We recently connected with Steffie Notion and have shared our conversation below.
Steffie, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?
I love taking risks in general and especially with my embroidery. I love when I can use unconventional materials like latex, pressed flowers or rope, in a way that feel at odds with the fabric and thread. I am also a big fan of making mistakes. I am a perfectionist at heart so I took me a while to understand the value of your mistakes, and how really when something doesn’t work out the way you’d hoped, it is just an opportunity to do it different and better the next time. As long as you are learning, the mistake is always worth the effort. I find the more risks I take in my art the more chances I have of making a mistake and learning something valuable. As I have refined my style and improved the skills around my art I have noticed my risks are a bit more calculated, I become more invested in individual pieces and am less willing to let a mistake ruin an idea.
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?
My name is Steffie Notion and I have been a seamstress and maker since I was a kid. In 2019 I began focusing my creativity mainly to the world of textile arts in the form of hand embroidery. I still do some machine sewing from time to time, but I have found the act of hand embroidering to be quite meditative. A lot of my early work was based on self portraits and through this practice I started viewing myself differently and finding it easier to love the things I once disliked about my body. It is hard to dislike a body that has been used to create art. Lately my work focuses more on empowering others and portraying bodies, in all their perfectly imperfect ways. I want to show my viewers that a naked body is not inherently a sexual body, and that all bodies are beautiful and worthy of admiration. Another goal of my work is to elevate the skill of hand embroidery from something once considered “women’s work” to the world of fine art. I like to push the boundaries of the medium but incorporating unexpected, multi-media elements as well as with body pattern mixing and use of color. I am also proud to be considered an erotic artist as some of my work does dive into the realm of sexuality and sexual expression.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
I think the last few years while we have been dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic, society has really turned to and found a new appreciation for arts and personal creativity. When everything this overwhelming and unresolved, there is something so soothing about consuming some form of art. In a way it is acknowledging that we as humans can be productive just for the sake of making something beautiful. It is a momentary relief from all of the capitalistic structures in place that try to monetize our time. I believe there is a great inherent value in both consuming art and creating art. In my opinion, the best way for society to support artist and creatives is to intentionally and actively seek out creative spaces. Look into local gallery spaces and what community events they offer or what new art openings are coming up. Find your local artist on social media sites like Instagram and share and comment on their works. Over all, I think just showing up is so important. The best way to show you are interested in invested in a community is to show up for that community.
Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
I wish I had know what a valuable resource my community was when I first started making art. I have found so much useful information and knowledge in my local creative spaces such as Hidden Treasures 2 and the Tinkermill. Collaborating with others has always elevated and advanced my work, but when you have a community of talented makers to ask questions of and bounce ideas off of, it really allows you individual work to change and evolve in ways it never would have on its own.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.asubtlenotion.com
- Instagram: @asubtlenotion
Image Credits
Kyla Fear