Monday Spotlight On: Carey of CocoMason Designs

My best friend threw pottery through the end of high school and most of college.  Her parents were beautiful potters as well and in my house I have little jars and containers all over with their marks on the bottom, holding pens, pencils, knitting needles.  So when I saw Carey's shop with it's glowing blue glazes and perfect curvatures, it reminded me of visiting the studio with my best friend and I had to interview her about her Etsy shop, CocoMasonDesigns.


Tell us about yourself, anything you think is worth knowing. My name is Carey Coco, I am 33 years old. (I'm not sure when that happened) I am a mother of two rowdy boys, ages 1 and 3. I live in Florida but was born and raised in Louisiana. I started potting in college. I changed my major many, many times and finally decided to become a nurse! I added ceramics to my schedule every semester and just fell in love with clay. I finally did become a nurse and currently work in a Trauma Intensive Care Unit. Working keeps me "in the real world" and clay lets me live in a creative dream! The two are very contrasting but both very challenging and work intensive. 


What is your medium and how did you get into it?  When I was around 6 or 7 my best friend and I would make mud pies, literally, we would make hamburgers and buns out of clay dirt in her backyard. With pickles and onions and all! Then, months later, we would play with it again, when it was dry. I guess you could say that I was always drawn to clay and dirt, I'm sure it's in my DNA! I didn't have the opportunity to take pottery in high school, but when I got to college I had some official training. We had a very open studio and you could find me there all hours of the night on a regular basis. My instructor became more like a mentor and my role was more of an apprentice. 


 Where do you take your inspiration from?
I love function. I grew up in a large household, with 5 sisters, were being useful was valued. I guess I have adopted that value too. I like making things people can use everyday. Being pretty is nice, but being pretty AND useful is even better!

http://www.etsy.com/listing/66115258/wheel-thrown-bowls-stoneware-in-beach

I guess my biggest inspirations come from my teacher, what he valued in pottery, shapes, wall thickness, glazes, etc. but really come from everywhere! I draw my colors from nature, the sky, the water, rocks and earth. What more do you need? The hard part is achieving these colors at cone 6! 

Monday Spotlight On: Alisa of ArtbyAlisaSteady

I found Alisa how I find most of my interviewees: my Etsy teams.  Another member of Etsy Entrepreneurs and a talented illustrator and traditional artist, she jumped at the opportunity and I'm happy to have had the chance.

Tell us a bit about yourself.
I was born in a Hoosier in Indianapolis, IN. My family moved to Madison, WI shortly after I was born and we lived there until I was seven. Then we moved to a town north of Chicago, IL where I survived my formative years.  I always painted and drew pictures for birthday gifts and home decorations (especially around Halloween and Christmas time), then attended the American Academy of Art in Chicago, IL, and am now trying to pursue art full time.

What's your medium and how did you get into it?
It all started with a desire to paint with something that squirted out of a tube. So happened to be a sale on watercolor pigment - in a tube. Then when I went to art school, my teachers who I admired painted in watercolor and I fell in love with the medium. I am also having a love affair with acrylics, too (which come in bigger tubes!).

http://www.etsy.com/listing/68431102/mha-caat-original-aceo-dave-what-have

What's your favorite thing you made and why?
My favorite thing I made was a poster size Ravinia poster for the 1997 season. There was a contest in all the Chicago art schools, and my poster won fourth place. I created it out of vinyl - but it has since been destroyed in a basement flood.

What is the one piece of art you wish you'd been the creator of and why?
Hm, that's a tough one. I would say the Sistine Chapel by Michaelangelo. I admire his discipline painting non-stop for four years, even by candle light, on his back. The sheer discipline and will to get it done is staggering.

If you had to give up the medium you work in now and take on another what would it be/why?
I would take on FIMO clay. It would be very cool to create art in 3-D using a whole differnt set of skills.

If you could have one piece of your work owned by one person living / dead, who would it be and why?  Sammy Davis, Jr. I love the Rat Pack era (early 60's when Vegas was untouchable), and I admire him as a performer and individual. In a different dimension, to think that he liked one of my pieces enough to purchase and hang in his home would send me over the moon.

An important piece of advice you've learned along the way. 
The most important thing I've learned is stick to it. Take advantage of Etsy's treasuries and create your own; become involved with like-minded teams; and buy Etsy. I believe in karma, and if you buy a treasure from another gifted artist, your beautiful art will be purchased in kind. And remember, great customer service is the key. Be certain that whatever little piece of art you created that is sent out the door is the best representation of who you are as an artist and business owner. 


