Bbeebling dabbled in a variety of creative techniques, learning along the way. Each of those media has influenced her current work creating fantasy-inspired 3D fiber art often showcasing iridescent handmade sequins.
How did you find yourself on an artist’s path? Always there? Lightbulb moment? Dragged kicking and screaming? Evolving?
Me, I was born a visionary and artistry came along with it. I was never picky about a medium. Drawing was my favourite thing to do in kindergarten and during school.
Under the influence of MTV music and videos, I was really into Y2K fashion design at a ripe age of 10, hahaha! That’s when I started thinking about sewing since I could easily imagine how patterns can be made. Unfortunately, or luckily, I didn’t have a sewing machine at that time to make my ideas come to life.
My teenage years were for polymer clay earrings and rings (tiny fairies and frogs were my forte) and modifying my bags, clothes and accessories. Then I discovered conceptual photography as a means of expression, followed by videography with an occasional sewing project here and there, but nothing too serious. I finally bought a cheap sewing machine around 2016, but used it sparingly.
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All this allowed me to finally regain my appetite for making tangible art again in 2019. My mom kept sending me cute embroidery designs on social media and I was hooked on thread paintings and textures. I learned traditional embroidery stitches from my grandma when I was a kid, but we used pre-drawn patterns for it.
I just went at it, discovering new techniques along the way. The freedom of making my own designs opened up a lot of opportunities for me. I never wanted to just copy what others were making; I want to make art/design true to me. That’s where the excitement lies. That’s what art is.
What inspires you to create? Where do you find your inspiration for your designs?
My inspiration sources are as diverse as my medium choices. I’m very influenced by surreal graphic design, fantasy pastel and/or iridescent visuals of art (any kind!), nature, of course, geometry, but also things that can’t be seen, impressions of perceived moods, etc.
For example, I see an opening in the woods and an idea of fairy portal comes to my mind, I mix it up with my favourite architecture styles and make my own sketch for it.
My brain kind of mashes all my inspiration like a purée and gives me back flashes of images of what to create. I’m driven by curiosity and desire to see it tangible in front of me. It’s a need at this point.
What different creative media do you use in your work?
That’s a loaded question, in my case. I use anything from pieces of plastic saved from the recycling bin to high quality glass beads or gems.
I’ll use anything that fits the purpose or creates the visual effect or texture that I envisioned. Metallic threads, scrap fabrics, large beads, (my favourite) bugle beads, sequins, etc. are all welcome to my mixed media art party.
I realized I can make my own sequins out of plastics (I’m especially drawn to iridescent ones) and that was a huge step forward in defining my current style and focus. Using wire for creating 3D pieces was also a game changer for me.
Historically, textile arts and embroidery were never exclusively made with textiles/thread and it saddens me that there are people who think of these techniques as something too whimsical or not as serious, as for example, thread painting.
I think deconstructing our limiting beliefs stemming from patriarchal ideas and consumerist society and educating ourselves about the history of different medium in embroidery and textile arts in general will make the world a better place.
When it comes to creating, are you more of a planner or an improviser?
Personally, I do both. Making abstract pieces with just random composition is a way for me to kind of relax and enjoy the process, relying on my moods and my media to guide the outcome.
Planning, in my book, is reserved for my more intricate pieces and 3D stuff. I use a lot of problem solving skills, math, logic, and geometry for this.
I love both planning and improvising; these are just means for me to manifest my ideas.
How do you manage your creative time? Do you schedule start and stop times? Or work only when inspired?
It totally depends on what I’m working on. If I’m making beadwork gloves, I have a scheduled time for them. I know approximately how long it takes for me to make them so it’s pretty straightforward. Same thing applies for any commissioned work, actually.
When I’m doing an embroidery piece, time loses its meaning and I work when I have the capacity for it. It’s not a thing of inspiration, but motivation. I’m really always inspired. I think planning can limit creation in some ways. If I’m experiencing a setback, I often find later that a new idea or something will make up for the time that I at first considered wasted. It’s all balanced at the end of the day.
Describe your creative space.
My creative space is my whole house and the garden, there’s no divide between personal and artistic. Since I can easily move my supplies, I work freely wherever I decide to. I have a tray filled with essentials for each project. It’s often chaotic, but I know exactly where each thing is placed. Controlled chaos, in short.
Working across many different media, how do you organize all of your creative supplies?
I only recently started using actual organizers. I honestly don’t even know how I kept track of my supplies previously.
I moved a couple of times during the past couple of years so random cardboard boxes stuffed with bags did the job while my stock was growing. Suddenly, I realized I’ve hoarded too much stuff and decided to organize a bit.
A couple of kilogrammes of beads and a couple of kilogrammes of thread are surprisingly not hard to organize and store. Plus, I have a sort of mind map of my storage spaces.
Do you use a sketchbook or journal? How does that help your work develop?
Oh, absolutely! I often just quickly scribble a couple of words next to a sketch and date it. It makes it easier to remember the vision. I’ve filled a couple of notebooks already.
Some ideas I scrap after a while or if I see somebody else did it similarly to what I had in mind. Others, I simply feel like I must do. When I start working on it, an idea often gets a life of its own and anything is possible.
How often do you start a new project? Do you work actively on more than one project at a time?
