Meet Sherri of Intuibead
You can visit her shop here:
How many years have you been an artist?
I have actually been an artist all of my life: sporadically. I started out drawing horses at the age of 6 and wore out a ton of pencils and paper doing so. I dreamed of being an artist when I grew up so when the Art Linklater Art Talent Test was advertised on TV, I sent away for it. However my parents said that my drawings were not good enough for the Talent Test so I let that idea rest. Years later I discovered that my actual artistic medium is glass and have followed my heart.
How many years have you worked with glass?
I took a 5-day intensive lampworking class in 2005 at a nearby college so that would make my years of glass as being 4 years part time. Before the intensive class I took a couple of beginner classes to see what this lampworking thing was all about and to see if I liked it. The answer was enough of a yes to take an intensive class to see if lampworking was something that I wanted to sink my teeth into. Obviously it was and it is.
What triggers ideas for new projects?
It's hard to say what triggers my creative ideas as I have ideas come to me as ideas, some come in a "I want to try that" and the best ones come in the form of a challenge either issued by someone or by a piece telling me to remake it. The woodworking catalogs also give me ideas as well. Of course the glass itself "talks to me".
When do ideas come to you? How often?
Ideas come to me when they come to me. Specific times are when I get my woodworking catalogs (I don't woodwork, by the way). New woodturning projects get my spidey senses tingling. When I am in the "zone" while torching, ideas show up and when they do, I act on them. I always say that the glass has a way of speaking to me and letting me know what it wants to be made up as.My work time goes in ebbs and flows right now vs a portion each day. It's not an ideal setup for me right now and I'm in motion to balance that out. Even when I am not glass working, I am still listening for the small still voice to whisper something to me.
What percentage of the day do you think about or work on your art?
When I am in glass work mode I usually spend a few hours at a time focused on what I am doing.I create pretty much every day and what I am creating may not have anything to do with glass. I'm also an avid knitter, especially socks and I also create in the kitchen as well. I don't fight where my creative urge travels to.I think that it's extremely important to create, not only me but everyone. Left-brain dominant people also need the creative right brain in action to allow for a more balanced lifestyle. It's much easier to deal with life's issues when the creative side of the brain is also very active.
Do you feel that choosing the artist’s life has been a sacrifice?
Have you given up certain luxuries?
When I create, I am gifting myself with taking care of me and that idea alone is paramount.What has actually been sacrificed in my life thus far is my artist's life. I have been working way too many hours and spending way too much time and energy at a job. Now that I am fully aware of that aspect I have currently implemented a change process that will allow me to live the life of an artist without having to give up the "luxuries". I don't buy into the "starving artist" concept as there are options, but one has to be open to receiving and acting upon the options.
Describe your studio.
I actually have 2 rooms of my house that are studios. One of the room is my photography/assembly studio and the other room is my glass/torch studio. My photography/assembly studio is well let with natural light and also houses my office as well as a kitchen table that boasts of bead store mayhem (yes I do know where everything is). When I am in assembly mode I want to see all of my options as I don't want to miss out on an idea. Of course my slinky is readily available for thought diversion. Now for my glass studio. I need to be surrounded by nature when I work so on the desert orange walls I have my owl,3 fish, and a bird clock that sounds bird calls on the hour. My torch table is made of grey marble tile and my husband built a fumehood with plexiglass walls so that I can look out the large windows into the pasture when I am torching. That way I can watch the dogs, birds, horses, cattle, and clouds. In front of the window is a live 6-foot tall cactus. Besides tools and glass rods on my torch table, I also have a Shire horse and rooster and chicken figurines to gaze at. Now for my glass: all of my glass is organized into their specific types on a black tile coffee table and a steel storage rack. The specific type organization is very important because the different glass types (COE's) cannot be mixed. To house all gazillion colors of glass rods that I have, I use glass vases from the thrift store. I think that my rods are pretty and I want to see them especially when one calls me to work with it. I also have a whiteboard in my studio to write down ideas, order and items that I need to purchase.
Tell me something about you.
Something about me: I'm multi-faceted and I enjoy the simple life. I thrive on challenges and am always looking for ways to improve myself. I'm big on personal development, especially Bob Proctor. When am I most comfortable? Wearing my jeans and cowboy boots.
