Hi Everyone! I’m thrilled to share another installment of the Pine Tree Pop-up Makers Series. Through this series Elena Sarni will introduce you to amazing makers across the country.

Amy L. Frazer is a Portland, Oregon-based maker and freelance illustrator/designer. Elena connected with Amy through Instagram back in 2016 and has enjoyed learning about her background and influences. This year Elena will be including Amy's print of Ruth Bader Ginsburg in her annual giveaway to celebrate Women's History Month.

"I am blown away by Amy’s energy and ambition. She has such an incredible work ethic and 2019 is definitely going to be an eventful year for her with many new things happening, including the launch of her first fabric line through QT Fabrics."

Amy is a graduate of the Columbus College of Art and Design and has over a decade of experience designing products for corporations, including Nike. She currently works in many mediums, including illustration, design, embroidery, surface pattern design, and product design. Her portfolio is vast and diverse, with both nature and the man-made world influencing her work. Now to the interview...enjoy!

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Hi Amy! Where did you grow up and what were some of your early art influences?

I was born in and grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio. As far back as I can remember I was always interested in making things and my family supported my desire to do just that. My granny was a maker and crafter, but I don’t remember the rest of my family really being artistic when I was growing up. My mom and dad both worked a lot when I was a kid. Although now that my mom is retired, I see her being more creative. She makes things for her house, creates gifts to give away and enjoys trying new recipes.

I love seeing how people’s creativity evolves as their lives change. I spent a lot of time with two teenage sisters who lived in my neighborhood. They had a little gardening shed in their backyard that didn’t have much in it except for desks and a chalkboard. We would go in there and draw and paint and make things. I remember Paula teaching me to count to ten in French, which I thought was just the greatest thing. Once I found a painting of a rose in their garbage. I kept it for a very long time, taking it out often and looking at the brushstrokes. Why was I digging in the garbage? I have no idea! I think it was something that had spilled out and I just took it.

I think that may have been one of the first times I consciously thought about making art. For birthdays and Christmases I just wanted art supplies and received drawing, painting or calligraphy kits. I think I started thinking I might have talent when I used one of my kits to draw a Great Dane in charcoal. I remember ripping it up, thinking it wasn’t good enough. My mom was a bit mad at me for that. But I didn’t want it to be in the world if I didn’t approve of it. Ugh, that stuff starts when we are so young.

You mention crafting with your granny in the bio on your website. Tell us about that.

My granny had a huge influence on my creative life. She came to live with us after the death of my grandfather when I was 5-years-old. Together we would craft Christmas ornaments from Styrofoam balls, pipe cleaners, and beads. And I remember her making pinecone wreaths, dolls, crochet quilts, and all kinds of things.

From early on, making was just something that was ingrained in my life. After she moved in with us, we would work in our basement “studio.”(My current studio is in my basement as well!) She taught me to use a sewing machine and crochet. Leading by example, she showed me how to figure out how to make things with my hands and to utilize my creativity and brains.

I remember one time I wanted to make a leprechaun doll. So we made the outfit out of felt and glue and found an empty icing container. Since they are known for being so hard to catch I’d tell people I caught a leprechaun, then open the lid and say “oops he got away!” and show them his clothes left in the container. I laugh, looking back, thinking that this leprechaun is just running around naked. My granny passed away about fourteen years ago and I miss making things with her. I hope she knows she played a big part in nourishing my creativity.

When did you start thinking about becoming an artist?

I think my real interest in art and specifically illustration started when I was in high school. My favorite art teacher, Ben Price, had a tremendous influence on me. While his class was a lot of fun, what I value most is that he pushed me to be more serious about my art and to try different mediums such as paper collage, charcoal, and watercolor.

We drew a lot from still life and he was the first person to recognize that I could excel at illustration. I was not familiar with the term illustration, but learned quickly. It was so encouraging to have someone to guide me. I remember completely losing it one day at school when I started to think that I wasn’t good enough to get into college. Self-doubt was just oozing through me. He gave me a pep talk and I think from then on I had a clear idea of the direction my life would take. I ended up getting a half scholarship to the Columbus College of Art and Design (CCAD) and a few other schools, but in the end chose CCAD because of their illustration program.

One funny story from my high school years is that my brother was also taking art classes at the boys' school across the street from my school. His teacher and my teacher were friends and were talking about their students’ work. It turns out that my brother was taking some of the art from my portfolio and handing it in as his own assignments! Busted!

What did you do after you graduated from college?

