Friday Feature -- Studio M.M.E.

This week's featured Etsy artist is Studio M.M.E. I love her "modern take on classical illustration" -- her work has a unique look, and I find that her images really stay with me. Especially this one, which she calls Fear's Uncloaking. I find it very striking in composition:



I also love that she offers so many of her images in the form of note cards. It's a great way to sample her work!


Enjoy the interview!

1. Please tell us about the items in your Etsy shop. What do you make? How did you learn your craft? What is involved in your creative process?

Right now my shop is bursting with fine art archival prints of my pen and ink drawings and photographs taken with a 60-year-old Kodak Duaflex II I found in my grandmother's closet. My father used to paint in his free-time so I would bet I received my gift from him. I taught myself pen and ink techniques on day while looking through an art book. For some reason, it just clicked with me. Each illustration takes around 30 hours to complete but I love every minute of it.

2. How did you get involved with Etsy?

I started a blog in January and a few of the artists I was following had shops on Etsy. I checked it out and was instantly hooked.

3. To which Etsy Teams do you belong (if any)?

Currently I don't belong to any teams. That's not to say I haven't looked, but being a full-time student with a part-time job and my business doesn't leave me much time to be an active member of a team.

4. What inspires your creations?

When I was little my father would read the Grimms' fairy tales and Gorey's alphabets to me before I went to bed. I know that had a large influence on me. I'm also extremely interested in the psychology and symbolism in fairy tales and how they have shaped our culture. My boyfriend is also a huge inspiration now because his imagination is even wittier than mine.

5. What is your favorite item in your shop (currently for sale or previously sold)? Why is it your favorite?


For me, my favorite item in my shop is the 'Time Traveling Tourists' print. Others probably don't like it as much as I do, but it's a personal portrait of myself and my boyfriend. There are so many things hidden in it: Hokusai prints on the walls, a map of Sicily on the table (which is where we might have met had we not been a month off in our travels), and our vintage cameras.

6. Tell us two (or more) other interesting things about you.

I received a national pen and ink award last year from a jury of MoMA curators. I'm also blind in one eye due to a birth defect. It has always amazed my parents and teachers that I can draw as well as I can. Just don't make me draw in perspective! Haha.

7. Where else can we find out more about you and/or your creations?

You can find me a lot of places online.

Blog: http://studiomme.blogspot.com

Website/Online Portfolio: http://www.studiomme.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/studiomme

Twitter: http://twitter.com/studiomme