Where are you from? And a little bit about you
I am a German happily living in Michigan, where I’ve been for about 6 years. I have an extremely varied background – I’m actually trained as a scientist (Astronomer) but I’ve also had a lot of artistic training. I did formal training in floral design and watercolor painting, and I was an apprentice for two years in traditional calligraphy. I love art, and try to learn as much about it and do as much of it as I can.
How did you learn woodworking?
Wood has been a favorite material of mine for ages. I started with wood building to-scale dollhouses; I’ve done quite a bit of painting on them, and then over the past couple of years have worked my way into actually using the wood as the final product. It’s all been “self-taught”, although I hesitate to use the phrase since I’ve had a lot of people give me advice and suggestions that have proven to be invaluable.
Do you remember the first woodworked item you ever made?
I hand-chiseled a drinking cup when I was about 12 years old. It was for a school project, but it definitely sparked the concept that wood was something I could actually work with, rather than something used exclusively for construction purposes.
What items do you carry in your shop?
Right now I have three main types of objects in my shop – wall racks, wall carvings and hanging carvings.
The racks have small hooks on them that are perfect for jewelry, coats, hats, scarves, etc., depending on the size. Some of them have carvings on them, some do not. I pay attention to the wood, and try to highlight it as much as possible.
The carvings are definitely my most common item. I do two kinds of carvings – relief, and engraving. The relief is when the final product is a 3d sculpting of something. These are really quite spectacular, especially when I can find the perfect harmony between the wood grain and the sculpting design. The engravings are a great showcase for me to tie in my previous experience with watercolors. I do the engraving, which can be something simple or something frightfully complex, and then paint it with watercolors. This lets the wood grain shine through and still be bright and colorful. It then gets quite a bit of finishing work and can be hung on a wall, just like a painting.
My tiny art has been a fun series – it lets me use up the small scraps of wood I have lying about, and it gives me an opportunity to sell wood carvings at a very low price point. I use the same refinishing and carving techniques as I do for everything else, but I use smaller, thinner wood and I use paint instead of watercolors. I then hang it from recycled cord. They’re about 3.5″ tall typically. I stain them after I carve it, so it has a bit of a vintage feel, as the stain rubs off a bit on the metallic paint.
Do you have anything new you plan on adding to your store?
I am working on a couple of techniques for picture frames, and I’ve been mulling over ideas for other things to make. I’m always looking for new ideas! My dream as a woodworker is to make furniture – I’m going to get there, probably sooner than I initially planned.
What advice would you give to new artist?
It’s important to be open to change. Just because you begin with one medium, style or genre doesn’t mean you’re stuck with it forever. It’s okay to do different things. Learn as much about them as possible and you’ll usually find that you can pull experience from all kinds of things into your art. Figure out what art you really love, compare them and determine what the common themes are.
I also think that it is really important to stay true to your sense of self, no matter what you make. I make things in all kinds of different styles for people – many of them are motifs or colors I would never personally want for myself. But I give them the same technique and care as my favorite colors and you can really tell. When you don’t care about it, and are just making the art for an extra buck, it really shows and the result is never pretty.
Do you have a blog, twitter, or facebook page?
I do!
My twitter: http://twitter.com/missmooseart
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/lisbokt
Blog: http://www.missmooseart.com/
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