One of my first jobs out of college was working for a candy company in Cincinnati and it was so much fun and so, so much work! I designed candy packaging, including paper and wood boxes, sequin and beaded boxes, stuffed animals, ceramics, glass, you name it. Anything you could put candy in or on and present it as a gift. But more than just designing and illustrating products, I learned about business. I traveled a lot to factories in China, the Philippines, Taiwan, and other locations. I went to trade shows to exhibit for the company, presented to clients with our sales team, and basically got the second part of my education — the business side of it.

In 2001 I moved to NYC to work for Old Navy designing children’s accessories. I worked there until 2004 when I moved to Portland, OR to work for Nike. At Nike I designed mostly accessories and performance socks for sports like football, basketball and baseball, as well some designs for kids and women, too. I started to take on a lot of extra projects with the footwear and apparel teams in order to push myself and gain more skills.

I worked at Nike for eleven years and after that I was just really over working for large corporations. It was a lot of fun while it lasted, but for many years I felt undervalued. I started dreaming about working for myself and making art for myself and my own clients. I left Nike at the end of 2015.

What was it like starting your own company?

I traveled a bit and then settled down to start my own company. I worked on rebuilding my sense of self and renewed my interest in illustration. I also started taking online classes with Make Art That Sells to rebuild my portfolio.

In 2016, I exhibited at my first trade show, Surtex, and got more into licensing my artwork and selling it to companies so they could put it on their products. I took on a few freelance jobs as well, but it was slow going. Toward the end of 2016 I decided I needed to get a full-time job so I worked at a small company just outside of Portland designing fake plants for a year. I traveled to China, Vietnam, and Thailand a lot and worked with the factories there. In the end I decided I just couldn't do it anymore because I felt like my soul was being sucked out of my body.

Simultaneously I had continued working to gain new illustration and design clients. I would do work for freelance clients before my actual workday started and then come home after a full day at my day job and work on freelance projects again. Finally, in October 2017 I left and have been freelancing full-time ever since.

What has freelancing been like?

When I went full-time freelance it was scary, but also a relief. It was scary because I had to do it all on my own. I had to find my own clients, take care of the financials, and make sure that I had insurance and my retirement savings in place. Going from a guaranteed paycheck every other week to a more inconsistent income stream has definitely been an adjustment. Freelancing involves a lot of reaching out to potential clients and following up with current clients. But it’s a relief because now I can live the life I’ve always wanted. It’s not always easy, but I love it.

I often think about all of the years I spent working full-time for companies and wish that I had taken the leap to freelance sooner. I feel like I’ve lost many years that I could have been working on my children’s book illustrations or my own product ideas. But back then I just felt like I needed the security of a full-time job so that’s what I did. I gave so much of my life and creativity to those companies. I’m thankful though, that I have that foundation of working with companies and was able to build my skills during that time. I think it has helped me be a better freelancer and it was all part of my journey as an artist.

Any advice for people thinking about leaving their 9-5 jobs to start their own business?

My suggestion to anyone looking to become a full-time freelancer is to start working on it while you are employed by someone else. I took on as much work as I could before leaving my full-time job. It was painful at times --- staying up late, getting up early - but I knew that I had to do that to put myself in a good starting position. Save up as much money as you can before you leave that day job too and really keep an eye on your budget so you know where your money is coming from and where it is going.

Amy Frazer QT fabric collection/Trailblazer design

What is your current day-to-day like?

I’ve worked for companies for so long that it’s just my habit to start working early in the morning. I take the dogs out first, feed them, shower, and have breakfast with my boyfriend Matthew. Then I commute to my basement studio, accompanied by my puppy Josephine. Depending on what projects I have going on I will either get started on a client project, do admin work , or work on an embroidery, illustration, or pattern design. I take a break for lunch, let the dogs out, more coffee and then back to the studio. I may have meetings or meet-ups with my art friends some days, too.

Lately I’ve been struggling to find a stopping point to my day so Matthew just bought me the book, How to Not Always Be Working by Marlee Grace.

How to Not Always Be Working: A Toolkit for Creativity and Radical Self-Care

By Grace, Marlee

I’m hoping to create some boundaries to my work-life and create more meaningful rituals and routines --- like fitting exercise into my day. Currently my clients consist of companies that need event graphics for stage or graphics for products like stickers, t-shirts, bandanas. I also have real estate clients needing maps, magazines needing illustrations, and other companies licensing my artwork. I also have a new fabric collection coming out this month with QT Fabrics.

As a freelancer do you feel it is important to build a community with other artists?

