We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful MK Metten. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with MK below.
MK, 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 like to say the road to figuring out the media I wanted to work in was a series of happy accidents. I stumbled across some images of another artist who combined watercolor and embroidery, and thought “I could do that.” Well, it turns out I cannot do that, watercolor is hard. But my interest was peaked in the embroidery, so I figured why not combine it with a method of painting I’m already familiar with. Acrylic painting was the perfect combo, and I already had the skills from art school for it. I quickly figured out that I needed to learn more about embroidery, and thanks to the help of some very handy articles and YouTube videos I was able to get the hang of a handful of basic stitches fairly quickly. A couple, like the bullion knot, took me longer in practice to use but are among my favorite now. It was a stressful period, as learning any new skill is, but I really enjoyed learning a new craft and love the area of art that I’m making.
MK, 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?
I am the artist, marketer and multiple hat wearer MK Metten. I am a mixed media artist, living and working from Minneapolis, MN. A few years ago I launched my business, From MK with Love, to combine acrylic painting with hand embroidery to create colorful landscapes that have unique textures, thanks to the needlework. I began dabbling in embroidery as a form of therapy after graduating art school in 2017. I had recently moved back home and was struggling with the lack of space and materials I had had access to through school. Embroidery seemed like a fun, new activity that could keep me busy and best of all, it was mobile. Again, through some happy accidents I found the combination of media that worked for me and decided to go all in. It’s hard to believe I launched my career only three years ago, because it has been a crazy whirlwind in the best way. After refining my methods I am very pleased with the textures and sense of space that my work presents. Being able to show it in markets, galleries, local business, in print and discuss on the radio has quite honestly been something I didn’t think I could achieve. Clients have been so sweet, and welcoming to my work and I am very grateful for their warm reception and conversations.
Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
Organizations like Springboard for the Arts, or MN Artists are very useful for finding all sorts of resources. Job openings, applications for grants and funding, or calls for art can be found on both sites, and more. For me they have also been beneficial in getting connected with local galleries and business owners. Starting out is so intimidating, but they were very useful to help get me on my feet.
Other than that, in general reaching out to local businesses or galleries was something that I should have done sooner. I thought I needed to be better established, or have a certain kind of work, so I hesitated in doing this. In reality my worries were unfounded and I have found that local shops have been quite welcoming. Don’t get me wrong, I have not gotten into every place of business I reached out too, but if I hadn’t reached out because I was afraid they would say no, I wouldn’t have made some of the local connections that I have.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
There are a couple things that come to mind. The first being the feeling of being able to share something you love, something you made, with a stranger. It has been so rewarding for me to start being a vendor in local markets not only because I can make the face to face connections, but I get to see the physical joy and wonder that my art gives clients. I obviously love what I do, or I wouldn’t be doing it, but to be able to share that with a stranger, their reactions strengthen me in my decision to continue making. Of course not everyone is going to love what you do, there will always be someone who thinks they can do it better, or that your work is overpriced. But in my experience those interactions are outweighed with positive interactions. Even if someone isn’t able to buy a piece, generally speaking, they will still have a conversation with me and talk about which one is their favorite. It’s simple, but it feels nice when you’re presenting something that means so much to you.
The other reward might be more particular to me, but for me, to be able to tell someone what I do for a living is huge. Starting a creative endeavor is difficult and overwhelming, for a variety of reasons, and not everyone will take you seriously if you say you’re an artist or creative. But if you take those interactions with a grain of salt and push through, it’s incredibly rewarding to fight for yourself and for your goals. For me personally, when I started I knew where I wanted to go but didn’t know how to get there. I think I still have plenty of room to grow, but to be where I am now seemed so far away when I started. I’m not really sure how to explain it, but it’s very fulfilling to be able to say you’re an artist or creative. It’s a different way of saying, ‘I fought really hard to get here, and I’m glad I am’.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.frommkwithlove.com
- Instagram: @mk.makes.art
Image Credits
All photos taken by me