Friday, February 15, 2008

Meet Etsy Potter & Artist: GretchenKramp

Gretchen Kramp "consistently work(s) in the grey area between two and three dimensional work," whether it's painting on wood sculpture or creating her expertly textured tiles. "After college I cobbled together a living of odd jobs such as coffee barista, babysitter, and, opportunely, assistant to a ceramicist. Working with her introduced me to a bevy of artists making a living off of their craft. I am also fortunate to live near Pewabic Pottery of Detroit, a historic Arts & Crafts era pottery and tileworks still thriving today. Amidst all these influences, the clay bug bit me hard in 1995 when I made a few tiles as Christmas presents and was irrevocably smitten!" She has been a proffessional clay artist since 1997, pushing the boundaries of her craft. "I'm inspired by most anything from the natural to the whimsical to the downright weird," she admits. Her body of work includes tile murals for the National Amphibian Conservation Center and the Arctic Ring of Life inside the Detroit Zoo. She also sells her tiles at local art fairs, boutiques, galleries - and most recently Etsy. "My biggest challenge these days is trying to achieve balance between work and home life as I currently moonlight as wife and mother to two little girls. I'm hoping that Etsy will allow me to expand my audience without straying too far away from my priorities." She advises her fellow Etsy artists "spend as much time possible pursuing what you love to do...then whatever happens, you will have no regrets!" Please check out her shop: http://gretchenkramp.etsy.com/
-Wendy Baylis
Dharma Designs
http://dharmadesigns.etsy.com/

4 comments:

OMB said...

Wow! she's very talented. I love the frog tile in her shop.

Lorelei Eurto said...

I've been tagged and am passing it on!
Here are the rules:

1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people* at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Michelle Engel Bencsko said...

Thanks for the way to her shop. Really nice work- something for everyone!

vc said...

Gretchen is beautifully talented! I love her shop.

This is a wonderful blog! :)