Next up: Amy Lund of aclhandweaver
How long have you been an artist, and how long have you been active as a business artist?
I've been spinning and weaving since I was a teen, but started to pursue it more seriously after college. I tried to follow the academic route through study and work in museum settings, but eventually decided to work for myself and follow my dreams sometime in the late 90s, working for other craftsmen to find out how to be an artist and then hitting the shows. I fell into helping a friend run an open weaving Studio & Gallery about and took over the idea when she could no longer do it about 10 years ago.
Are you an artist full time?
Full-time and Over-time...
Who or what inspires you to create?
I enjoy the orderliness of weaving and the focus of creating, combining textures, colors and yarns. It's very tactile and just seems right when things come together. The process of making is what inspires me, when everything works together.
Describe your work space.
I just moved last Oct into a new space in an old Grange utilizing 2 rooms, one for the Studio workspace and the other for the Gallery, where I also showcase other local artisans in a cooperative-style manner. I have found that the mystique of weaving and seeing the studio helps to sell the work through 
visibility and interaction, though the drawbacks of an open/public studio space are sometimes unscheduled interruptions, higher overhead than working at home, and having to be open and ready to make and sell everyday. It's nice to be able to work when it's quiet, though, and not have to haul things elsewhere and set them up just for a weekend show. Sometimes the interruptions are also pleasant distractions.
What kinds of things do you like to do in your free time?
Free time? What's that? It's all about work, isn't it.... Well, sometimes I get a chance to read, take walks, or travel. I'm always thinking about work because I love to create and really have to make an extra effort to find ways that get me outside the studio or outside my head.
What is your favorite handmade item, made by you or given to you?
I really don't know. This question stumps me...I'm not sure I have any one favorite. I love to make and love handmade. For me things have to fit the moment, the mood, the use, the style. I admire things made well that speak to me, sometimes of things indescribable under the surface.
What does being an Amy mean to you?
I've always felt my uniqueness and individuality. Growing up I only knew one other Amy and it doesn't seem that common to me. I also find it odd or disconcerting to run into someone with my own name wondering if they are like me, even if I've never met them before.
www.amyclundhandweaver.com www.etsy.com/shop/aclhandweaver www.flickr.com/photos/aclhandweaver/ www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Amy-C-Lund-Handweaver/230208813084 aclhandweaver@gmail.com aclhandweaver.blogspot.com/
"Do all the good you can, In all the ways you can, To all the people you can, In every place you can, At all the times you can, As long as ever you can."
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