Spotlight: Shannon Roudhán and Jason Bowlsby, Dynamic DIY Duo

Shannon Roudhán and Jason Bowlsby are the dynamic DIY duo from Seattle, Washington. They have mastered a wide variety of techniques from Boro and Sashiko, crochet and knitting, sewing, quilting, photography, and embroidery. Their enthusiasm, quirky sense of humor, and relatable teaching style have made them sought after teachers in virtual, local, and national venues.

What is it about a subject that inspires you to continue exploring it?

We are both curious people and voracious readers, so we have always been “hey look that up!” kind of folx. That itch that we just have to scratch is usually triggered by something we thought was cool or maybe just something we saw in a film or a show. It doesn’t matter if it’s a travel show about a Celtic warrior queen or a lost tribe of yeti, or we happen across a piece of antique fabric in a rummage sale, just about anything can prompt a 128 browser windows search and several trips to the library resulting in a stack of books and documents to read. Sometimes it all culminates in a tangible thingamabob or somethingorother and other times it is just really FAB information that we hold on to… just in case…

What is the most important takeaway you want readers to gain from your book(s), especially your new title, Scrappy Wonky Quilt Block Extravaganza?

We are firm believers that gatekeeping any craft is… well… wrong, to put it nicely. Piecework and quilting should be (and if we have any say in the matter, is) something everyone should be able to freely play with and enjoy. We gear all of our books to speak to the first-time maker (of that particular type of craft) as much as any experienced crafter and equip that reader with the knowledge to a successfully attempt a project they can feel good about.

It is our sincere hope that everyone who picks up a copy of Scrappy Wonky Quilt Block Extravaganza walks away with the feeling that you don’t have to be an expert to try creating these blocks. Too often we hear from makers who are too self-conscious to dive in and try the new thing. They assume they must be experts at stitching and cutting to make anything that looks like… anything. Our readers should feel empowered to try something new; especially with this technique, imperfection is the goal! The takeaway is: Yes, you absolutely can do it!

Do you plan your work out ahead of time, or do you just dive in with your materials and start playing?

Yes. Don’t you hate that kind of answer? But, really, sometimes we say “hey, let’s make a thing” and sometimes we do pick up whatever we have on hand and start putting stuff-n-things together until suddenly it is a month later and there is this creation looking at us. Or not. There are times when we start working on a thing just because we want to; it doesn’t always go somewhere right away. We highly encourage folkx to make things just for the sake of making. We don’t always have to have an end goal in mind.

For our work, like our books, tutorials, patterns, and workshops? That’s a different story. Once we know that an idea or a project is destined to become something tangible that we will be putting out into the world for other folx to make or learn from, there is a timetable with task lists and deadlines. Always. Making sure we know exactly what is due when and what it is going to take to make that happen allows us to make choices about when we can give in to (and how far we can give in to) those more spontaneous creative urges… the creative chaos.

How do you manage your creative time? Do you schedule start and stop times? Or work only when inspired?

We are lucky enough to work at home for ourselves. We are also unlucky enough to work at home for ourselves… it’s a double-edged sword.

Because we are artists, and our livelihood is dependent on being creative we have to think of “creative time” as business time as well. We get up in the morning, make coffee and smoothies, then while drinking that coffee and slurping smoothies, we check the schedule and discuss with each other what needs done that day (maybe one more cup of coffee).

We don’t have the luxury of working only when inspired. That said, some days/weeks we have more time for our favorite personal projects, while other times it is nose to the grindstone.

Are you a “finisher”? How many UFOs do you think you have?

Oh good grief… ummmm… we always have several projects in-process. How’s that for a vague answer?

Shannon is the type of person who cannot sit still for long without her hands doing something, so she is always actively sewing or stitching even if there isn’t an end goal in mind. Some catch hold right away and some not so much. If a project doesn’t catch hold and immediately inspire us to move forward on it, we usually set it aside where it is not out of sight but can be seen and addressed at will.

