Welcome to the second edition of Local Talent Tuesday! This time we're featuring Jen Bryan of Lucy Blue Studio. Jen creates really cool jewelry & accessories, using mainly her own photography & original, digital collages (although sometimes she uses vintage illustrations). She also keeps a great blog called Crafty Redhead. Thanks for talking with us, Jen!
Beth: First, please give us a little background on your studio.
Jen: My studio is in this weird little second living room. We think it used to be a bedroom or a formal dining room but the former owners added a wall and some weird 70's half walls with banisters. I knocked those out and put in shelving. I am now doing my art full time, though I prefer having a job. Makes it easier to not sell consistently, plus the less time I have for a project the less likely I'll procrastinate. I got my DBA in Oct of 2006 but didn't really do much with it until the fall of 2007. I mainly sell on Etsy. I do a few shows when I can and finally started approaching stores to carry my work.
Beth: Where do you find the inspiration &/or motivation for your creative work?
Jen: I find inspiration everywhere. I know this is the most common answer, but it's true. Nature, my friends, movies, museums, my favorite restaurants. I think all creative people soak in their surroundings like a sponge only to regurgitate it later in some recognizable (or not) form. The best ideas always come at 3 in the morning when the previous day's events finally gel into those weird little thoughts that randomly pop into your head when you are tired or half asleep.
Beth: Describe how a really productive day of making art goes for you.
Jen: A really productive day requires that there be no one home but me, as in, Wes has gone out of town. I get distracted by housework, dinner, [and] various domestic things if I think there is going to be someone around to appreciate those things. I always get on the computer first thing though I'm starting to think I need to make that the last thing I do in a day, then I go into my studio and hunker down. I focus so much on what I'm doing that occasionally I can forget to eat.
Beth: What are your big-picture goals for yourself as an artist & your art-related business?
Jen: My big picture goal is to be able to pay the bills with my art. I'm not sure I want to license it out or anything and I'd always like to be able to handle the labor end of it without having to hire anyone, yet still do well financially. To make a stable living would be a good thing.
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