One random thing you would like to add, that's not covered here.
Even if you're not business-minded (like me), go with your instincts. Mirror those artists you admire. And don't be afraid to seek guidance from your contacts. It's amazing what you will learn.


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Sidenote:
Hello, readers! I will be gone travelling this week to Florida, to help finish the planning of my upcoming wedding and so there will be no Treasury Tuesday or any other regular blog posts until at least Friday.  I am hoping I will have the time, while gone, to write the Friday Feature and post it when I return that evening (if not I'll try to do it on Saturday).   Thanks for reading and have a wonderful week, everyone!
--Jessica--

Feature Friday: Social Network Media Blast!

Okay, I don't know who named "Social Network Media Blast" but it sounds to me like it should be pronounced the same was "Brawndo" is in the movie "Idiocracy."  In my head, I say it like I'm mocking a Mountain Dew commercial or a local cheesy car salesman.

However, it isn't a bad idea.  In my Etsy Entrepreneurs team, someone posted that we should all add one thing from our shops to a list on Thursday, and then, throughout the day on Friday, Twitter, Facebook, blog, etc. about everything else on the list.  Because if you have thirty other people putting your stuff out there, it's going to get noticed in new circles.  I have to admit, in spite of the silly name, it's a brilliant idea.

Since there are so many things on the list, I'm tweeting most of it, and some that I like I will be sharing from my Cursiveart FB page, but there are a few things I really LOVE on that list.  So, I'm sharing these here.

First is this mug from CocoMasonDesigns.  I really love the aqua blue.  It's the kind of mug you'd drink coffee out of only on a Saturday morning, when you're feeling really relaxed and at peace.  Also, keep an eye out for my interview with Carey of CMD, coming in a few weeks.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/68494259/coffee-mug-wheel-thrown-pottery

Next, there is this painting, from  RKArtStudio,  It's got a very dark mood and I love it.  It reminds me a bit of being a kid and exploring and everything seeming so giant.  I love the way the trees seem like they're starting to bend overhead.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/68494259/coffee-mug-wheel-thrown-pottery

This last one would just be plain useful.  I would wear this fun paisley apron by ChrissysCreation whenever I'm making prints.  It would probably be covered in ink in no time.  The downside is, while I would use the pockets, I would also forget I put things in them, and then spend twenty minutes searching my studio for something that is on my person.  But I would look cute doing it!

http://www.etsy.com/listing/67648632/easy-on-artist-apron-orange-paisley

Okay, that's it for my Social Network Media Blast! for today.  I doubt I'll do it every Friday, partly because it's time-consuming and partly because I'm lazy.  However, it's a fun experiment in the meantime and I'll be sure to let you know how it goes.  

Have a great weekend and keep an eye out on Monday for my interview with a new artist!

Bigger and Brighter: Magnolias

I've been toying around, for awhile, with the idea of reversing the negative space in my prints.  Basically, carving out the design, rather than carving out the area around the design, giving a nice rectangular bright, full print with a cool design the color of the paper underneath.

A few days ago, I asked for a critique in the forum of the team Etsy Entrepreneurs.  One of my fellow teammates, margopage, said my shop was great but gave a few suggestions.  One of them was more color. She suggested dying the paper I used, but I really prefer the ivory tone. However I got the gist, and it egged me on to go ahead and start my experiment.

I decided to do an entirely new design of magnolias.

Treasury Tuesday: Leavin' On a Jet Plane....

Something good has come out of my unemployment.  My fiance and I are planning to wed at his grandparents' house in Sarasota, Florida in a very small ceremony at the beginning of April.  There has been lots of hullaballoo and running about and phone calls being made back and forth as his mom and grandmother try to figure this out while hundreds of miles apart.

Well, a few days ago, I was at my Nommy's house (as I call my future mother-in-law or my 'Nother Mother) when his grandma called.  We jokingly suggested that perhaps I should fly to Florida to help figure things out since I have very little else to do with my free time, now that I've got no job.  She jumped right on the idea and offered to pay for my plane ticket if I'd like to come down.  I considered it for about a day and then said jumped on the idea as fast as my future grandmother had.  Now me and Nom will be flying to Florida together for a few short days next week.