Artist of the Week!

Today we have a fabulous fabric artist. Jen Eskridge of http://www.reannalilydesigns.com/ Jen makes adorable outfits, fantastic bags and gorgeous quilts.

1. What brought you into your chosen craft or art?
I started sewing when I was about 8-9 and started quilting my senior year of high school. There was something very theraputic about working with fabric and creating. It led me to abandon my college major (environmental engineering) and pursue a degree in Apparel Design. My parents weren't thrilled, but it turned out well 10 years later.

2. Do you have a favorite piece that you have created?

My favorite tool is the Seamingly Accurate Seam Guide. It has so many functional uses for all levels of sewing. My favorite design is the Army Cube purse. Its got a different kind of shape, it holds TONS and its very well received by my customers. Along with commission sewing work, I have a line of quilt patterns and my favorite pattern is the Floating Bubbles Quilt. The design is not traditional, yet is easy to make using very traditional methods.

3. What would you tell someone who would like to venture into creating?

For someone wanting to create & create for money- I'd tell them to be prepared to hear the word "No". For every YES you'll get about 20 "No". And although, it is discouraging at first - please keep creating. It only takes that one YES to get you to where you need to be. Be confident and move forward. Secondly, I had an art professor in college tell me that you should never feel self-concious or on-the-fence about your work. You should be confident. If you don't love your creative work, no one else will. Pretty smart guy.

Thanks to Jen for being Artist of the Week! Be sure to visit her shop and also check out her blog.
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Artist of the Week will be taking a week off, next week. We will be on vacation, but be sure to check back April 14th to see who the next featured Artist is!