We both hold firm that the goal of making doesn’t include finishing. The fact that we CAN put two or more things together and make a thing is magic to us so sometimes that’s all it takes to scratch that itch.

Describe your creative space.

Creative chaos… that pretty much sums it up. As we said before, we always have several “somethings” going on so the definition of creative space becomes very fuzzy.

Basically, our entire house is creative space at one time or another. We live and work in a 3-story townhouse in Seattle with a view of the Olympic mountains.

Shannon’s main work area is on the 3^rd floor, a converted second bedroom that now is the main textile lab (am I implying Shannon may or may not be a mad scientist with a lab? Maybe.).

Jason’s computer workroom/photo studio is on the bottom floor. The main living area, 2^nd floor, is for meetings, lunch/bird watching, coffee breaks, and evening events. Because neither of us likes running up and down the stairs we text a lot or send messages through the Alexa device when we need to run something by the other.

The only area we agree to keep clear of the creative chaos is the bedroom. Even the best of us needs a safe space away from work.

Working across many different media, how do you organize all of your creative supplies?

Even though our process and general workspaces are chaotic, our supplies are organized… or at least as organized as they can be in our little space.

Since the small(ish) townhouse’s space is at a premium, we need to keep a good inventory of what supplies we have and where they are so we can dive in at a moment’s notice. Supplies are carefully packed in clear storage boxes. Boxes are then clearly labeled, then placed on shelves in one of four rooms (or possibly in the garage for long term storage).

Even with that level of (tenuous) organization, we often promptly forget that we have supplies for a project, or where we put them if we think they might exist, and we end up giving up and going out to buy more… which leads to more storage and… you get it. It’s a never ending cycle.

How often do you start a new project? Do you work actively on more than one project at a time?

As often as we feel the pull to make something.

We have several active projects going on at all times and we don’t limit ourselves to what we can and cannot make or do. That said, once we recognize a creation is headed toward being a book or a workshop, it becomes part of our daily work schedule and it receives a more concentrated focus until it is finished. That doesn’t mean we aren’t going to start any new projects… it just means that one goes into the actual scheduled to do lists.

How do you work together on a project? Who does what?

This is always a great question and we are glad you asked! We are a design team and both of us have unique skills, BUT we do work together as a team on all of our projects.

We have learned enough about the unique skills the other one has so that we can contribute meaningfully to each other’s process while at the same time both of us sharing enough of the same skill sets to have both sets of hands and both brains in the process from beginning to end.

Jason is a photographer and graphics person but Shannon understands enough of the process to contribute and give input including test photos and rough graphics. Shannon is an expert crocheter and knitter, but Jason understands how yarn becomes fabric and fabric becomes projects, and can provide input into those creations. We both come from sewing backgrounds so that part of our creations is most always 50/50.

Can you tell us about the inspiration and process of one of your works? How does a new work come about?

Scrappy Wonky Quilt Blocks is a good example of inspiration. At the same time we were researching this book Shannon had also been in a deep dive into abstract art, history and meanings therein. The more we dove into that we started seeing connections between abstraction and the creation of wonky blocks… so we started putting the two together and creating a system others could follow to create their own forms of abstract fiber creation.

Even further, each of the projects in this book holds a pretty seriously deep meaning for one or both of us. Most of these projects were born from our personal experiences as we have moved through the world. There wasn’t room in the book for all of that but there are glimpses of each and we hope to tell some of the stories more fully.

Which part of the design process is your favorite? Which part is a challenge for you?

The biggest challenge is starting. Once we have an idea for a fully formed project, it can be difficult to just stop everything else and let this one concept or idea come to life.

We came across an interview with the author Anne Rice where she described an anguishing part of writing as having to accept that all of her other possible characters were dead so this one could live. As creatives, we want to do it ALL and do it all RIGHT NOW. But sometimes choices have to be made and once that first cut is made, it’s difficult to change directions. We’ve done it! But that first cut is the hardest because it means it is time to move forward with this one concept and we have to wait to come back to the others later so this one can be brought to life.

Absolutely! Once eons ago we took a drop spinning class together because… well… why not?

