Featured artist...Tera from creativitymessy

For this week's feature please meet Tera from creativitymessy.  She has a wonderful etsy shop full of an array of handmade jewelry and accessories made from recycled goods.  But wait not just jewelry...check out her unique shop and enjoy the interview.   I love upcycled goodies!


1. Tell us as little or as much as you would like about yourself.
My name is Tera, but most people around Etsy just call me "Messy". I live in an organized chaos that most people would call a "mess", hence where I got the name for my shop.

Jewelry making for me began as a young, broke, single mother, desperately wanting to have pretty things to wear. I taught myself how to make jewelry, and eventually began selling some of my pieces to put a little extra moolah in my pocket.

I started my Etsy shop in 2010, but sold jewelry and accessories on-line and at shows for over a decade prior to Etsy.

I love to find beauty in things that would normally be considered trash - which is why I love to recycle. Many of my pieces are made from salvaged goods like t-shirts, bottle caps, old keys and so forth...

However, I don't just recycle... I love to work with all kinds of mediums. I sew, I paint, I work with metal, plastic and clay. I find new ways of making art almost daily.

Making jewelry for me is something that I live to do. My inspiration comes from everywhere, and will come to me at the craziest, most inopportune times... like in the middle of the night, at my day job or driving around town running errands. I can't control my creativity... It runs wild and free within me.

2. What do you sell?
I sell mostly jewelry, however, I make jewelry, magnets, little stuffed animals, paper crafts, home decor... If I make something and think that others would like it enough to purchase it, I'll sell it. I try not to limit myself to just jewelry.

Tiny Terranium Necklace

3. Why handmade? 
My first reason is that you are buying something that is art, and for me that has more meaning than anything. You are buying something that someone put their creativity, time, heart and soul into. And they don't do it to make money. They do it because they want to share their art with you.

Secondly, I love the uniqueness of handmade items. For example, I've made 100s of bird's nest necklaces, but each one is a little bit different. Each one tells a different story. Each one has a different meaning.


4. Where does your inspiration to create come from and/or your inspiration in life?
For me, inspiration comes from beauty, and I try to find beauty in just about anything. Sometimes it comes easy, other times you really have to look and think hard. Sometimes I go to a bead or craft store and find something that gets my creativity rolling. Sometimes I'm inspired by something I see in nature and it starts there. Other times I purposely look at something that normally would not be considered beautiful, and try to figure out a way to transform it into an item of beauty.

Rose Bib Necklace

5. Besides creating what else do you do? Do you have a full time job?
I have a full time job, that is not very creative. I work in Lead Service for a Metal Building Manufacturer. I'm very good at my job, I enjoy it (most of the time) and it keeps me afloat financially. But my dream is to one day make jewelry full-time.

6. When did you start thinking you were an artist?
Ever since I can remember, I've considered myself an artist. I grew up painting and drawing. I taught myself how to work with polymer clay and focused on figurine art when I was a teenager. I also began creating jewelry in my late teens, but didn't really take off with it until I was in my 20s. Art of all kinds has always been a huge part of my life.

7. Who has been most influential in your craft work?
My entire family is very crafty and artistic. My mother is a painter. My Grandfather was a very well known custom gunsmith. Both my Grandmothers crocheted and knit. Even my daughter is an avid soap maker. My family BREEDS creativity!

Bottle cap magnets The Mr. &The Mrs

8. Where would you like to be in five years?
(I just don't have an answer for this one...)

9. Is there anything you'd like to try doing that you haven't done?
crafts, sports, life in general? 

I'm always looking for new ways to express my creativity. I have recently began making furniture and decor from recycled "junk". I would really love to explore more of that art... maybe even having an entire room decorated in recycled pieces.

 
10. Besides online where else do you sell?  
I partake in a few craft fairs during the year. But I do most of my selling on Etsy

Birds Nest Necklace

ways to contact you:

*shop*

 *blog*

 *twitter*

*facebook*

*pinterest*

 email - creativityismessy@hotmail.com

 

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