i stopped in my virtual tracks when i saw these little works of art on Etsy, they are by artist Karen who has created these very bright and lovely mason jars. she sells them from her Etsy shop Limb Trim and was kind enough to answer some questions for me...
Where do you live and what is your background? I currently live in sunny California, in Los Angeles =) I moved here about 5 years ago from Taiwan to go to school at The Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising. My current job is as a faculty assistant at a small, private graduate school. Although I went to FIDM, I didn't actually major in fashion - I majored in product development and business management. So I guess in terms of studying as a artist, I never really did. However, I've always loved to doodle, draw, paint, craft, etc., just anything creative!
where did the idea of the jars come from? The mason jars actually started out when a friend asked me to make a unique present for a girl he was trying to ask out, right around valentines day. I decided to paint the jar in her favorite color and put some gorgeous flowers in. When I posted pictures on facebook, a bunch of guys messaged me and asked if I could make the same thing for their girlfriends, but customized to their favorite colors. Right around this time I was getting into experimenting with spray paints so the more I made, the cooler they got! I've always LOVED neon colors and cosmic space and with the whole recent galaxy trend, it just hit me one day that I HAD to combine them somehow onto the jars. I felt it was a super unique way to paint these jars, and they turned out absolutely gorgeous.
It usually take me a couple days to make the jars as all my jars have intricate layers and layers of paint, both the spray painted and the hand painted ones. Therefore, I often have to let each layer dry before painting the next one. In total, I'd say I normally spend about 2+ hours on each jar on average.
I actually sell two types of painted jars on my etsy shop - spray painted on the outside, or hand painted on the inside. Both have been treated and sealed so no matter what type of jar you purchase, you can use them as vases!
My etsy shop actually started when I first started selling my jewelry - hence the name "Limb Trim". I've always made jewelry, using a wide range of materials - anything from beads to silver and gold, sapphires, emeralds, etc. I would have people come up to me asking me where I got my jewelry and I'd tell them I made it, and they would ask to have something custom made and suggest I open up a shop. So i did! =)
what's something people don't know about you? that I love gaming and sports. I spend a lot of time playing computer games and every weekend I play basketball and try to incorporate other activities like hiking, jujitsu, etc. into my schedule. People assume that since I love fashion, I'm pretty small in size and went to fashion school, that I'm a girly girl, which I can be too! I love fashion, art, and anything creative, but I also love physical activity and am quite geeky at heart.
What's coming up for Limb Trim? - hmm...there's so many things that I want to do! I definitely feel a lot of the things I create are very unique, and I would love to share them with the world! It's a good feeling as an artist when someone purchases one of your creations because they deem it worthy to bring happiness in their lives. I'd say the three categories I'll be focusing on are:
Mason Jars: I'm always going to be trying to find new and innovative ways to paint these jars. To me, they're perfect for adding a pop of color while serving functionality purposes. Right now, I'm loving painting abstract paintings on the inside of the jars as I love the concept and idea of having a "mini painting" inside the jar to hold flowers/pens etc. It's like having a painting on your desk or shelf, but not on a traditional canvas. I'll also continue experimenting with different color combinations, etc.
Paintings: I started painting watercolor about a year ago and fell in love with the medium. I got the opportunity to paint a couple of my friend's pets and loved how gratifying it was to see when pet owners get a portrait of their pet. Every owner I know of who I've painted a pet portrait for has actually gotten it printed into cards to send to family which I think is so cool! I would love to do more paintings for other people, so I'll be focusing on that, as well as selling some of my original paintings.
Jewelry: I have super dainty wrists so I love making bracelets that are dainty, yet have a pop of color! Currently I have a couple super skinny and dainty bracelets that feature ombre beads and tribal patterns, but I'll soon be adding some custom metal I.D. bracelets with stamped letters. For example, I'm wearing one right now that says "Ms. Richie" (since my bf's name is Richie), I think it'll be fun for my customers to be able to have custom bracelets with Mr. or Mrs. and their significant other's names!
Thanks so much for taking the time to look at my shop and getting to know me! Please let me know if you have any other questions =)
Karen
shipping can be quite pricey so it's worth your while to buy a few, she can fit up to 4 in one box for the one cost. these bad boys are well worth it, don't you think?
xxx c
s