One of the best things that has come out of some online classes I’ve taken is the local group of women artists that I’ve been fortunate to meet. At one point I realized there was a group of us in an online class from Portland so I started a local meet-up group here. We‘ve been meeting most months for a little over two years now. We share ideas about our businesses, celebrate each other’s successes, and give advice to each other. I also have a few other larger meet-ups that I attend when I can, such as the Freelancers Union and Creative Mornings.

It’s vital, especially if you work at home, to get out and meet other artists and potential clients. You never know whom you will encounter at these meet-ups or at art show openings. It’s a balance between getting my work done and staying connected. I mostly stay connected to artists I admire through Instagram. It’s always fun when you can meet them in real life, too! But Instagram and Facebook can be like going down a rabbit hole and a half hour later you come up for air. So I’m trying to be more mindful of the time I spend on social media and focus more on my work. I sometimes use Planoly to schedule my posts on IG so I don’t get sucked in. I love Pinterest too for discovering and connecting with artists whose work I love.

You work in so many mediums. Can you expand on how you came to work in so many mediums and your process?

I think just being interested in learning and constantly trying new things has led me to explore different mediums. I enjoy learning about knitting and weaving and illustration and so many other things, but my goal in 2019 is to focus on just a few to keep my business running. I’m not looking to learn new mediums per se, but just to become more skilled at the ones in which I currently work.

My go-to recently has been gouache. I love that it can be used like watercolor or applied so it is flat. I use Acryla Gouache and regular gouache and mix them sometimes. I first used this medium in my color class at CCAD, but forgot about it for many years until I took it up again a couple of years ago. It seems to have become more popular with illustrators lately. Then, quite often, I will take my paintings into Photoshop and edit them to create the illustrations.

My other go-to is an ink brush from Kuretake. It has cartridge refills, which is great. But I prefer the process of traditional media on paper. I do use my iPad with Procreate, but honestly it’s not my first choice. I know people say it cuts down the time they spend illustrating, and they can get the same look as traditional media (or close to it), but I don’t find that to be the case. It’s just another tool in my toolbox and I definitely use it for sketching or layouts, but seldom will use it for final finished artwork. I started taking photos and embroidering over them with my sewing machine and from there progressed to having my photos printed on fabric through Spoonflower.

Kuretake Zig Inktober Special Set, Illustration Basic Set 2, 4 Black Markers and 1 White Brush Pen, for Manga Drawing, Lettering and Calligraphy, Professional Artist Quality, Made in Japan

Occasionally I use other transfer methods, as well. When I started embroidering with my sewing machine I asked my friend Fuchsia how I could sew straight lines and she told me to practice on lined paper, which is how I got the idea to embroider on photos and then my paintings. (I’m working on a new abstract series of embroidered paintings!) Sometimes I will plan out my embroideries using Procreate. I bring in my photo reference and then I plan out the stitches on different layers. So that is very useful and helps save me some time. For me almost everything goes back to drawing, though. Even when I start designing something in Photoshop or Illustrator, I have to stop and go back to pen and paper.

You teach a lot of classes/workshops. Can you tell us about the classes you teach and what it is about teaching that you enjoy?

I have been teaching workshops lately that focus on embroidery. I love teaching workshops where I have someone who has never embroidered before and I get to teach them their first stitch. I also love the communal aspect of teaching classes. A lot of times students learn from each other, as well as from me.

One of my favorite classes to teach has been Hike ‘n Stitch (TM). I partnered with Friends of the Gorge and we take participants on a hike in the Columbia River Gorge, followed by an embroidery lesson, and a project inspired by that hike. I have two more hikes planned for this summer, as well as a workshop during Design Week Portland called “Express Yourself”. For that workshop we’ll explore embroidery and mending creatively.

Students in my classes have such a broad range of backgrounds and ages. My classes are open to anyone really! But not everyone can afford a workshop that costs $35-$75. I want art and craft to be accessible to everyone, not just the privileged who can afford to pay. That's why I offer student discounts for my workshops and often give away a spot or two to someone who might not be able to afford it.

You mention both nature and man-made things as being inspiration. Can you explain this dichotomy?

From the time I was little, I was always out in nature --- camping, hiking, or just playing in our yard until dark. So I find it comforting to be in nature...being in the forest or at the beach. It just calms me down. I’ve been reading more about the idea of Shinrin-yoku, or “forest bathing” and it has been called the green cure. The Japanese call it the “medicine of the forest” and there is real science behind it. I’m learning about how the negative ions and phytoncides can help reduce your stress levels and blood pressure, strengthen your immune and cardiovascular systems, boost your energy, mood, creativity, and concentration. I think this a popular concept right now, but I’ve been benefitting from this before I even knew what it was. So naturally I like to bring nature into my work when I can from stitching it to painting and drawing. And green is my favorite color palette.

