Featured artist Monday....

My featured artist for this Monday is.................................................................

Jennifer

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Jennifer has graciously offered any of my readers 10% off (not including shipping) if they put 31Summers... in the notes to seller and then wait for an updated invoice!!!

You can find Jennifer's shop at...... Newfangled

Tell us a bit about yourself, name, location, affiliations, and personal stuff.

My name is Jenn and I'm a mixed media artist and recent college graduate. I currently live in West End, NC and I'm very new to etsy. I'd like to eventually sell my art full time, but right now I am looking for a job to help out with expenses. With the recent economy changes it's been pretty difficult to find a good job, so I'm putting all my free time into my art while I continue to look.

Apart from creating things, what do you do?

I enjoy cooking, browsing the web (usually for creative inspiration) and spending time with friends and family. I love office supplies, Irish Breakfast tea and the occasional British comedy.

How did you first get started creating things?

I've always been creative and I love trying new things. I experimented with different media on my own and learned some techniques in classes until I found my niche.

Please describe your creative process how, when, materials, etc.

I work best in the evenings and I pretty much use whatever I have. One of my favorite materials is paper, though. I always listen to music while I work.

What handmade possession do you most cherish?

I have two. My little brother (who is now 22) once carved a mushroom type thing out of a block of plaster paris and gave it to me as a gift. He's not artistic at all, but I've always cherished that "sculpture" and still have it today. The other is a digital painting of mountains and a sunset that my boyfriend made for me. He spent hours on it and it's amazing!

Name your top five books, movies, songs/musical groups, and web sites besides Etsy.

I hate favorites because I never have the same ones for more than a week. Right now I like:Books:The How to be British Collection by Martyn Ford and Peter Legon, Stephen Biessty's Castles, Eat Britain! By Andrew Wheeler, The Circle Trilogy by Ted Dekker and Eric Carle's The Hungry Caterpillar.

Movies: Everafter, Lord of the Rings, Finding Nemo, the newest Pride and Prejudice, The Island.

Bands: The Fray, Keane, Jack Johnson, Tonic, Texas

Websites: www.pandora.com, www.sxc.hu, www.isleofwightpictures.co.uk, www.xkcd.com, www.loveetsyfeedback.blogspot.com

What advice would you give to artists who are new to Etsy?

I'm not really in a position to give lots of advice because I'm also new to etsy, but as far as making and selling art outside of etsy I have learned that you have to be confident in your work. I waited a long time to start selling my art because I was afraid people wouldn't like it.

How do you promote your work?

I share photos on facebook and flickr as well as my website http://www.jdbrown.net. I try to get featured on other people's blogs and I'm doing a giveaway next week on a blog. I also get a lot of help from my fellow ACE (Amazing Carolina Etsians) Team members. Word of mouth is be best advertising.

What are your favorite features on Etsy or the ACE team? What new features would you like to see on either site?

My favorite feature on etsy is the fact that listings stay up for so long. It's nice not having to worry about relisting items every week. I'd like to see more variation with the hand-picked items on the front page. I seem to see stuff from the same people a lot, but I really love discovering unknown etsians.

In ten years I would like to be?

I'd like to be successfully selling my work full time and I'd also like to be married with a charming little house in the North Carolina mountains :)