We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Emily Rouse a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Emily, appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

I’ve always been creative. In my younger years it started as crafts made from empty cereal boxes. In my middle years it morphed into excelling in music – I was in every type of music class my school offered and was the only part of schooling that I truly enjoyed. In adulthood, that creativity took a backseat as I somehow came to believe that a practical & safe career was what I needed. It wasn’t until I was a stay at home mom of 2, with little time to myself and a yearning for something more that I knew stifling my creativity wasn’t doing myself any favors. Infact that creativity would sometimes pour out of my eyes and left me wondering, why am I not happy? I have everything I’ve ever wanted, why do I not feel fulfilled? So during naptimes, I would create. I made scrapbook greeting cards, I painted, I baked fancy desserts. I tried my hand at string art and realized I really enjoyed it. After a push from a friend, I started sharing that art online. I had gained a small following and people started ordering custom string art pieces from me. I was floored! I never believed that people would actually pay me to make art. I stuck with the string art for a while until I began to find it tedious and it no longer brought me joy. About this time, I stumbled upon a video on Instagram of someone using a scroll saw. For whatever reason, I thought ‘I could do that!’. So I did. I started on the cheapest machine I could find. I made 2 signs, for my kids, poorly…. But I was hooked. My skills that I had learned making 3D string art where transferrable to this wood craft and the act of cutting the wood gave my introverted mind time to decompress. Soon, my creativity was again pouring out through my hands. I’m a learn-as-you-go kinda gal, so I jumped right in. I learned this craft mostly by trial and error, watching other successful wood artists and humbling myself to ask questions. My husband taught me the basics of all the powertools that I now use regularly and I got to work. 3 years later and my skills have grown immensely. Heres what I’ve learned:

Patience – you can’t rush a good paint finish. rushing a cut makes it inaccurate and unsafe… just ask my fingertips.
Humility – sometimes a design doesn’t pan out how you think it will, be humble enough to accept that and find a better direction to take. Sometimes this means going back to your customer and saying “this doesn’t look right, would you be ok with me changing the plan?”
Originality – alot of people can make 3d wood signs. Why do it like everyone else? Make things that you want to see in the world! Your ideal customer will find you and appreciate your style. In a world of farmhouse whites & blacks and every neutral known to mankind, my customers seek me out for my layering style & color. Be original and you’ll stand out.

Obstacles:
Pride/Confidence – its a vulnerable thing to bare your soul to the world through your art. Sometimes its well received and sometimes not so much. My style isn’t everyone’s cup of tea and thats ok. Having the confidence to continue sharing your art for the world to judge invites the good and the bad. Overcoming worries regarding what people think/say about me or my work is something I struggle with to this day.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I think I answered most of this in the previous section but here’s a bit more:

I make large custom 3D wood art and signage. I cut everything by hand on my scrollsaw, paint and piece it back together to create heavily layered, multi dimensional statement pieces.

I think the way I layer my pieces, the mixing of both stained and painted graphics are both things unique to me and my style. I take alot of inspiration from the outdoors, so naturally I make alot of landscape art. I am most proud of my trees – I have been told time and time again that people comes for my treeline work. Its the sweetest compliment when someone can recognize my work before the see that I was the artist that made it. I have worked hard to create a style that is my own and it makes me so happy to know that others can see & appreciate that.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

I get most of my new clients from referrals. I work hard to make sure every customer is happy and sometimes add extra surprise details to their pieces. Sometimes I go above and beyond even if I didn’t charge for the beyond, becaue I know that people will recommend me and my work if they are happy with the result.

I also get alot of leads/new clients from Instagram, which honestly I have a love-hate relationship with this platform. Its the reason I am in business and have a steady flow of work. It is also the reason I feel inadequate at times, its the pusher of hustle-culture and time consuming. Without it, I wouldn’t have a following or a business. A business that brings me joy and offers me a much needed creative outlet…. see? Love-hate.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

My goal is to make detailed, layered pieces of art. Not just signs, but meaningful art. I incorporate my faith into alot of my pieces as well and that brings like minded buyers. Earlier this year I created a line full of scripture art and when it sold out, together my customers and I donated a livestock to a needy village in Africa through Compassion International. It is my hope that I can only do more of this type of work and that it inspires others to be generous with their time, gifts and abilities.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.whitepinewhimsy.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/whitepinewhimsy
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/whitepinewhimsy