 | | | ARTELLAGRAM 6-27-09:
"In the Studio"
An Interview with Artist Tammy Hensley (This interview is continued from the June 27 2009 Artellagram...)
 Artella: What is your background, in terms of artistic training? If you could go back and do anything differently to prepare you for the kind of creative work you do now, would you have made different decisions?
Tammy: I have a B.F.A. with a concentration in Graphic Design. My college curriculum included photography, illustration, and the graphic design training in desktop publishing which was in its infancy when I was in high school and college. It also included fine art classes which allowed me to try out all sorts of areas that I had an interest in - drawing, jewelry-making, and pottery among others. For as long as I can remember, though, I was drawing and doodling - my teachers always had to take notebooks away because I was drawing instead of paying attention in class. I started taking calligraphy classes when I was 10 years old so I've been doing calligraphy for 25 years!!!
I had wonderful teachers and a great education in art particularly my high school art teacher whose greatest gift was to let me experiment in addition to class requirements. There is no decision I would make differently as far as my art training; my biggest struggle has been trying to re-enter the art career field as I took a pretty significant detour into a completely different field of work for about twelve years out of college and grad school - into the field of higher education and student affairs. It's hard to convince potential employers that you're qualified if your most recent, direct experience was about ten years ago. Even in my student affairs career, my art and graphic design experience was always an asset and one that my supervisors definitely took advantage of! Most importantly, I was in a career that was very important to me as I got to help college students grow and learn, I met incredible people and friends for life and met my husband which wouldn't have happened without that little detour!
Artella: What advice about calligraphy and letter arts would you give to a complete newbie? Where should I start? Do I need classes, or is it possible to learn from a book?
Tammy: I truly believe that it's possible for most people to learn calligraphy! Taking classes is certainly helpful but it is also entirely possible to pick it up from a quality book or two. I think the method depends largely on your learning style - some will respond better to an instructor who can assist with technique, pen angles, etc. Someone who is more self-directed will do very well learning from a book. In either case, repetitive practice is critically important. Calligraphy may seem a bit uncomfortable at first as holding the pen at various angles takes some getting used to. Repetition helps to overcome that discomfort and is the best way to begin forming the strokes that will form the letters.
I also find that beginning to learn calligraphy is much less daunting if you focus on one style of lettering that you feel relatively comfortable with and work toward mastering that letterform. Then you can branch out into other styles and eventually you will develop your own style and feel free to embellish and experiment with the standard styles. My first calligraphy class only focused on one style - every other style I've learned has been my own trial and error from books! Learning to letter on fabric has also been a process where I picked up pointers from magazine articles and I what I haven't been able to find a resource for, I just figure out a way to make it work on my own.
Artella: You create a lot background papers that are presented in the Artella Studio Kits. What is it like to see how other artists utilize the papers you've created in their work?
Tammy: It's so much fun to see how the other artists out there are inspired to use the papers in their creations! I am continually amazed by everything I see others come up with, particularly when it's a 3 dimensional piece. After all the creations start coming in, I also usually am thinking of at least a couple other designs that I could have come up with! I've usually spent so much time sitting at my computer crafting the papers that I want to see them leap off of the screen and as a tangible, touchable piece of art. When I get the opportunity, I'm usually printing off the paper designs onto fabric to create something with - usually a wallet, handbag or something. I also hope that at some point down the road to create a quilt of all my paper designs!
Artella: Do you listen to music when you work? What kinds? How does it influence the direction of your work?
Tammy: Sometimes I listen to music as I'm creating in my studio - it's usually a very eclectic mix! Lately it's a lot of K.T. Tunstall, Michael Buble, Dixie Chicks, Tony Bennett, Chris Isaak, Johnny Lang (who is from my home state of North Dakota), and U2. You will also frequently hear 80's music emanating from my studio as well - lots of hair bands!!! My husband is most amused when he hears me laughing at the podcasts I download to my iPod including A Prairie Home Companion, Whad'Ya Know?, and a new one called The Bugle by a couple of British comedians. When I'm at work during the day creating for Artella, I'm usually listening to talk radio as I'm pretty politically active!
Usually what I choose to listen to while I create is dictated by what I'm working on or my mood as the wrong kind of music can have detrimental effects on my project! If I'm working on something a little more mindless that doesn't require planning or great concentration, then I can listen to 80's hair bands - that music doesn't work so well when I'm quilting or trying to plan out a calligraphy project!
Artella: Do you ever feel like you're running out of creative ideas? What do you do when you feel "blocked"?
Tammy: Getting out for a walk (or hopping on the elliptical trainer if the harsh Duluth winter is too much to take) is usually the best cure for feeling inspired. Most of the time my blocks are actually my head being too filled with all the different projects that I want to tackle but can't do all at once. Listing all the projects I want to work on and prioritizing is the best remedy for that. If I'm need in inspiration, I pull out my magazines and start poring over those. I also look back at my art journals full of my creative projects and plans to get a creative boost.
See Tammy's wonderful products in The Shoppes of Artella, here.
 Want more artist interviews from Artella? Take a look at our eBooks Artist Profiles Assembled and Artist Profiles Assembled, Vol 2, and look at the "Ask the Artist" column every single day in The Artella Daily Muse, our daily online creativity newspaper.
Go back to reading this Artellagram
| |
