjjackson

Knot tying.

Do any type of projects intimidate you and how do you tackle them? -- @TMunderground

Manufacturing projects are the most intimidating projects for me. It is extremely, extremely tough to make a product you envision as an independent designer. From the design, to the materials, to the finished product – a million things can go wrong with manufacturing. You can make bad decisions, your manufacturer (which might take you years to find) can screw something up, the end product might not be as successful as you hoped… I’m not a factory, I don’t have a print shop, I don’t have a team of sewers or illustrators on staff (I have two employees right now one full-time, one part-time). I have to pull those resources together on my own. And, because I can’t afford the best illustrators or designers – I do most of that work myself.

At the same time, it’s one of my favorite things to do. I tackle it by constant research, trial and error and maintaining strong relationships with those who work out for what I’d wanted to create. Even though it’s hard, frustrating work, I think it’s fun and satisfying when it works out.

Thanks so much Jenny! If you'd like to see more from Jenny this is what she has coming up over the next few months:

Drawing Now (contemporary drawing salon) Carrousel du Louvre, Paris, France. March 29 - April 1, 2012

Needlework Revolution (workshop) Fowler Museum* at UCLA, Los Angeles, California. March 31, 2012 2-4pm

*She'll also be doing a collaborative art project in conjunction with the Alighiero Boetti show at the Fowler 

40 under 40: Craft Futures (group show) at Smithsonian American Art Museum Renwick Gallery, Washington, DC. Opens: July 20, 2012 - February 3, 2013 (will tour nationally)

Twitterview: Lucky Jackson.

 

When I started thinking about taking the blog in a new direction last year, it was clear to me that I did not want to get away from the community I had created. If anything, I actually wanted to get closer and be more personal with you guys. Blogging everyday about art started to get kind of lonely and honestly exhausting. I also noticed that the sites I gravitated to most, all had a personal voice and that really appealed to me.

With the new direction, I decided going forward it was important for me to engage and invite the community of readers to be more involved with the posts as well. I wanted to give you guys a platform to ask some of your favorite artists things that you want to know. So today I'm starting a brand new (and experimental!) feature; twitterviews!

How it works is I tweet out on twitter that I'm planning on interviewing a specific artist and ask people to tweet back at me q's for them. Twitterviews are normally conducted on twitter, however my fulltime job makes that a beeeet difficult. I love twitter and it seemed like a perfect way to really engage you, readers. I hope you guys like it! Next week I'll be interviewing Jenny Hart of Sublime Stitching. Tweet at me!

SO enough of my yammering! For my very first twitterview I asked Lucky Jackson to take part.

Lucky is a crafty maven who's been making beautiful embroidered art, selling in her Etsy shop and attending many of the craft fairs we love. She's also working on a 365 day embroidery project, that is simply incredible considering each piece is made in one day. One day!

I love how her work is really centered around pop culture, friends and family.

I thought she was ideal to twitterview since she crafts, makes art, runs her own business and has a family too! Keep in mind for after your reading, Lucky has just opened a shop to sell her 365 day pieces.

Let's get started!

How did you transition from working a regular job to being a full time artist? What were the steps you took? question from: @AshleyMSheppard

When my first daughter was born my husband entered me in an art show. I had nothing to show at the time. He told me to get started and I did. I fell in love with making art. When I was on maternity leave and Ellie was little I painted all the time. I really want to show my kids that you can have a career that you love. I kept doing shows and opened an Etsy shop. I just kept going...

How do you "make time" to produce beautiful intricate personal pieces daily whilst still doing a real job (running your business side of things)? question from: @leecrutchley

This is the part I find really hard. Making art is easy, but juggling emails, orders and shows...I am working on a system but haven't quite figured that part out yet. I do find that people are pretty patient with me as they know that I am at a loss for time.

I also have two little girls 4 and 6. I try to only work when they are at school and at night. I really try to steal snippets of time whenever I can to just get a bit of work done. The business part is an ongoing "work in progress". I hope by the end of it I will have it down to a fine art.

What do you do when you get stuck? Do you keep a sketchbook? questions from: @czarcastic 

I keep several sketchbooks! I am constantly sketching out new ideas. I can't say that I am ever at a loss for new ideas. Just the time to make them!

What non-art things influence your practice the most? question from: @czarcastic 

My family influences me a lot. Having kids is a constant inspiration. My friends are all really creative and they always give me new ideas.

I also am a book nut. I am constantly scouring illustration periodicals and art and craft books. Music, Movies... you name it.

What continues to drive you to create? question from: @russty

I am in love with art. I really honestly like making something new every day. I look forward to coming up with new ideas, sketching them out, assembling the work. I will be sad when the project is over. It might sound trite but this is what I was meant to do. It took me a long time to realize it but I am glad others recognized it and are so supportive.

How did you get your work seen by larger audiences? question from: @auralaniK

It happened pretty suddenly. I guess Uppercase Magazine tweeted about it and that was then mentioned by Miss Modish who then passed it on to Bleubird Vintage. Miss James wrote a wonderful piece and  that was really the start of people knowing about the project.

How do you handle the uncertainty of earning an income as an artist; especially in tough economies? question from: @Meyertron

The last few years I have just been making very affordable art. When I do shows I have small pieces that start at $15. You just have to think like a business and not overvalue your work. My father once told me "It's only worth what someone will pay", a bit harsh I know but I am finding that there is truth in that. I challenge myself to make art that is accessible to everyone.

I have been doing the craft show circuit for a couple of years now so I have a pretty good idea of what people are willing to pay and produce items in a wide range of price points.