Shannon spent most of the class chasing her spindle around as it rolled away on the floor. Jason made a gorgeous hank of yarn. Because that’s how it goes with us sometimes. Shannon said never ever EH-VAR again. That was in the summer of that year.

By winter, Jason was spinning yarn on his new wheel and folx were grabbing it up as quickly as he could finish it. Then, a couple of years later (while Shannon was still hoarding Jason’s handspun yarn), Shannon decided she wanted some art yarn-ish type fiber to work with on a hand sewing/embroidery style project. After a few patient sessions from Jason, she was a fan of the drop spindle again and we ended up teaching workshops in drop spinning because she decided everybody needed to try this! Again… because that’s how it goes with us sometimes.

What do you do to keep yourself motivated and interested in your work?

We don’t set limits for ourselves on what we can and cannot do. When the answer is never NO, there is never any reason to become apathetic or demotivated.

Even when we are working on projects that aren’t particularly what one would consider creative in nature, those tasks are usually related to a creative project so there is motivation there to put it out into the world for others to learn from and experience. Even then, the photography, graphic design, and even the layout processes all hold their own creative aspects and keep us motivated because it engages a different type of creativity.

Do you think that creativity comes naturally to people? Or do you think creativity is a skill that people can learn?

Creativity happens when we stop putting limitations on ourselves about what creativity is.

We are born with incredible creativity. Children given a pack of crayons and some paper will create entire universes of color and light. It’s not until they are told something like, “No, clouds don’t look like that” that the creativity well begins to run dry.

Everyone has creativity in them; whether they tap into it or not has to do with whether they are in an environment that nurtures that creativity or allows the creativity to come forward. Too often, creativity is put forth as some ambiguous, unattainable THING that only certain heady individuals can achieve. That’s just gatekeeping pure and simple and it is nonsense. Everyone can create and be creative. Such gatekeeping is done by individuals who feel threatened and see other folx’ creative success as a threat to their own. And that’s not how creativity works… at all.

Other times, we have been conditioned to believe that creative endeavors are frivolous or only for those with leisure time on their hands. A lot of that comes from a toxic environment created by a society that fears creativity. Creativity leads to free thinking and to the discovery that not everything has to remain the way it is… that new environments, new ways of existing and of being and of seeing our world are possible. Those new ways of thinking and new paradigms challenge the status quo and break down the systems that keep systemic oppression in place so they are dangerous to those who would hold on to that power.

Still at other times, it is we ourselves who get in our own way of being creative. We have bought into the message of the gatekeepers and the system overlords that we must be productive and that we are silly and ridiculous if we think for even a moment that WE could create anything worth being. It is exactly that kind of audacity… the belief that we are capable of creation and of creative thought that we encourage and that we hope to inspire with our work. – slowly steps off soapbox

You are enthusiastic instructors. What do you most enjoy about teaching? How can people reach you for a workshop or class?

Thank you so much! Our enthusiasm comes, very simply, from that fact that we love what we do.

We consider ourselves very fortunate to have the ability to reach out and give folx skills and knowledge to explore their own creativity and embrace their own creative chaos. It is a kick when we see those gears start turning and information turns into knowledge which becomes creation. There really isn’t any much more satisfying than that.

We teach in-person and virtual workshops and folx can find classes listed on our our website, shannonandjason.com  Folx who want to stay informed of upcoming event can also sign up for our newsletter, shannonandjason.com/contact-and-subscribe or email us at [email protected].

Tell us about your website. What do you hope people will gain by visiting?

Our website is a mix of tutorials, workshops for purchase, pattern and book storefront, tools and kits… everything we do is right there. Our website truly is our forward facing presence on the interwebs-machine-a-ma-bob. Folx can find us at shannonandjason.com

We also have a Patreon site that folx can find content we don’t otherwise post on social media or our website. We created that specifically for the diehards who want more than what algorithms or companies allow. Plus we think our member bonuses are pretty amazing… just sayin’. That site is https://www.patreon.com/shannonandjason