Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Brittany Robert. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Brittany, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.
I started printmaking in March of 2023 sort of on a whim. I was at my local craft store when I came across a linocut carving kit that caught my eye. I’m a dabbler by nature and have a lot of creative hobbies so after walking by this kit a number of times, I finally decided to pull the trigger and try it. I was instantly hooked. I loved everything about the process–the smooth, almost buttery sensation of carving into the pink rubber block, the slowness of the process, the way you have to fully immerse yourself in the moment and be mindful of each and every cut, and most of all, that magical moment when you ink the block for the first time and see all the details of everything you’ve created. Even though so much time and focus is spent on the actual carving, it always feels like a surprise when you see that first ink pull on paper.
So, after my whirlwind love affair with this medium began, I decided to do my first ever 100 challenge on Instagram and devoted it completely to linocut printmaking. I wanted to see how much I could grow my skills if I practiced every day for 100 days with the added benefit of having it documented so I could actually look back and see my progress. It was amazing to see what I was creating on the first day versus the 100th day. It felt like a rapid crash course in this medium and forced me to experiment with different styles, sizes, and subjects. After a while, I realized that I loved working on a smaller scale and did a lot of carving into small, pink erasers–like the kind you’d use in school. It was a great way for me to be able to start and finish a design in one day so that I could maintain my personal challenge, while also helping me practice precision and detail because everything had to be so tiny.
Brittany, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
My name is Brittany Robert and I am a stay-at-home-mom and printmaking and fiber artist. Like a lot of creatives, I always loved making artwork when I was a kid. I would spend hours in my imagination either drawing, sculpting with clay, making greeting cards, painting t-shirts. You name it, I wanted to do it. But over time I lost that passion I had as a kid. I stopped drawing, and I stopped making things regularly. People knew that I was capable of doing these things–I was often asked to spearhead a lot of the more creative tasks in my everyday jobs as a younger adult–but that was about the extent of it. But early into the pandemic I was feeling lost. I was a new mom in a suddenly chaotic and isolated world, and I needed something to bring me back to myself. I happened to see a Youtube video by chance one morning that had one basic, motivating idea–do the same thing every day. I tend to skip around from one hobby to the next and have had a hard time committing to any one activity for long, so the concept of picking just one thing and doing that thing every day was very appealing to me. It removed some of the pressure of feeling like I needed to do “all the things” while also adjusting to motherhood in a very uncertain time. So I decided to draw the same thing every day and my topic of choice was my daughter. It seemed to be accomplishing two things at once–it gave me an art practice that I would show up for every day and it also became a beautiful keepsake for my daughter, because I was just drawing all the little moments of her day that would not necessarily be remembered otherwise. I did this for about two years without missing more than a few days and it was such a huge gift to myself. It gave me the gift of routine, habit, and excitement for art again. It had become a part of my day that I looked forward to and thought about and anticipated and it kept growing from there.
By early 2023, I took that passion for drawing and decided to take on a new practice–linocut printmaking. It was a great segue because I was already drawing every day and had all these designs that I could try carving out of linoleum and rubber blocks. It was like it unlocked a totally different part of my brain and forced me to think about positive and negative space in a completely new way. It transformed the way I think about and make art.
When I started my 100 Day Printmaking Challenge, I had not thought about what an enormous body of work I’d have by the end of it–because some days I would make a bunch of teeny block prints versus just one large one per day. And I realized that I could actually start selling my prints. I reached out to some local shops in town and they were happy to let me sell my artwork in their brick-and-mortar stores. It was so surreal that I could actually walk into a shop and see my work displayed inside! Also, there was a part of me for a long time that didn’t think that was possible, and all it took was stepping out of my comfort zone and asking if it was possible. Putting myself out there has always been a challenge, but making artwork and sharing it has become a massive confidence booster.
Currently I’m working on blending my printmaking with fiber art–specifically needle felting. I’m looking at my art prints and figuring out ways that I can create something 3-dimensional out of these 2-D art prints and it has been so exciting to see these figures jump off the page into something you can hold and manipulate. Sometimes I’ll make the needle felted, wool doll and then carve out an image of it for hand printing, and sometimes it’s the other way around. But I love to see how my designs translate between mediums.
Currently, I’m working on building up a new website that includes fiber art dolls and prints that complement them that will be launched in batch collections. While each doll is one-of-a-kind, I will make a limited edition of prints that can be purchased separately to complement the doll designs. You can find updates on my shop launch as well as collection drops on my Instagram page @handcarvedmagpie and check out my new site www.curiousfibers.com at the end of May 2024.
Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
Yes! I wish had focused more on marketing earlier on. I know it’s not the most “fun” part of being creative, but it is definitely important if you want to get your work in front of people. As creatives, it’s hard to want to pay attention to the business side of things, because you just want to get your hands into making something and pursuing your ideas and inspirations. Early on, I remember hearing that as a professional artist, a large portion of your day is spent on the “business end” of your work and I didn’t want to believe it. I just wanted to make art all day and hope that people would just “find me” somehow. But that is not the case. So I started digging into different online courses, following podcasts and Instagram pages of social media managers that meshed with my values, style, and type of work, and it has helped immensely. I had no idea how important it is to consider your branding, pricing, marketing, etc. while also keeping up with all the shifts in the way people absorb content. It’s a lot. And yeah, it’s definitely not the most exciting part of being an artist or creative, but I think there are a lot of creative ways to go about it that speak to you as a unique individual.
And when I need a break from all the technical, business jargon, I absolutely love going onto sites like Skillshare or Domestika and taking courses on different aspects of my craft. It reinvigorates me and often gives me so much inspiration and additional skills, especially if I’m feeling a bit burnt out.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
One of the most rewarding things about being an artist is being able to see the world in a completely new way. It’s definitely helped me become more mindful of my surroundings, because instead of just seeing something interesting and quickly moving on, it often becomes inspiration to draw upon. I always have a little sketchbook and pens with me, so being able to pull those tools out at any moment to sketch out a quick idea has become a wonderful practice. And sometimes they come from the most unexpected places!
I also love that art is just a part of my every day life. It’s something that brings me joy, gives me something to look forward to and gives me a creative outlet. It’s also been so great to share it with my daughter as she gets older. We always have a million types of supplies scattered all over our dining room table and I am so happy that these materials are always accessible to her so she can feel free to explore in whatever way feels good for her. Seeing my daughter explore different kinds of art while her imagination grows has been incredibly rewarding and I hope that as she grows up, she can feel empowered to go after the things that bring her joy too.
Right now I’m busy rebuilding my website to include one-of-a-kind fiber art dolls and linocut prints that will be available in small batch collections. You can find updates on my shop launch as well as updated collection drops on my Instagram page @handcarvedmagpie and check out my new site www.handcarvedmagpie.com at the end of May 2024. You can also sign up for my email list at handcarvedmagpie@gmail.com for more information.
Contact Info
- Email: handcarvedmagpie@gmail.com
- Website: http://www.handcarvedmagpie.com/
- Instagram: @handcarvedmagpie