Interview: Rebecca Kemp of Sketch Inc
Rebecca is one amazingly creative lady and I am super exited she has agreed to do this interview! Hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did. 🙂
Tell us a little about yourself. Who is Rebecca?
Rebecca has a crazy little creative monster living inside of her! This little monster needs to be fed regularly with pencil and paper before she gets bored and irritating.
I was born and raised in the east of England in Constable country. I have a BA Fine Art degree in painting and trained as a High School Art and Design Teacher. 10 years later and I am a Nightclub Manager by night and a fully fledged creative by day.
If we were to follow you around for a day what would we see?
No day in the world of Sketchinc is quite the same…I guess thatʼs why I love it
so much! Its never boring! I start my morning with itunes on Genius Mix and check my emails, Surf Pinterest and Stumbleupon for an hour making notes or sketches if anything grabs me. Feed my three gorgeous cats. Prep any items for shipping and take the bus into town for what is normally a mammoth queue at the post office.
Pick up a tasty morsel or two and browse the art magazines in the newsagents. Artbox, I.D and ArtReview are my current favs. Pop into the local craft shop for supplies and a chat with an over priced coffee in hand. A beautiful 40min walk home with views of the mountains, river and dock. This blows away sleepy cobwebs and puts me in the mood for an afternoon in the studio. Back to the cottage and an awesome hot chocolate, slippers, hoodie and Iʼm ready to go. I have a white board with ʻmade to orderʼ pieces which are outstanding so Iʼll finish those first to ship the next day. Stick a film on for
background noise and take out my sketchbook and brainstorm some images I like. Stop for Dinner and a cuddle with the cats. Start a new panel painting, nesting doll or brooch. I often have 4 or 5 on the go at once. I rarely watch TV apart from the News which I check online, I tend to buy TV Show box sets so Iʼm not restricted to a time schedule. Working in Nightclubs Iʼm used to the 7- 8.30 nap before work which I have to abide by on my days off to keep my body clock in sink. As a result Iʼll carry on working or online until 3 or 4am. When Iʼm working nights Iʼll use the sketchbook by my bed to scribble down ideas and empty my head to help me sleep.
Have you always been a creative person? Do you remember your first creative outlet?
I donʼt remember a time when I wasnʼt motivated to create. My sketchbooking started at primary school and while my younger brother was asking for the coolest toys for Christmas my wish list included a desk an easel and watercolours. As a kid I would always make all my Christmas and Birthday cards for friends and family and fake a barcode and copyright on the back.
You have a wonderful style to your work, how would you describe it?
Iʼve always found it incredibly hard to describe my work. I used to dread the critics at Art School when the tutors expected some profound explanation and dig away at the theories behind your work. Ultimately I enjoy the act of play and discovery, influenced by a combination of new age geometric abstraction and Japanese illustration.
Where does your inspiration come from?
My inspiration comes from the most random of places, events or memories. The nesting doll designs were triggered when I remembered playing with my motherʼs Russian Doll as a kid after seeing one on a girlʼs t.shirt. In terms of
style Iʼve always loved the work of Miyazakiʼs Studio Ghibli films and the emmence creative skill he brings to his characters. Artists such as Gustav Klimt, Tamara de Lempicka, Patrick Heron, Vermeer, David Hockney and more recently Mathew Ritchie, Bill Viola and Inka Essenhigh to name but a few. Lately Iʼve grown a small obsession with dioramas and love the idea of creating a world in a box!
There are quite a few artworks featuring ladies in your store, do you draw inspiration from real people for these characters?
I sketch from real life, memory or magazines but by the time they reach the canvas they become an amalgamation of various characters. I painted a girl on the Yorkshire moors last year inspired by Wuthering Heights, when my mother saw it she showed me a photo of my Grandmother and it was the spiting image of her…spooky!
What mediums do you use to create your works?
Iʼll try and keep this short lol!
Pen & Ink, Graphite, pastels, watercolours, acrylics, oils, screen printing, woodworking, air dry clay, collage, Photoshop, Canvas and Panel Painting, Paper crafting for 3d objects or Shadow Box scenes.
