Maker post series #2: Jessica Hans

MR KITLY is so very pleased to introduce the second of the maker post series.

This series aims to introduce some of the artists
who have provided work for MR KITLY

via a little q & a and a collection of images curated by the maker.

maker post series #2: jessica hans

(picture 1) sampler tapestry, hemp warp, wool weft, 19" x 34" (on floor, in MR KITLY shop)

(picture 1) handwoven tapestry, cotton warp, wool weft, 20" x 38" (in basket, in MR KITLY shop)

(picture 2) ceramic work

(picture 3) PARIS UND WALD, zine, 32 pages, b/w digitally printed, silk screened cover, edition of 200

(picture 4) FELSGARTEN, zine, 20 pages, b/w digitally printed, hand sewn, edition of 100

Jessica's woven textile work and zines are available at MR KITLY.

Scroll on for the q & a and jessica's curated images.

maker post series #2: jessica hans

What do you make?

I make a large variety of things, usually functional and for the home.

I am a sort of jack-of-all-trades.
I'm a very dedicated weaver,

I mostly use a 24" Baby Macomber floor loom.
I do a lot of work in ceramics.

While I most enjoy making weird hand built vessels,

I have been spending a lot of time throwing (totally off-center) on the pottery wheel.

I also enjoy making little books of photographs that I take.

Where do you make them?

I do mostly everything out of my home in Baltimore, MD.

I have my loom set up here as well as all of my yarn and dyeing supplies.

The material that I dye with I usually get from the

woods right outside of the city or from up in Pennsylvania.

I use the facilities at a local art college here in Baltimore to make my ceramics.

Sometimes I trade rugs for time in my neighbor Nick Gottlund's (http://www.gottlundverlag.com)

book binding studio when I am working on books.

How long have you been making them?

I have been weaving for three years. Ceramics is something very new to me;

I have only been working with clay since this summer.

Please choose 3 interweb links that you most enjoy to click on.

http://moondunes.tumblr.com

http://www.ubuweb.com

http://bigheadstevenson.blogspot.com/

What were you doing this morning at 11?

Baking a sour cream coffee cake, doing laundry, weaving.

I am a bit of a multi-tasker.

How did you first start working/creating in your field?

My grandmother taught me to crochet when I was seven years old.

I grew up in the country in South Carolina where there many

acres and acres of cotton growing everywhere.

Working with fibers has always been something innate.

The repetitive nature of the medium is really cathartic I think.

where do you see beauty in the everyday?

I like the mountains a lot. I also like the ocean very much too.

I enjoy things that much bigger than I am, in every sense... I travel frequently.

what book do you find yourself returning to often?

I have three books on natural dyeing and herbology.

I use them as a resource but also always as a constant source of inspiration.

They were all published between the 1920's and 1950's.

what is your favourite space in your home or studio?

My favorite place is not actually in either my home or studio

but in the garden I have a couple of blocks from my house.

It was my favorite place to be over the summer.

I put so much labor into our little farm and the harvests were all so rewarding.

could you describe one object that you treasure?

I have a collection of fossils and geodes that a good friend gave me a couple years back.

They're all very small but he collected them himself

from the shores off the coast of London when he was very young.

who inspires you?

My friends inspire me. Everyday.

I love watching people grow into their selves.

I enjoy watching the decisions my friends make, creative and otherwise,

that mold them into who they are. It is such a special thing to be a

part of their lives and be witness to the incredible people they are becoming.

how would you describe your hometown to someone from overseas?

Have you seen The Wire? I think it's a pretty accurate depiction of Baltimore.

It's a small city, below what we call "The Bible Belt",

meaning that it's still very rich in its southern heritage.

It's small but it's very tight-knit. The creative scene is
unlike anywhere else I know, it has such a funny personality.
And the music scene here blows my mind all the time.
I think people here are completely full of genius or otherwise completely insane.
I love them.

what do you think of when you think of Melbourne, Australia?

I don't know if one thing strikes me when I think of Melbourne.
When I think of Australia, though, I think of the Nic Roeg movie Walkabout
and I want to image that that is all of Australia.
I also think of marsupials, obviously.

Please choose 5 pictures or images that tell a small part of your life or inspiration.

thanks Jessica!