We were lucky to catch up with Lucy Orich recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Lucy, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?
I am completely self taught as an embroidery artist. Almost 10 years ago, I was fresh out of college and had to have a tonsillectomy. I knew I would be on bed rest for a week and figured this might be a good opportunity to pick up a new craft. On a whim I chose embroidery. I’ve always been very tactile and my intuition told me that I would be good at this kind of art. Well, my first piece was awful. I had no idea what I was doing but I continued to do it. Over time, I developed my skills, learned new techniques, and found a passion in stitching. I framed the first piece I ever stitched as a reminder that the only way to get good at a new creative skill is to just keep doing it. As an artist, it’s easy to get discouraged when you’re not immediately talented at a new medium and my framed first embroidery proves that we all have to start somewhere.
Lucy, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
My name is Lucy and I’ve been hand embroidering for almost 10 years. I’ve always been creative but never had one medium that really spoke to me. On a whim (while recovering from a tonsillectomy) I picked up embroidery. I was immediately drawn to the tactile nature of it and the calming effect stitching had for me. At first I just started stitching any designs that interested me, but over time I gravitated toward the female body. I loved the juxtaposition of such an old school, innocent craft with such a sexual and cheeky subject matter. As I continued to embroider nudes, I realized this was a beautiful opportunity to showcase body positivity, normalize sexuality, and allow people to feel represented. Over time I have expanded my art into jackets and more wearable pieces, and become a live embroidery artist – allowing people to have something custom stitched on the fly. The beauty with embroidery is that every artist has their own unique flair and subject matter. It allows us to be supportive of one another without jealousy or competition. Some people embroider dogs, others landscapes. I embroider sexual nudes that straddle the line of what others might deem inappropriate. People from all over the world (strangers and friends alike) have sent me their private photos to embroider. I love that through my reputation as an artist I have gained their trust not only with their intimate photos but in my ability to showcase their body in a way that makes them feel beautiful.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.
The biggest thing I struggle with as a creative (and I’m sure others will agree) is never feeling like my work is creative enough. I used to find myself making excuses such as “oh, I didn’t draw that design, it’s based off a photograph” or “I saw something similar and created it”. I forget that all art is derived from something. A painter creating a still life doesn’t say “oh this doesn’t count, I didn’t imagine a bowl of fruit, this bowl was in front of me”. Just because you’ve used a reference photo does not take away from your artistic and creative skills. I’ve learned to not make excuses for my art and really just be proud of the things I make. I’m the first one to give credit if the design is from another artist (and I ALWAYS ask for permission to embroider their design), and over time have learned to give myself credit for the work and skill put into what I make.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
I think the best thing society can do to best support artists is to make sure they are getting proper credit for their work. On social media, there are so many accounts that just repost an artist’s work (sometimes without crediting the original artist) so instead of sharing that post, I’ll go onto the actual artist’s account and share it from there. That way the original artist is getting the proper credit vs. some random account that posted their photo. I once had a well known actress post a photo of my embroidery on their account (without my permission), and gave no credit to me – the embroidery artist, or the original artist who created the design (who I had given credit to in my post). This image got shared by other celebrities and became a domino effect of seeing my image without being given any credit to me as an artist. By that actress doing so, not only was I not recognized for my work but lost out on potential future work because no one knew who had done the embroidery. In addition, giving proper credit to artists expands to paying them fairly for the work that they create. I know people who think my work and others is overpriced. You’re not paying an artist to cover the cost of their supplies, you’re paying them for their time and effort and acquired skill. I wouldn’t take a job that payed me $5/hr so why would I sell my work for that same rate? Give artists the credit they deserve virtually and monetarily, they’ve worked hard for it.
Contact Info:
- Website: hooopthereitis.com
- Instagram: HOOOPthereitis_