Whenever I get motivated to start something, I don’t hesitate. I very rarely work on two things at once. Laser focusing on one thing at the time if it’s a big project is what works for me, otherwise I realized that the one that I’m less excited about gets scrapped.
I easily lose interest on projects that aren’t as innovative, are too repetitive or just don’t feel good for me for whatever reason. Immersing myself fully into a single creation at a time so I can truly give it my best is what works best for me.
Can you tell us about the inspiration and process of one of your works? How does a new work come about?
My process from idea to realization goes something like this: there’s always this pool of things I’m inspired by and it’s like suddenly a concrete idea hatches in it and I instantly know which techniques I’m going to be using.
Then I choose my materials that will best fit the aesthetics of it. For example, on my fairy balcony piece, I knew I was gonna make a dome shaped 3D object. Then I figured out how to make a 2D model, embellished it, and sewn it in 3D.
Ideas came to me while I was working on it. It’s always “oooh, but what if I…” and then I just go and do it, regardless if this is my first time doing it. Not knowing exactly how to create something has never stopped me from doing it, to put it this way.
I just choose techniques that will result in the easiest way to make something.
Whenever I get a complex idea about the piece, I make it for the first time, then I can think about how to improve it, sometimes it can take years and I go back to it to make another rendition. I often think about redoing my pieces with more detail or with using different techniques. This allows me to learn by doing and improve my craft along the way.
Which part of the design process is your favorite? Which part is a challenge for you?
Honestly, I always find joy in every part of the process. I find myself in the flow state and all the complaining, the hard or boring parts of the process are just that – part of the process. I zone out while doing repetitive techniques and time travel to the finished stage and all the negativity that might have been attached to it somehow just falls off.
My favorite part is the whole process, that’s why I do it. I keep looking at my art from up close and from each angle. The tactile and visual stimulation and that wow effect keeps me going. Overall, it’s like playing and observing when I was a kid. I feel like I’m reliving my childhood while working and I guess this makes me feel blessed.
How has your creativity evolved over the years? What triggered the evolution to new media/kinds of work/ways of working?
Trying out every technique and medium that I was drawn to really helped me get a wide spectrum of techniques that will work best for each idea that comes to my mind.
Lace making, thread painting, 3D beadwork, wire work, stumpwork, gold work, crewelwork, etc. are all part of my arsenal. And I don’t have limits of using any of these things in a traditional way.
I rarely ever think about how others will perceive my art. I know that some will judge it, some will be just as in love with it as I am.
People who say they don’t like their art are a different species from me and I just can’t relate. For me, art and design became my joy and I think that it can be felt by others. To have something in your space made by a loving person definitely has an impact on people.
Generally, I stopped thinking of myself as an embroiderer; I realized I’m an artist who uses embroidery techniques to express myself.
I really grew a lot as a person within the past couple of years while creating. Comparing myself less and less to others in regards to style, success and technique has resulted in melting away any bit of competitive attitude towards others. My competition is me 3 minutes ago and beyond and that’s it.
What do you do to keep yourself motivated and interested in your work?
I get bored easily if I’m not challenged by something. This really pushed me to constantly learn new things, to change mediums often and to use them in unconventional ways. My curiosity, accompanied by the lack of fear of failure. are my driving forces.
I also just love to create and to see novelty. Something that will make people go: “whoa, I’ve never seen anything like this before”. I just love that feeling when I’m presented with something new and out of the box. Creating that feeling in people is one of my missions.
What traits, if any, do you think that creative people have as compared to people who are not creative?
I think all people have creativity in themselves, but what divides those who express it and those who don’t is the boldness, courage, the sole urge to make something and share it with others.
Also, the doubt of the purpose behind something plays a huge role in everyone’s creative process. It basically determines if something will be created or not. Will the object be of use or not?
When people question the use for some action or an object, that’s when you see that something is not arranged the right way in their subconscious.
We as humans often fear the judgement of others, especially when we’re not comfortable enough with ourselves. We project our own inner judge and assume others will be equally as critical about what we do. This applies to all areas of socialization, unfortunately.
When you reach a certain level of maturity, you give yourself enough grace to free yourself from these shackles of fear based approach to art. You’ll have to disregard everything that society has ever taught you of what an artist should be or should do, including your own prejudice. Then you’ll start finding true joy in what you do, without any expectations.
I think introspection and finding your own voice are key steps in any artist’s journey.
The purpose will present itself. And if it doesn’t, isn’t the joy of creation enough of a goal?
What is the best advice you received on your creative journey?
I can think of two. First, don’t be cheap with your tools. I think this is self-explanatory.
Second, I’ll share a quote by the artist Chuck Close:
“Inspiration is for amateurs — the rest of us just show up and get to work. And the belief that things will grow out of the activity itself and that you will — through work — bump into other possibilities and kick open other doors that you would never have dreamt of if you were just sitting around looking for a great ‘art idea.’”
I’ve found this to be true on many occasions.
Where can people see your work?
Currently, almost the entirety of my work can be seen on my Instagram in chronological order. https://www.instagram.com/bbeebling.art/
Some of it, I post on my TikTok. https://www.tiktok.com/@bbeebling.art
I’m slowly working on a website, too, but I’m juggling work tasks that are usually done by a whole team of people all by myself. All in due time.
Interview posted July 2024
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