Spotlight: Love Art Works

Kristin Love of Love Art Works considers her work a celebration of the eclectic, colorful and passionate world we all live in, and a joyful salutation to the artist in all of us. An art form that she stumbled upon by chance has since become her passion, and a successful career. On top of managing her shop, Kristin is also leader of the Etsy Project Embrace Team, a Universal Coalition of Artists whose main purpose is to create awareness and support for people with Cancer.

Read on to learn about how she got her start, her love of chocolate and chick flicks, and the time she almost rolled off a pyramid. You can also enter to win one of her beautiful wall hangings!

Where are you from originally and currently live?
I am the daughter of a Marine Corps Mother and Father which means that I "lived" in the city I was born (Quantico, VA) for about 2 seconds and the rest of my life has taken me all over the US. I’ve also visited about 14 countries abroad. I have finally settled in the gorgeous Pacific Northwest, just South of Seattle, and I have lived here for almost 10 years.

How long have you been selling on Etsy?
Well, my 2 year Shop anniversary date is in 2 days...YAY!! But I didn't actually list anything in my Shop to begin with until I had been "open" about 4 months because I was a bit overwhelmed by the whole thing… and chicken! :)

Do you sell on Etsy full time or do you have a day job?
I am a "full-time" working Studio Artist with about 2/3 of my sales happening on Etsy or offsite as a direct result of my Etsy Shops. I also create quite a few custom pieces, participate in a couple of Art Fairs every year and have the honor of being represented by three galleries in the Seattle area.

What, if any, formal training have you had in your craft?
I had never touched a piece of clay until about 5 years ago!! My history as an Artist involves almost all 2D work and I had a double major of Illustration and Photography when I attended the Massachusetts College of Art in Boston a few short 20 years or so ago. It wasn’t until I went to a “paint your own pottery” shop for a friend’s bridal shower that I ever picked up a piece of clay with my own artistic vision in mind and then I was hooked!! I loved the whole process of painting on a 3 dimensional surface, it was like a puzzle, and feeling the weight of the clay piece in my hands as I painted was like connecting to the earth itself. It took me less than 6 months of painting on store bought bisqueware pottery before I wanted to learn how to make my own clay pieces. I sought out a studio space with other potters, took some classes, learned an amazing amount through painful trial and error, and here I am, playing gleefully in the clay and then spending joyous hours painting it!

What made you decide to open up shop on Etsy?
Now, I won’t disclose my age here, ahem, but, I basically got physically and emotionally tired of doing the Art Show circuit, which I had done off and on for what seemed like a millennium, traveling here and there, hauling heavy boxes, setting up displays, etc, etc. A friend had told me about Etsy a few years ago and I jumped in as a buyer of all things beautiful and handmade but didn’t really see myself selling online. I thought it would be too difficult, but a seed had been planted, and the more I looked, the more I thought I can DO this!! So, in March 2008, I set up my Etsy shop name.. and the rest, as they say, is Herstory!!

Where did your shop name come from?
I wanted a name that included my last name and didn't sound hopelessly corny or ridiculously romantic, or even pornographic, believe me, it's easy to have people twist your meaning! As I mentioned above, I am also a "2D" artist and so I didn't want my name to be limited to just pottery, I wanted to leave myself wide open to have a variety of art styles. The result of all this introspection was my shop name but since it has become synonymous over the past 2 years with my pottery on Etsy, I have had to go through a similar process naming my second shop, which is LoveArtStudios and contains my aforementioned "2D" creations.

What do you like least about your craft?
When the "kiln gods" take their "pound of pottery flesh"! Opening the kiln is like Christmas morning, every time, and I can't honestly think of one time where there wasn't at least one piece of pottery that went in the kiln looking stellar, and then came out of the kiln looking quite a bit less than perfect. Sometimes I can sell these pieces as "seconds" because the glaze mishaps are fairly inconsequential. And sometimes I can actually sand and scrape and reglaze and re-fire a piece and it comes out great. But there are definitely the times where the piece is absolutely unsalvageable and becomes another family gift....or a cactus planter!

Do you have any advice for other sellers on Etsy or those thinking about pursuing their craft?
Follow your heart, even if you do not think it is what will "sell", because eventually your soul will shine through your work, other's will see that, and "success" will find you, although it may not come in the way you envision it. Great photographs with a flair all your own and killer customer service are paramount to being a successful seller on Etsy.

Tell us how you became involved with Etsy Project Embrace
Kim of slinkymalinkicat and I were "Treasury" friends and she contacted me when she and Amy of ThePeachTree first thought of the idea of forming a support group/network for Laura Slocum who had just been diagnosed with ovarion cancer and was starting intensive chemothrapy treatments. The group started growing and growing with no apparent direction and it was at this point that the creation of an Official Etsy Team was discussed and I was approached to lead the Team, which I am honored, proud and humbled to do so every day.

You can learn more about Etsy Project Embrace here.

Five things you love
The inherent goodness of the human spirit. Autumn. Silence. Mountains and Rivers and Starlight. Birds, all of them, but especially Ravens and Crows.

Five things you don't
Deliberately cruel and rude people. Television. Hot sticky Weather. Loud, Discordant Music
Negativity.

What are your guilty pleasures?
When my husband goes out of town I eat absolutely "unstructured" meals, or just chocolate, and watch tearjerker chick flicks or foriegn films and stay in my pajamas, not even thinking to leave the house, not even to walk the dog... :)

What is the stupidest thing you have ever done?
Sleeping at the top of one of the Temple Pyramid in Tikal, Quatemala because we snuck into the park after dark, the stairs up to the top of the 154ft. foot tall pyramid were precarious during the daylight hours, never mind at midnight, and at the top there was just a stone slab landing with no barrier around it...I could have easily rolled off in the 2 hours of time I actually did sleep (it's pretty noisy out there in the jungle, all those strange sounds, birds and howler monkeys and such....!).

Share some of your favorite music.
For a long long looooooong time all I ever listened to was "male rock", you know the drill: Led Zeppelin, Dire Straights, Pink Floyd, Grateful Dead, David Bowie, male Blues singers.....etc (Heart was just about the only exception....). Then about 12 years or so ago, something just flipped in me and now all I really listen to is female singer/songwriters and here's who is in my CD player right now: Paula Cole, Kate Bush, Tori Amos, Ani DiFranco, Heather Nova, Katie Tunstall, Melanie Griffith, Joni Mitchell.

What does the future hold for you and your shop?
Everything!! Etsy is a phenomenal place to not only sell my work and make a living, but it is it's own little world which has brought me friendships, support and creative insights that I am constantly grateful for. The future for me is all about action, about taking the steps in my art and my life in a positive and loving way and letting the Universe take care of the rest.

GIVEAWAY TIME!

Kristin is offering one lucky winner the beautiful Blossom Tile Wall Hanging shown above.

HERE'S HOW TO ENTER:
Please leave a comment with your favorite item from Love Art Works AND ALSO what other designs and art work you would like to see on her pieces.

You can enter once per day and YOU MUST INCLUDE your first name -AND- etsy username or email address with every entry. (If you are worried about email spam, you can spell out the 'at' and 'dot' rather than using the standard email format.)

Receive additional entries (one each) if you:

Follow or subscribe to this Blog, my Facebook or my Twitter

Twitter/Facebook/Blog about the giveaway

You have until Sunday, April 5 at 10 pm (est) to enter and I will announce the winner Monday morning. Good luck!

DISCOUNT OFFER!

Kristin is also offering a 10% discount on all orders at Love Art Works and Love Art Studios when you mention Lillyella at checkout. Valid through April 10.