I have actually been an artist all of my life: sporadically. I started out drawing horses at the age of 6 and wore out a ton of pencils and paper doing so. I dreamed of being an artist when I grew up so when the Art Linklater Art Talent Test was advertised on TV, I sent away for it. However my parents said that my drawings were not good enough for the Talent Test so I let that idea rest. Years later I discovered that my actual artistic medium is glass and have followed my heart.
How many years have you worked with glass?
I took a 5-day intensive lampworking class in 2005 at a nearby college so that would make my years of glass as being 4 years part time. Before the intensive class I took a couple of beginner classes to see what this lampworking thing was all about and to see if I liked it. The answer was enough of a yes to take an intensive class to see if lampworking was something that I wanted to sink my teeth into. Obviously it was and it is.
What triggers ideas for new projects?
It's hard to say what triggers my creative ideas as I have ideas come to me as ideas, some come in a "I want to try that" and the best ones come in the form of a challenge either issued by someone or by a piece telling me to remake it. The woodworking catalogs also give me ideas as well. Of course the glass itself "talks to me".
When do ideas come to you? How often?
Ideas come to me when they come to me. Specific times are when I get my woodworking catalogs (I don't woodwork, by the way). New woodturning projects get my spidey senses tingling. When I am in the "zone" while torching, ideas show up and when they do, I act on them. I always say that the glass has a way of speaking to me and letting me know what it wants to be made up as.My work time goes in ebbs and flows right now vs a portion each day. It's not an ideal setup for me right now and I'm in motion to balance that out. Even when I am not glass working, I am still listening for the small still voice to whisper something to me.
What percentage of the day do you think about or work on your art?
When I am in glass work mode I usually spend a few hours at a time focused on what I am doing.I create pretty much every day and what I am creating may not have anything to do with glass. I'm also an avid knitter, especially socks and I also create in the kitchen as well. I don't fight where my creative urge travels to.I think that it's extremely important to create, not only me but everyone. Left-brain dominant people also need the creative right brain in action to allow for a more balanced lifestyle. It's much easier to deal with life's issues when the creative side of the brain is also very active.
Do you feel that choosing the artist’s life has been a sacrifice?
Have you given up certain luxuries?
When I create, I am gifting myself with taking care of me and that idea alone is paramount.What has actually been sacrificed in my life thus far is my artist's life. I have been working way too many hours and spending way too much time and energy at a job. Now that I am fully aware of that aspect I have currently implemented a change process that will allow me to live the life of an artist without having to give up the "luxuries". I don't buy into the "starving artist" concept as there are options, but one has to be open to receiving and acting upon the options.
Describe your studio.
I actually have 2 rooms of my house that are studios. One of the room is my photography/assembly studio and the other room is my glass/torch studio. My photography/assembly studio is well let with natural light and also houses my office as well as a kitchen table that boasts of bead store mayhem (yes I do know where everything is). When I am in assembly mode I want to see all of my options as I don't want to miss out on an idea. Of course my slinky is readily available for thought diversion. Now for my glass studio. I need to be surrounded by nature when I work so on the desert orange walls I have my owl,3 fish, and a bird clock that sounds bird calls on the hour. My torch table is made of grey marble tile and my husband built a fumehood with plexiglass walls so that I can look out the large windows into the pasture when I am torching. That way I can watch the dogs, birds, horses, cattle, and clouds. In front of the window is a live 6-foot tall cactus. Besides tools and glass rods on my torch table, I also have a Shire horse and rooster and chicken figurines to gaze at. Now for my glass: all of my glass is organized into their specific types on a black tile coffee table and a steel storage rack. The specific type organization is very important because the different glass types (COE's) cannot be mixed. To house all gazillion colors of glass rods that I have, I use glass vases from the thrift store. I think that my rods are pretty and I want to see them especially when one calls me to work with it. I also have a whiteboard in my studio to write down ideas, order and items that I need to purchase.
Tell me something about you.
Something about me: I'm multi-faceted and I enjoy the simple life. I thrive on challenges and am always looking for ways to improve myself. I'm big on personal development, especially Bob Proctor. When am I most comfortable? Wearing my jeans and cowboy boots.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment