The work of Providence, RI artist Jen Corace has been featured on Craftland postcards for the last three years. She’s also illustrated her way around more than a handful of books, magazines, record covers, websites — and exhibited her work in solos shows around the country. Find out a bit of what makes America’s Sweetheart tick.

What is your favorite color? I have been thinking about this question for far too long…I should probably just say something like “blue” instead of the convoluted stream of rambling that is going through my head. What I want to say is that my favorite color is a nameless, warm, greenish-yellowish grey that conveys a sense of light coming through it. Then I think…that’s a lie, your favorite color, jen corace, is cadmium red medium…duh…but really only when it’s still wet and sinking into paper.

What inspires you when it comes time to making the annual Craftland image? I usually am designing the postcard in September or October…which aren’t very wintery months. Generally I think of a lot of snow and then something pops out of it.

How do you choose your color palette? My color palette often depends on the sort of paper I am working on and the mediums that work best with those papers. When I work on Rives BFK there are only one or two inks I have found that draw well on that paper and a lot of the color ends up being opaque because the surface is so delicate that it is better to have an acrylic/plastic base vs. flooding it with a water based medium. When I work on watercolor papers opaque paints seem too heavy for the surface so I primarily work with inks and watercolors. Beyond that there are a few base colors that I really love and tend to find the rest of the palette based on the tone of the pieces I am working on.

How do you make time to make all the different kinds of work that you do? When I am working I generally work thirteen hour days. Not thirteen hours straight…I take breaks, eat meals, walk the dog. In the more heavily scheduled times I have no social life. I tend to work at night until four am. It might sound grueling, but I actually prefer it that way. I have always been a late night shut in.

What do you listen to while working? Lately I have been listening to a lot of books from audible.com…Tim Curry’s readings of the Lemony Snicket series, Lolita, the new Sarah Vowell, David Rakoff. If I am in the process of figuring out a project or image I tend to listen to somber music like Bonnie Prince Billy or Elliott Smith. For everyday illustration work when I have a clear idea about what I want to do I will listen to movies.

Do you have any hand health tips for fellow draw-ers? Take a lot of breaks, learn and implement helpful hand stretches. At the end of a drawing session I like to wrap my arm in a heating pad and have a whiskey.

How did you become America’s Sweetheart? I think by talking a big talk and walking a medium walk.

Check out the forthcoming Craftland program booklet in-store for the full interview!

Thanks to gorgeous weather and hearty volunteers we moved all of the Craftland belongings from our storage warehouse into the retail space in record time! It took 2 1/2 hours, one 17′ moving truck, 2 pickups and 2 cars.

Glittery heartfelt gratitude goes out to Tom, Megan, Mark, Dee Dee, Theresita, Dave, Chris, Madelyn, Alec, and Gary! And to Tom and Heather at White Electric for the most excellent breaktime snacks!

Let the painting begin!

Love,
Deb, Devienna, Margaret, Heather, Heather, and Teresa

Last year when Craftland received inventory from Something’s Hiding in Here in the mail, each series of products in the big box was meticulously packed into smaller, pretty white boxes, stamped by hand, and sealed with heart tape. To say that this couple residing in Philadelphia are detail-oriented is like calling Barack Obama president. No duh. But if Shauna and Stephen were on the ballot, I would vote for them as many times as I could because that would mean our Nation would become a state of beauty & standards all covered in glitter.

What do you make?
Wood rings, mustaches on a sticks, tote bags, rolodexes, stationery, cast plaster objects, glitter-covered trinkets…

What is your work space like?
We are pretty lucky that our studios are in our loft! Although our dogs have to put up with a constant dusting of saw dust on everything, we love it! We have a wood shop, a clean studio, a printing area and our kitchen is used mostly for casting and mold making.

How many hours per week do you get to devote to your business?
40+ hours a week (each). We feel like we never, ever sleep!

What do you like about Craftland?
The organizers really know what they are doing and put on a good show! We can be confident that we will be proud to have our work be a part of it!

Where else do you sell your work?
We are in 20 boutiques in the U.S. and just started working with shops in London, Australia, and Amsterdam.

How come you don’t live in Providence?
We move around a lot! We are currently in Philadelphia after recently living in Miami, Detroit and Kansas City — who knows, maybe one day we will end up in Providence.

Could we be so lucky?

Rebecca Siemering is a multi-tasking artist from Providence who happens to work for this year’s beneficiary, Arts & Business Council of RI, as well as recently taking over the amazing Art Windows Project. She was kind enough to take some time out to tell us more about her intriguing work!

What do you make?
In the last three years I have been collecting losing scratch tickets that are thrown away on the streets of Providence and Pawtucket, RI, or wherever I am, and transform the into sculptures and textile art that comments on the hopes and dreams of the buyer, mainly clothing -related imagery. For Craftland this year, I was inspired to make some picture frames out of the cards, similar to some frames I admired years ago in a museum that were in a “Hobo-Art” tradition. During the Depression, people who were out of work, no place to live, made household items out of anything discarded. These hand-cut frames were made from cigar boxes; very colorful and wonderful. So, I took out my pinking scissors and have made something similar out of discarded material - for myself and hopefully the enjoyment of others. My other staple for Craftland in the last few years has been my “Bed of Roses” which is a pocket-sized sculptural garden you can play with and plant any way you like. I have had customers tell me it helps with their children learn dexterity because it is small and delicate. You can view the lottery work here.

What is your work space like?
Chaotic and put together at the same time. It depends if I am knee deep into a project. Since I have an obsession with materials, I often have piles and piles of whatever I am working on, then it gets put together and shipped out to a show or a buyer, and then another project comes in. Or I am working on two projects at once, so I have several coordinated piles. A 12′x12′ idea board gets tacked with anything I don’t want to lose or need to refer to, like concept drawings, or something that is inspiring me. A pair of Mexican hand-embroidered sandals is giving me ideas lately.

How many hours per week do you get to devote to your art?
I try to go in the morning for 3hrs for at least three days a week,and then I go in the evenings or weekends if it is a larger project. sometimes it’s every day. For a recent project for Cryptic Providence at the North Burial Ground(Providence, RI) I was cutting a lot of aluminum cans into bell-like flower shapes. You can see pictures of my piles in the studio at the project site.

What do you like about Craftland?
I think it is Fabulous with a capital F, or makes that all caps. FABULOUS, for several reasons. It inspires artists like me to think out of the box about a product which I could enjoy making, and make a little extra money on. Like Amy Sedaris does with Dusty’s Cheeseballs. Rabbits and sculptures need to earn their keep. When I made “Bed of Roses” the first time, it bought me materials for my studio for half the year. I think it also offers buyers something totally unique. I go back every year and buy anything from Headless Press, as I collect miniature books.

Where else do you sell your work?
Etsy, Ebay and through my studio in Pawtucket. Ebay was a surprise for me a few years ago as I seem to sell to people in Sweden, Finland and Spain.

What makes you stay in Providence?
I drove out to Providence 11 years ago in my little red truck,knowing only one person, because I had never lived on the East Coast, heard wonderful things about the scene,and wanted to be in close proximity to New York and Boston. I thought I would only be here a few years, but I fell in love and got married(to artist Erik Gould) and Providence had all I needed. Now, with the gas and economic crisis in the last few years, I feel lucky that I live within such a short distance from work ( the Arts & Business Council of RI, Providence Art Windows) and on a bus-line.

How else do you spend your time?
I have a garden in my backyard in Pawtucket, RI, which I obsess over. This summer, I grew a lot of vegetables and barely had to go to the market, except for staples. I am also a foodie because I grew up with a father who wrote about food and wine for a living; most of the time not in a snobbish way, but more for historical and consumer information. We were constantly trying out products in our house before they went to market, and they were not always that great! So I guess you can say I can be curious in the kitchen, which makes me open in life and personality. At the very least, I hope my husband and friends find my adventures in the kitchen to be tasty.

C.W. Roelle is known in town as Sonny. He makes up 50% of the band Sentimental Favorites and will probably beat you at bowling. What he’s most known for internationally though are his exquisite drawings made with dark annealed steel wire. And the titles of his pieces are usually evocative in their own right — “Hmm, I’ll Take, Um, Give Me Uh, Ulysses”.

What do you make?
I make (mostly) 3-dimensional line drawings with wire.

What is your work space like?
I have a 365 sq ft mill space with 15 ft ceilings. I had wanted a studio for awhile but finally had to get one when I made a piece that wouldn’t fit through the door of my apartment. There are books and tools and video games and empty soda bottles and lately, lots of insulation and spray foam bottles laying around (I’m winterizing). Oh, and a lot of spray paint cans. My studio-away-from-studio is the 8 ft. by 9 ft. office at the parking garage where I work 35 hours a week. In there is a radio, desk, air conditioner, an old computer and my cassette tape collection.

How many hours per week do you get to devote to your art?
As many as possible — there is a lot of down time at my job (I work a couple 12 hour shifts where I do maybe 2 or 3 hours of parking business and the rest is art). I’ve been going to the studio more and more on my days off but I couldn’t say exactly how much.

What do you like about Craftland?
It offers both an opportunity for artists to get exposure and sell their work and for people to pick up some reasonably-priced original gifts.

Where else do you sell your work?
Right now I have stuff at Frog And Toad on Hope Street in Providence. In December I will have some work at 5 Traverse Gallery in Providence. Next July I have a show at the AS220 Project Space. I also sell things through my website.

–> Learn more about CW Roelle in this short video!

Jenine Bressner is a Craftland 2008 artist who is based out of Providence, RI. Her unparalleled personal style combined with her charming enthusiasm and mad flameworkin’ skillz make her a treat to see around town. We asked her a few questions and she was kind enough to answer them!

Tell us about what you make.
I flamework glass components! The torchworking process feels analogous to drawing, mid-air, with molten glass. I incorporate the glass forms into larger wearable pieces, using forged sterling silver and handmade textile elements.
I also like to sculpt dolls and puppets with handmade glass eyes and glass teeth.

What is your workspace like?
I share a studio space. My set-up is pretty small, and all of the glass stuff (torch, kiln, tools, glass) fits on a table that’s 2 by 6 feet. All of my metal tools fit on an even smaller desk. We also have a crafts area for textiles, and a screenprinting area.

How many hours per week do you get to devote to your art?
I’ve been traveling a lot lately to do shows and sales, and I’ve been writing a lot for work (applications for juried shows, interviews, teaching, other communication) as well as making stuff every day. I definitely do this full time and then some.

What do you like about Craftland?
I love that Craftland lasts for more than a day, and that it doesn’t care what art school you went to (or if you didn’t go at all) but everything there is smart, beautiful, and well- made. I love that it showcases so many friends on our own turf, as well as folks from faraway places. It is delightfully diverse, and I feel proud to be a part of it!

Where else do you sell your work?
I sell work online, at the Maker Faires, Bazaar Bizarres, and RISD Alumni Sales. Mostly craft shows, not usually through regular stores or galleries.

What makes you stay in Providence?
The many very amazing people in this small place, and the human scale of life. I love Providence’s history, location, looks, and attitudes.

Thanks for sharing, Jenine!

While we are not yet open, the jury has chosen this year’s artists, our space on Westminster Street has been secured, and cupcakes are probably being made for this weekend’s planning meeting. We are so excited for our (lucky) 7th year and our amazing new collection of artists from Rhode Island, all over the US - and also Canada, Indonesia and Australia!