I love knowing a product’s story. It just feels so much better to buy something straight from the hands of the maker than in a big soulless chain store.
Kayla Jenkins
Random Facts About You?1. I am crazy about cats. I foster kittens through Brooklyn Animal Action and give a portion of my profits back to the organization.
2. I'm an "imperfectionist"--I think messes are beautiful and I thrive off of chaos (maybe that's why I live in New York!)
3. If I had to choose just one album to listen to for the rest of my life, it would be impossible for me to choose beetween Nick Drake's "Pink Moon" and Neutral Milk Hotel's "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea"
4. I recently had all SIX of my wisdom teeth pulled. Yeah, I'm a proud freak of nature.
What got you started crafting?
Can we say artmaking instead of crafting?
I've always just been one of those people with a constant insatiable desire to create images. I had a really inspiring photography teacher in high school and the darkroom quickly became my favorite place in the world. It also changed the way I looked at things, seeing endless possibilities everywhere I looked. Ever since then I've been a hoarder of materials, images and textures that get worked into mixed media artworks.
What is your source of inspiration?
I constantly pick up inspiration from everyday life.
Also, my day job working in the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation's archives is a major source of inspiration. He was my first favorite artist and his influence is so obvious in my work. He was also the mastermind of photo transfers! It blows my mind sometimes when I realize that I'm getting paid to look at his incredible art all day everyday.
What have you made recently?
Here's how the photo transfer process works:
1. Start with a great image. Sometimes I take film photos and scan them into photoshop, sometimes digital photos, sometimes scanned drawings and mixed media works.
2. Use a laserjet printer to print the photo
3. Put the image face down onto a surface--paper, wood, fabric, etc.
4. Rub a solvent onto the back and burnish with a spoon until the ink from desired areas has been transferred onto its new surface.
5. Pull up the paper. Ta-da!
I love this process for it's unpredictable results, soft texture and beautifully imperfect edges. It's also a really satisfying way to work with photographs in a tactile way, especially now that I don't have access to a darkroom.
Where do you sell your crafts presently?
Etsy and craft fairs here and there. I've been in a couple of group gallery shows but for the most part I focus more on selling in the "craft" community rather than the art world because I think it's more welcoming and less self-satisfied.
Why are handmade crafts important to you?
I love knowing a product's story. It just feels so much better to buy something straight from the hands of the maker than in a big soulless chain store.
Find Me
LocationBrooklyn, NY
Email Address
Kayla Jenkins
Personal Website
http://kaylajenkins.com
Store Website
http://ClowderNine.etsy.com