5/19/11: A Bit of Crafting Journalism -- Interview with Catherine Fox

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I'm going outside the box today not only in doing my second interview (see my first one here), but choosing a crafter that is very different from myself. Different, yes, but she has played a big role in my life--you'll see why in a little bit. 


As you can well see from reading my blog entries, my crafting expertise lies mostly in sewing and knitting/crochet, so I am very excited to let you meet my younger sister, Catherine Fox, who does jewelry making, painting, drawing, and much more.

Catherine, who is twenty, started busying herself with drawing at a young age. “When I was little, I used to follow a lot of drawing how-to books and color in coloring books.  My love of art just continued to grow from there.  I remember sitting under a large willow tree and drawing a tree on a dry-erase board.  I used to study trees to figure out how each one grew.  After I finished my drawing, I showed it to my father and he said it looked very nice.  I soon found myself constantly drawing trees.”  

She wanted to take her drawing skills a step further and began researching and practicing for hours. “When I was fourteen, I borrowed a realistic drawing book from the library. My sisters and I spent hours learning how to draw with that book and that is where I learned most of the techniques I use now.”  


Here are just of few of her many drawings:

{ our lady of the rosary }

{ two swans }

{ triumphant rose }

“Later on,” she says, “I started watching Bob Ross on PBS and fell in love with oil painting! I use oils or acrylics when I paint, and lead and/or colored pencils when I draw. I would love to try pastels, charcoal, ink, and crayon some day!”

She doesn't stop with oil and acrylic on canvas or board, she uses a bit of nature with her painting. See for yourself:

Your eyes do not deceive you! Rocks of every shape and form are used for 3-dimensional art.

Drawing and painting is only part of the picture for this crafty sister of mine. Over the years she has tried a wide assortment of crafts, jewelry making being one of them. “I believe I started making jewelry when I was around twelve or thirteen years old.  I started because I wanted to make something that would sell in a craft room that was adjacent to my family's farm market.  I wasn't much into wearing jewelry at that time, but I was given several jewelry making kits and started from there.“ That is when she formed her small crafting/art business: Eclectic Designs by Catherine.

Jewelry, for her, has become a multifaceted object of expression. She not only has made dozens upon dozens of bracelets, necklaces, and earrings since she started, she has also created how-to's (both in written and video formats), a blog (which she is currently revamping), and even had a jewelry making project published in a magazine. What started as a simple kit became a full-fleged jewelry making bonanza you can say. 

So what's her favorite part about jewelry? “Designing, for sure!  I love pulling out my beads, deciding which bead I want to design around, and just starting from there!”

Are you itching yet to see what she has made? Yeah, I thought so! Here are some of her favorite pieces:

{ cascade of hearts earrings }

{ heart of the ocean necklace }

{ heartfelt necklace }

{ hemp anklet }

{ the charlene necklace }

Catherine enjoys more than just making jewelry, she loves to show others how it is all done. Her YouTube channel and partnership with FaveCrafts are her two main outlets. So make sure you check out her many tutorials she has created. Let me just give you a glimpse of what she has done:

So what's up next for this artist and crafter? When speaking of painting, she says: "My plans are to keep practicing and try new techniques.  I want to practice impressionism.  I want to do more landscapes.  Video tutorials will probably happen some day, just not soon." 


And about the world of jewelry she adds. . ."My plans are to continue what I have been doing.  I have a long list of video ideas, I want to write more jewelry related articles, and I want to expand my Etsy shop!"


From what I can tell, my sister has what it takes to do just that and I cannot wait to see what tomorrow will bring. 


Keep up to date on what is new with Catherine by visiting the following links:


Facebook Page
Blog
Etsy Shop
YouTube Channel
FaveCrafts