My time spent in nature inspired a series I started embroidering called #lookup and #lookdown. But, having lived in New York City and Portland, Oregon now, I’m also inspired by the day-to-day, man-made things in life such as bridges, concrete, and buildings. I am fascinated by the architecture of the cities and neighborhoods in which we live. I’m a runner, so whenever I travel I try to take a run in the city I’m visiting --- Chicago, Shanghai, Madison, Indiana, Tallahassee, San Francisco, Tel Aviv. I often carry my phone to take pictures for inspiration. I embroidered a piece awhile ago as part of the #lookdown series that was a photo of concrete printed onto cotton fabric. I covered every millimeter of half of the image with stitches to recreate the color and texture of the concrete and spray paint markings applied by city workers.

I love your Ruth Bader Ginsburg print. Can you tell us how it came to be?

I had been wanting to draw and paint more people and faces in the spring of 2018 and came upon a great Skillshare class by Andrea Pippins called Illustration in Action: Creating Stylized Portraits. I used that class as a catalyst to create my Ruth Bader Ginsburg image. I think she is such a force to be reckoned with, her fight for gender equality and her tireless work ethic are inspirations to me. Plus, I really wanted to paint one of her collars!

The portrait/ body/collar and background were painted with Acryla Gouache and regular gouache and then scanned into Photoshop. I hand lettered everything, scanned that in and then colored it digitally in Photoshop. The final composition was done in Photoshop and is layered. I did a little planning of it in Procreate, but none of the final piece was done in Procreate. I have a nice Wacom tablet that I use because I can draw directly on the screen.

Where do you see your career path leading you? Do you have any specific goals?

My word for 2019 is “focus.” I’m trying to rein in all of the things I am doing and concentrate on just three or four which are: illustration/licensing, teaching, selling my own products, and becoming a published illustrator. I’d like to continue to license my art to companies and receive those royalty payments, but licensing is a long game and you often don’t see the rewards immediately.

I have some pretty exciting things lined up this year. As I mentioned, my first fabric line is launching with QT Fabrics this month! And I’m exhibiting at the Blueprint Art and Licensing Show in May (NYC) and October (SF). In addition to that, I’m working on attracting more editorial and illustration clients such as magazines and newspapers. And I’ve been teaching more workshops locally and hope to expand my teaching to include places that I would like to travel, like Mexico.

I’d also like to be able to give back to communities that lack the resources to help kids learn a craft or learn to use art for healing and focusing. Embroidery can be so meditative and calming. I’d really love to start offering workshops to kids that don’t have access to art, craft, and nature. As a part of that teaching piece, I’m producing my first Skillshare class and hope to have that published this month.

Finally, the third piece of my income I’m focusing on is selling my own products and expanding that collection of stationery, kits, and textiles. I’ve applied to sell at a local farmer’s market this summer and am considering exhibiting at the National Stationery Show next February to help grow the wholesale piece of my product business.

I’m also working on two book proposals and hope to attract a craft or children’s book deal this year. This sounds like a lot, and it is, but I’m pretty structured in the way I’m approaching it all. A lot of the pieces build-on and feed each other and help to diversify my income streams.

In the meantime, I still work on client projects that come my way to help pay the bills so I can grow my business so that it is more sustainable. I want my art to fuel and support my future. And of course I love to travel for fun and inspiration with Matthew. I definitely want to do more of that in the coming year, whether it’s camping at the beach, a hike up Mt. St. Helens, in the gorge, or a trip home to visit my family. I love that what I do, I can do almost anywhere, but am learning it’s important to take time away from my job and just relax and have fun!

Want to see more of Amy’s work?

About the author: Elena M. Sarni

Elena M. Sarni has a BA in English and an MA in History and Museum Studies from the University of New Hampshire. She worked as a curator at art museums and held fellowships to study folk art collections early in her career. Upon moving to Maine she worked as a freelance art reviewer for several years, managed a local arts association, and took positions at a few small museums.

She organized her first fine art and craft pop-up shop in 2015 and is currently planning her sixth show, which will open this November. She branded the business as Pine Tree Pop-Up in 2016, naming it for Maine's state tree.

She takes pride in supporting local artists and promoting the creative economy.

Want to know more about Elena? Read this post she wrote

'Behind the Scenes of a Pop-up shop with Elena M. Sarni'.

Freelance Illustration with Amy L. Frazer