by Kelly of TINY MISHAPS
WELCOME, Kelly and her Etsy shop, TINY MISHAPS where you will find sculptures like the one pictured above, along with a large selection of her jewelry designs. Be sure to pay a visit to TINY MISHAPS after you read Kelly's interview below, where she tells us in her own words how she got started in her creativity.
What led you to start creating your art/craft?
I've been creating since I could hold a crayon, so I'm not sure when you could say 'it' started. I'll try to narrow this to the main things in my tinymishaps.etsy.com shop which are currently hanging sculpture and jewelry.
My sculptures started in college when I had to complete a project where I spent a minimum of 20 hours on something but couldn't spend large spans of time on it due to my schedule. My sculpture style was born out of this fragmented time.
In addition, jewelry has been a vital part of my wardrobe and I have a wall devoted to it. A friend of mine got into beading and told me I had to check out a local bead boutique with her. I had always disliked beaded jewelry because it seemed unoriginal and cheap. Well she changed my mind and I started thinking of ways to create my own things with this wealth of sparkling supplies.
How did you decide what medium you wanted to work with?
My medium has pretty much always been directed by availability. If you look at my shop, you'd think beading/jewelry is my main medium but that was never the intention. It's just so much easier and faster than most things. I can make several pieces in a full day's work whereas it takes me weeks to make a sculpture. For now money, space, availability and facilities determine my medium. But it will always be changing.
I've always been fairly resourceful and am that person who solves problems and makes things with stuff and in ways no one intended. I think I've barely become creative enough with the jewelry because of the material abundance. I tend to become the most creative with limited materials. Lock me up with nothing but a deck of cards and a pair of scissors and you'll see.
(Click on the link above to learn more about this item.)
What aspect of creating your art/craft do you find the most enjoyable?
I like making new things and variations on things. I'm one who has a hard time making decisions so I love working when I can create variations on the same thing and see all the ways it could turn out.
I also really love being able to share the things I make whether it be on Etsy or at an art show. It gives purpose to my work when others can appreciate or use it. I especially love when I find people who like my stuff so much they want to own or share it themselves. And I also like comissioned peices and custom work. It's neat to know someone trusts me enough to create something especially for them.
If you had to choose a fruit OR a vegetable, to describe your art/craft, what would you choose, and why?
I initially thought of a pomegranate because it is mildly out of the ordinary, a whole made up of parts in some sense, and it's a mess but still delicious when taken apart.
(Click on the link above to learn more about this item.)
If you had to choose one other medium in which to display your “creativity”, what would that be, and why?
String? Or perhaps dance. I took a choreography class in college that was pretty successful.
What message, if any, do you want to convey with your art/craft?
My sculptures create the fascination factor and I think they convey a sense of fragmentation and whole. They are based on our fragmented time, but also on layers of beauty, perception an discovery. The piece as a whole is one thing and as you move closer you discover each strand is individually it's own and that each piece upon the strand gives you even more depth of insight.
With my jewelry I like to convey a sense of self and change. I think jewelry is one of many accessories that helps us change, whether that be our look, whether that be the way we look to others or our own outlook. That can come from the way we look and feel in the piece or because it holds special memories or meaning based on who gave it to us or where we've worn it in the past. I think a lot of us have that ''goto" piece that we can put on in a pinch and feel ourselves in. It just makes us feel complete and confident. I'd like to create that for someone.
What advice do you have for other artists/crafters?
Um, My advice for other artists or crafters would be to focus on making your things your own, something I think I can do with my sculpture and need to keep working on with my jewelry. Don't worry about 'what's hot' or what is selling or what other people do. I might even go so far as to say not to follow trends, not to look around too much for fear of being too influenced by others. Take your thing and do it and play will it and see how far you can take it.
Thanks, Kelly, for a great interview and sharing your artistic talents with everyone. It is a pleasure to have you here on DZFANTASY a featured artist.
Don't forget to pay a visit to Kelly's links below to find out more about her and her creations.
