Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Tia Kinsman. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Tia, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

As a self proclaimed craft goblin, this is both the easiest and hardest thing for me to answer. Where do I even begin?

For my entire life I’ve loved learning new hands-on skills and crafts. The thrill of someone giving me the basic instructions and safety–maybe even a demo and the tools I need– then leaving me to my own devices to figure it out is unmatched. Heck, I based my entire career off of my love of just making whatever pops into my head, with whatever craft, and just figuring it out as I go! I have tried college, professional illustration classes, just about everything, and honestly for my learning style there’s nothing better than just…doing it! While I did end up eventually absorbing the lessons they tried to teach me in college, I needed to learn them the hard way through my own trial and error. I’ve learned that the saying about it taking 10,000 hours to master a craft is fairly accurate.

The greatest thing that I definitely wish I had learned sooner, is to never be afraid of failure. You’re going to be bad when you start at something new. It’s just a given. Also, don’t worry about “wasting” materials on your failures or ugly attempts when learning. It’s not a waste if you learn something from the process to improve on the next time you try! (And trust me, the laughs you can give yourself when you get to look back on your first tries are priceless.) I like to experiment and push the boundaries of whatever medium/craft I’m working with, constantly wondering “well what if I combined these two crafts? Can it actually do this? Let’s find out!” I think having this mindset of perpetual exploration is incredibly beneficial to beginners and professionals alike.

My crafts span from illustration, screen printing, wood working, stained glass, and now glass blowing/torch working. The one skill that they all require is keeping a sketchbook. Having a hard copy of your ideas, sometimes sketching out step-by-step visuals or the project from various angles, whatever your brain needs to comprehend the idea best. Then when you’re actually doing the craft, there’s less to figure out and more making. Being able to sketch your thoughts out, regardless how nice it looks and what craft you’re doing, is going to help ingrain your plan of action in your brain, so when you’re in the zone you don’t have to stop and try to remember “what that shape was supposed to be?” or “how big are the ears?”

A fairly universal obstacle that I think we all struggle with is the need for perfectionism, and the fear of not getting it right the first time. The second I let go of that need and just let my hands, tools, and materials do what they needed to do, my art began to sing. If you’re afraid of failure(or your first few tries of a frog looking like they came out of a toxic waste bucket) you’ll never be able to learn what you did wrong and try again with that information to improve on it!

Tia, 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 a multi-disciplined creatrix of the strange and unusual, building a dark fantastical world of whimsical but spooky flora and fauna, as well as creating works inspired by mythology and the occult. My current crafts include stained glass, lamp working and glass blowing, illustration, occasional woodworking, and screen printing. For the most part I create and sell my own work as an independent artist online, at local events, and wholesale in small shops, however I do take on commercial and private work from time to time when our interests and ideas align. I also take great pleasure in collaborative works!

For my entire life I’ve been a creative force, it’s never particularly mattered what or how I was making, only that I was using my hands to create something that wasn’t there before. It has always felt like pure magic to me! My mom was always elbows deep in a craft or baking project, and my dad was often outside woodworking or fixing something, so it just came to me naturally to want to create. I love learning new processes and having a wide range of skills to work with so I have room to explore and try new things, when I work on one craft for too long it can feel stagnant.

I take great pride in handcrafting as much as I physically can, every offering I have is somehow altered by me. In this day and age of AI and technology doing most of the work for us, it can be a challenge to find well made, handcrafted goods. I do believe handcrafted goods carry the essence of their maker with them, and folks can pick up on that. I leave a little bit of me in everything I make, making it all the more special.

The biggest goal I have with my work is to create a moment for folks to rest their minds from this hellscape of a world, and to instead dream about the beauty and magic that can still be found in our imaginations and in nature. Nothing brings me more joy than seeing folks who just “get it” when they come into my booth at a market; to see a grown human light up with that little spark of child-like imagination that we all have makes it all worthwhile. I want people to look at my work and get lost in the details and stories for a little while. I also try to bring light to the more strange and unusual things, because they deserve love and recognition as well!

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist (aside from making the things, of course) is the reactions of folks who connect with my work. More than money, fame, anything- I just love when someone lights up when they look at a certain piece. It spoke to them without words, and for that moment we are connected in the most human way possible. Seeing another person connect to something I made is honestly just incredible, even more so when they see their loved ones in my work and gift it to them!

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

Never stop encouraging creativity. I would not be here today if I didn’t have my friends and family encouraging me to go for it, to just see what happens because they saw the potential even when I couldn’t yet. A kind word, sharing their posts, commissioning their work, anything! It means more than you think when you recognize someone’s hard creative work, especially when they are starting out and unsure of themselves.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://tiakinsmanart.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/tiakinsmanart
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/tiakinsmanart
• Other: https://ko-fi.com/tiakinsman

Image Credits

All images provided were taken by me, Tia Kinsman