February Featured Artist : The Itsy Bitsy Spider

February's feature artist is near and dear to my heart.  From the moment I saw her creations back at Oddmall Chrishanukwanzmadan I knew she had found a soft place in my home.  Literally.  My 9yr old daughter fell in love with her Fuzzy Whazzits and purchased three of them of the spot.  Additionally, she is a member of Cleveland Handmade and we love that!

I happily share with you my discussion with Karla of The Itsy Bitsy Spider.

Please tell me a little bit about yourself and what you create.

Before most other things, I'm a mom. My daughter joined our family back in Nov '08 and my life has never been the same since. She is my number one priority and I wouldn't have it any other way.

That said, I got into amigurumi crochet shortly after my daughter came home (she is internationally adopted). I wanted to create things she wold enjoy and I needed smaller projects than your typical crochet afghan since my work time was now relegated to nap times only. My first amigurumi were for my daughter, but soon after I had friends asking for creations for their own children. Next thing I knew, I was selling my work on Etsy and loving every minute of it.


What brought you to creating, and when did you start?

I think I have always been creative. As a child, I remember asking my mom to buy me dolls and action figures based on my favorite cartoon characters and being shut down on more than one occasion. I still wanted to act out the cartoons in my own play, so I started making paper dolls. My parents used to call me "snippy" because there was always a trail of little scraps of paper wherever I went.

I went through a lot of different crafts as I grew up but crochet was the one that really stuck. I taught myself how to crochet when I was about 15 and have been making things ever since (for those who are wondering, that's going on about 20 years now ;-)

How would you describe the style of your work? Does it reflect your personal style?

I have always been a fan of making "practical" things. Granted, dolls probably aren't the most practical items in the world, but there is something extremely practical about taking a couple dollars worth of yarn and turning it into an item that will be cherished and played with.

I guess you could say that I have a lot of the same influences in my day-to-day too. Around my house, we tend to use things until they're too bet up to use any more and then we recycle them into something else. I don't like to waste anything.




I’ve noticed that vibrant colors and a variety of textures appear often in your work. What is it that draws you to them?

I love working with a vast palette of colors and textures and that's something that's usually very easy to do in the fiber world. I want my finished piece to be touchable and I want people to savor the textures. I think that's one of the reasons I have really gotten into brushed crochet (like the dust kittens). I can take an otherwise plain yarn and make it into something that's hard to put down :-)

When someone is viewing your work for the first time, what do you hope they’ll see in it?

I hope they see a story. For me, each doll has a unique story. While I'm working on a doll, I often tell myself the story of the creature as I add the details.

I don't expect people to come up with the same story as me, but I do hope that my work will trigger something in them that wants to take my dolls and find out "what happens next?"


Do you have artistic talents in other areas?

I also draw, knit, and do a bit of desktop publishing/graphic design.


What do you listen to while you work? While you don’t work?

LOL, Nine Inch Nails.... but only on the headphones now-a-days. Someday, my daughter will be ready for it -- like when she's 30.

When I'm not working, it's usually my daughter's music... so let's see.... Steve Songs, BNL (did you know they have a children's album?) and Mickey Mouse.


What’s a fun fact most readers don’t know about you?

Hmm.... well, when I was doing my undergraduate studies, I took summer jobs at a local steel mill to help pay for my room and board. I have been a BP grinder operator, worked in a blast furnace, and even emptied coal from rail road cars. Needless, to say, the blast furnace job was my LEAST favorite :-)




Where can we find your work? [website, shops, etc.]

http://www.etsy.com/shop/theitsybitsyspider

http://www.ravelry.com/stores/the-itsy-bitsy-spider

http://itsybitsyspidercrochet.blogspot.com/

I will also be at Oddmall in Hudson, OH this May. http://oddmall.info/


Karla, thank you so much for sharing a bit about yourself and your process!  Can't wait to see you soon!