Maine Team Monday - Folk Art Tree

Pam McFarland is a primitive lover who runs two shops on etsy - Folk Art Tree and Folk Art Fandangle. Folk Art Tree is a wonderful showing Pam's addiction to making the new look old. Folk Art Fandangle is to accessorize yourself with vintage bits made into contempory unique pieces of jewelry.

1. Would you please share some brief details about you such as location, upbringing, school etc?
I grew up in Ashland, Maine, lived on various military installations with my husband over 15 years and eventually moved back to my hometown when my children were ready to enter school. When I was a child, my father made sure we left Aroostook County frequently to expose us to the rest of the world. We spent our summer vacations exploring historical places like Gettysburg, Valley Forge and Washington DC. While the tour guide was reciting dates and facts, I was imagining the people, trying to comprehend their lives without electricity and running water and grocery stores. The day to day items they used were fascinating to me, and as I got older, objects that were worn and patinaed with age became pleasing to my eye. When my husband and I were stationed in Germany, I found the German people celebrated their history and it is vibrantly relevant to them. I was enchanted with their castles and the Kristkindlmrkts at Christmastime and their ancient walled cities (Rothenberg is still one of my most favorite places!). I felt like I had been transported back in time. This experience only reinforced the appreciation I had for relics of the past, inspiring my inclination toward primitive.

2. What motivates your creativity? Any interesting bits of info about your process (like you only work in your studio to Liberace music)?

• Yard sales, Mardens, the dump. It is an invigorating challenge to reinvent someone else's trash into a fabulous piece others envy! I found a piece of furniture at the dump that looked like a failed shop class project, but with a little bit of moulding, wainscotting and paint, I transformed it into my desk I use for shows. People are always asking to buy it!
• Nature -sometimes the color combinations just take my breath away.
• Life -I try to pay attention to the details that most people brush past, unaware, and challenge myself to really appreciate the beauty and simplicity of everyday things.
• Other artist's work -the Somerset Studio range of magazines is filled with inspiring work from amazingly talented artists.

I don't have a regimented process. Once an idea germinates, I may be able to work out the design in one sitting, while other projects can be several day design experiment. Some pieces evolve and materialize as I work, while some need to be sketched and resketched to flesh it out. Creating occurs primarily in my 2 workspaces. My studio, on the second floor of my home, is where I go when I don't want any distractions and is where I sew, sculpt, paint, and make dolls. I have another workspace on the first floor of my home where I create jewelry and papercrafts. These are the projects I can work on and not be grumpy if I get interrupted. I also have a travelling basket which I fill during the day with any handwork I need to complete so I can watch the Red Sox or Celtics with my husband during the evening. While I work I sometimes listen to music ( Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Chopin, Tchaikovsky and Bach) while some days I love the solitude and silence.


3. When you are creatively exhausted how do you rest up and refill the creative well?
I need quiet time to rejuvinate. One hour of silence in the morning while nursing a steaming cup of coffee and basking in the sunshine streaming through the window is all I need to make my day productive and creative. Once I am peaceful inside, the creativity just comes.

4. The business of selling your work is far less enjoyable to most then the actual making of product. What have you done or would do differently in being someone who must deal with the business of selling work?
I have had to continuously educate myself about marketing. I began doing craft shows 18 years ago, and learned through experience and research about display and packaging and pricing. Once I discovered Etsy and began selling online I found I needed to learn new marketing skills to optimize online selling . I have sought information through taking online marketing courses, participating in marketing webinars, and searched blogs and forums for tips and techniques about the business of selling. At first I resented the time I have to spend on the computer to sell online, and soon realised I MUST take some time out of my day to be on the internet as it is essential to growing an online business. The web is always changing, improving, and growing, and as a seller, I need to be aware of and implementing new technology in order to reach my target audience.

5. Where do you see your work taking you?
I would love to have my work represented in a magazine or book. Perhaps I should get busy with those submissions?!
I would also love to own a brick and mortar primitives shop with a studio in the back where I could create. I am also working on patterns of my original designs to sell online as pdf downloads. Lots and lots of ideas spinning in my head, so I am not worried I will be bored any time soon!

6. Any particular websites you visit regularly?
www.Etsy.com
www.stampington.com
google analytics
Etsy Maine Team Chat and Business threads
Primitive artists websites
Twitter
Facebook
How-To websites

7. What are your 3 top favorite foods and why?
Lobster- divine indulgence
Fresh ground Arabica coffee- warmly invigorating
Salad made with baby green leaf lettuce, tomato, onion, feta cheese, dried cranberries, chicken, and apple topped with a balsamic vinagrette--fresh and zingy


Thanks Pam for participating in the Monday Maine Team Feature. Good luck and I hope good things are just around the corner for you. For the rest of you please check out FolkArtTree and it's sister shop Folk Art Fandangle. Pam also has a blog.