Do you have a favourite medium to work with?
Drawing! I enjoy many mediums but ultimately everything starts with a sketch.
What is your work space like?
In true cottage industry style I live and work in a beautiful 19th century stone cottage in north Wales not far from the Snowdonian Mountains. My studio is set up in the ʻSnugʼ (traditionally the warmest coziest room although I would
argue that theory during a cold snowy winter) where I plaster the walls with magazine images, past works and pages from my sketchbooks. Home comforts… a comfy chair, a furry Green Throw, super cozy slippers, my ipod
and a kettle mean that once the creative juices start to flow I can lock myself away and work happily until dawn. I canʼt imagine working in a space that doesnʼt feel like home.
Do you have any tricks on getting yourself out of a creative rut?
I tend to suffer from the opposite problem! Too many ideas and too little time! But ruts do happen and when they do I sit on the floor with a mound of cushions, a homemade Mojito and every sketchbook I have laid out and browse through them until something sparks the imagination. Sketchbooks are a wealth of ideas, most of which will never make it off the page but are always a great safety net for the ʻcreative blankʼ.
Have you ever sold your goodies at markets or in stores?
Iʼve sold items in craft shops in the past but not currently. I do have a few high street possibilities abroad in the pipeline. To be honest I like the practice of selling directly to someone whether it be in person or online and providing customer experience which would otherwise be taken out of my hands in a resellers shop. I realize that to expand a business my work needs to be seen and as such shops and markets are a fantastic vehicle.
If you had to pick one of the items in your etsy store right now to be your favourite which would it be?
These guys are one of my favourites of yours…
This is really hard!…erm! eeer! Hmmmmm!…ok! Iʼve got it! probably the ʻPauseʼ painting. (below)
It started out as a sketch on a napkin in a restaurant (this is a habit Iʼm trying to break. Note to self: must remember to carry mini sketchbook at all times) Iʼve never understood why people wear sunglasses indoors! Anyway this girl
was sitting by herself and staring at a blank wall. I like those uncomfortable silences and the moments when time stands still, this piece is a celebration of those times when we just need to pause and watch the world go by.
Do you have any advice for someone who wants to start their own creative biz?
Iʼm by no means an expert but here are the top 5 things Iʼve learnt so far hope they help…
1.Start small! Try a few relatively inexpensive pieces to start with and grow from there. With every sale half my profit goes towards supplies for the next creation.
2. Be motivated by what you love and enjoy creating, not what you think people will want to buy, sometimes these can be the same thing but I have learnt to always make sure my little creative monster is satisfied.
3.Celebrate the handmade! Handmade isnʼt perfection, the joy of handmade items are the fingerprints in the clay, the smudge of the ink and the stitch which doesnʼt match its brothers.
4. Half and Half! As much as Iʼd love to spend every waking minute creating this isnʼt going to get me customers. I divide up my week; promotion & creation. Get the balance wrong and I have too much work which isnʼt moving or an empty shop and disappointed customers. This is the hardest part of starting out to get to grips with and learning when its safe to take some holiday by identifying your busiest times of year.
5. Photos. The work may look fab but without an engaging photo it may not capture a potential buyers imagination. Great lighting and staging from multiple angles give a potential buyer a clear vision of how the item could look in their home. When my photos improved so did my sales.
Any crafty/inspirational websites you are currently addicted to?
Really loving these right now:
Last of all if you were given 10 million dollars what would you do with it?
Iʼd love to say that Iʼd give it all to charity but who am I kidding! However I would like to help Art School Graduates find their feet. Either through some form of a foundation or grant system that would provide support, visibility and
links into the art world to get them started. If Iʼd had some direction and support when I left Art School I donʼt think it would have taken me so long to get here.
Ooh! And with the left over cash Iʼd finally learn to drive! And buy a Mini Cooper lol
Thanks so much for your time Becky!
Guys, make sure you pop over to her etsy store and take a look around. Really awesome works. 🙂
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