We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Amanda Lee Lazorchack a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Amanda Lee, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

The broom, a common object; how could that be special? Anywhere in the world, you’ll encounter this shape. It is a sculptural home good, a tool, a symbol. Every culture, regardless of language, lines on a map, or age- has a broom. Traditionally, brooms are made of regionally specific materials, have a unique shape, a story of who keeps the craft alive. It’s unifying- and in this way.

My work is rooted in the belief that the spirit with which we approach what we do lives on in what we create.

I create brooms as a conversation, a question. What is domesticity? Who does that belong to? What does it mean “to tend”? Is domesticity a literacy and who, if anyone, is that literacy taught to? What responsibility to we have to these questions or the narrative that arises?

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a full time craftswoman, a broom maker, an educator. The brooms I craft are sculptural home goods- for both art and function.

Each broom is bound and woven by hand with traditional techniques, inspired by contemporary forms. The broom handles are ethically harvested, slow cured & hand processed to ensure longevity.

I am delighted by botanical dyes & experimenting on the sweep fibers, a variety of sorghum. I put out unique botanical color collections each year. These projects keep me in step with each season- often waiting a year to harvest plants again to continue a color experiment; broom making is true slow craft. This year I won first place in the National Craft Broom Competition with a broom woven with a botanically dyed handle!

As an educator, I am in awe of the enthusiasm and bravery that folks bring to a broom making class. When I teach, I create a container where folks can feel safe to explore their strengths and their struggles. I offer folks not just a lesson, but an experience- an opportunity to know themselves in a different way, to feel the strength in their hands & to connect to something new to them but very old in the world. Teaching is the most delightful part of my job.

I also offer restoration services, in the spirit of preservation, bringing new life to your old broom or woven chair seat- helping foster the life of an heirloom piece.

Please Send Word is an invitation- to take care, to sweep, to reach out, to invite tenderness to a task.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Building an audience on social media wasn’t something I set out to do, per say. Through the evolution of my business and growing success, it became obvious that social media was directly helping that growth. As I began to use it more as a tool of communication and showcase with my art, my relationship with it changed.

Instagram, specifically, allows me to share some of the more intimate or behind the scenes parts of my studio practice- it has helped Please Send Word become more of a story, a place where folks could see how the parts are woven together. I look at is as a digital studio tour, an inspiration board, and extension of my website & art practice. And although I enjoy the opportunity to share my craft with folks far and wide through that tool, there is still a dissonance in my relationship with it. So much of my life and craft is rooted in a tactile experience of the world, so naturally my engagement with the internet often feels out of step. To temper that, I try to put Please Send Word into the world in ways that foster connection differently than social media- like teaching through arts organizations, fellowships, residencies, interviews, craft events.

I actively chose not to have separate person & professional accounts. This helps keep my engagement with the app in check & inherently curates what I choose to post. I do share personal parts of my life- boat adventures, my sand lot baseball team, my pup- perhaps as a reminder that I am not a brand- but a human who is a deep craft nerd.

It’s a balancing act, really. Appreciating it for the tool that it can be, being inspired by other incredible artists & not doing too much doom scrolling. I don’t believe that more followers equals more success- because success is a relative term- we decide what that means for each of us.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is also the most difficult part. Making art for a living means theres no money coming in unless I’m consistently promoting my work. Hosting both an art practice and the necessity of capitalism under the same roof can be clumsy.

Contact Info:

• Website: pleasesendword.com
• Instagram: @pleasesendword
• Other: https://youtu.be/EwWZG3OI8gU

Image Credits
Andrew White Mak Allen Pilsen Photo Co-op