Today I bring you a little Q & A from an artist I have been admiring on Instagram, Abigail Kramer aka Twigglings on Etsy. Her eye catching sketches and prints of gemstones and minerals are so vibrant and realistic, you almost can't believe they were hand drawn! Of course I am attracted to this kind of art because of my handmade jewelry business, Peggy Li Creations which you can check out here.
Here is what she has to say about her inspirations and small business.
Here is what she has to say about her inspirations and small business.
Q:
Abi, your work is amazing! Do you have formal art training? How did you get
started with your art?
A:
Hello Peggy! Thank you so much for your kind words about my work! Art has been
a part of my life since I could first hold a crayon. Through all my growing
up/school years my parents educated me and my siblings at home and my mother,
who is an artist herself, scheduled an art class that she taught us art and art
history every Thursday in our homeschool classroom/studio and encouraged my
siblings and I to grow in the mediums we found interesting and learn on our
own, and in high school I took private watercolor classes.
Q:
Why gemstones and minerals?
A: Good question! Rocks have always been
something I loved and picked up (some early memories include finding quartz on
a gravel road I grew up near) and admired in a uneducated way, but in the past
couple years became more interested in rockhounding and the mineral world
through exploring Arizona and my eyes were opened to the rich mineral deposits
in our area and through the 2014 Tucson Gem Show which I attended as a wide
eyed admirer of beauty and was completely blown away by the beauties of the
earth that are hidden from our eyes until being brought to the light through
mans discoveries. Then in mid 2015 I decided to combine my interests of art and
crystals and drew a fuchsite included quartz and was completely hooked! 11
months and almost 100 gems, minerals and fossils later I am still fascinated by
the world of minerals and the pursuit of capturing their beauty in an artistic
medium.
Q:
What are your favorite mediums to work in?
A: Colored pencils are the first
medium I remember working with and drew A Young Girl Reading by Jean-Honore
Fragonard before I was 10 and that was the first artwork I felt proud of. I
continued with colored pencil and then the private watercolor lessons in high
school and even went through a permanent marker/graffiti phase and only
returned to colored pencil when I decided to try my hand at that fuchsite
quartz and it has felt like coming home. And fortuantely, watercolor and
colored pencil combine beautifully and I have been able to use them together
through the mineral series.
Q:
How long does it take you to complete a drawing?
A: It all depends on the
piece. They range between 2-16 hours (that I have kept track of).
Q:
Which work is your favorite right now?
A: It may sound cliche, but every new
piece is my favorite. Though if I had to the choose, I have seen a marked
improvement in the pieces from last 2015 and into 2016. In learning my
strengths and weaknesses with previous mineral studies, I have been able to
choose pieces that inspire and fit my creative style and it has been a
delightful year so far and I look forward to many more studies and prints to
come!
Q:
Where can we find your work?
A: I share process photos and videos, things
that inspire me and various snippets of my life as Twiggyabi on Instagram and take (limited)
custom work requests through email, direct message on Instagram or through my
etsy shop at www.etsy.com/shop/twigglings
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