FEATURED ETSY SHOP - SILJA'S GIFT SHOP

Felt Cow - SUSSU

Silja of SILJA'S Gift Shop has a huge variety of items to peak your interest....bracelets, earrings, art cards, felted animals and dolls, and much more! Be sure to pay her shop a visit! After reading her interview below, you'll see that Silja also has a sense of humor!

What led you to start creating your art/craft?

I bought a pencil and I can't stand stuff just laying around, so I had to use it. Same goes for the lamb wool and the felting needle.

How did you decide what medium you wanted to work with?

I like oil colors the most. It is like paste, you can poke it with your brush until it gets into the shape or color you want it to be and it can take 2 days if you want to, because it dries so slowly. Oil is the perfect medium for people who are slow.

What aspect of creating your art/craft do you find the most enjoyable?

The middle part of creating, where you can do things freely. Making finishing touches drives me crazy! After that, getting compliments! It is easy for me, because I take EVERYTHING as a compliment. If you say you hate my work, I only hear "I think about your stuff and it makes me feeeeeeel something, mushy mushy".

If you had to choose a fruit OR a vegetable, to describe your art/craft, what would you choose, and why?

Chernobyl pumpkin. It's illuminating! Not really! I just had to say that. I am not conceited. Maybe a potato. It is dirty, but people love it! No, no. That is not it either. Berries? Corn? Hmm...would love some corn now...Will check if we have some...

If you had to choose one other medium in which to display your “creativity”, what would that be, and why?

Clay! Not polymer clay, but real clay. I would love to learn how to do clay pipes and maybe some clay dolls too. And then bury them and see if someone finds them in 2000 years and what would they say? But it is not easy to live for 2000 years to see it myself, so I think I will not execute this great plan. Maybe if I had some extra sandwiches though....

What message, if any, do you want to convey with your art/craft?

Traditional art to masses! That sounds awful, I know.

What advice do you have for other artists/crafters?

Honesty means just random opinions from people who haven't got their morning coffee yet. Think for yourself! Nobody is right all the time anyway. So would you rather have someone else's bad idea or your own?

THANKS, Silja for your delightful interview, and for taking the time to share your many creations with everyone. To see more of Silja's work be sure to visit the links below. She has some fantastic paintings on her FLICKR site.

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DEVIANT ART

FEATURED ETSY ARTIST - NIMBUSNOVEM - Drawings and Stone Etchings

NORA - Original Clay Board Drawing

by Elizabeth

I just loved the artist's inspiration for her above drawing, so I have included it below:

One morning last week I woke up thinking of my great-grandmother, Nora. She and her husband, her sister and brother-in-law moved to North Dakota before the turn of the century. The land was so cheap as to be nearly free and they thought to farm there. They went by horse and wagon and the journey was long. They were hopeful, however, and I imagine it had to be at least a little exciting. As it turned out Nora hated North Dakota. The sweeping winds of the plains turned the fields into whispering oceans and she was at once seasick and homesick. She stayed long enough to give birth to my grandmother, then moved back to Ohio where she lived the rest of her days.I thought of her on the plains, looking toward the east under a full moon; the wind making a sea of the fields of grain and grass. I thought of how at nighttime, at least the moon would feel like a familiar friend (look closely and you'll see it reflected in her eye). I thought of her all a-twitch and at any moment ready to bolt for home.

WELCOME, Elizabeth and her fantastic drawings and etchings, which she offers in her NIMBUSNOVEM shop out on Etsy. The details are truly amazing! Be sure to pay her shop a visit to see all the wonderful things she has to offer.

What led you to start creating your art/craft?

I've always loved drawing, but I specifically became interested in etching/engraving marble and granite when I worked in the memorial industry. It was quite an introduction, as I was immediately thrown into doing one custom job after another. I did cars, trains, portraits, landscapes, animals-- anything you can imagine. Scratchboard and clayboard became favorite mediums because I could use the same techniques as I use on the stone work.

How did you decide what medium you wanted to work with?

I love the permanence of stone. I really like the idea of catching an ephemeral glance of an eye or twitch of a bird's wing on something as eternal as marble and granite. Scratchboard and clayboard allow me do add color and really get into the details-- something I really love.

What aspect of creating your art/craft do you find the most enjoyable?

I love the sound of my xacto knife scratching out the details on the board. I love when a stone piece is done and I can feel the eyes of my subject looking back at me.

If you had to choose a fruit OR a vegetable, to describe your art/craft, what would you choose, and why?

I think I'd have to choose an apple. A drawing a day keeps the doctor away!

If you had to choose one other medium in which to display your “creativity”, what would that be, and why?

I've really been wanting to make boxes and other containers that display some of my work and may be become works in their own right. In fact, I'm looking into that now and plan on offering some in my shop this spring. I studied sculpture for many years and I miss it! I may be getting back into that as well.

What message, if any, do you want to convey with your art/craft?

I want people to look at my work and feel it look back. There is a feeling you get right in the center of your chest when you connect with an art work. I want to give this feeling to people.

What advice do you have for other artists/crafters?

Don't think your talent and skill ever leaves you. It's always there waiting for you to call on it and wake it up again.

Thank you, Elizabeth, for giving us a bit of an insight into your thoughts of being an artist, and also for sharing your amazing work with everyone! It is just exquisite! You can see more of Elizabeth's work by visiting NIMBUSNOVEM on Etsy, and TRUNKT

TRUNKT