Q&A with Bee's Knees Studio

What is your craft all about?

I'm an artist specializing in all things cute, bright and often very silly.

What inspires you to make what you make?

I have an art-related day job, but it's generally pretty dreary, so I love to come home and paint bright, happy paintings. If they make me laugh, that's a big plus. I keep a little notebook of ideas for my tiny paintings and I love imagining what a stranger would think of it if they found it on the street: it's full of cryptic lists like "donkey eating waffle, duck with monocle, ambitious squid."

Some artists I really dig are Susie Ghahremani (boygirlparty.com), Annette Russell (nutandbee.com), and Alena Hennessy (alenahennessy.com).

What is your favorite piece/product you will have with you at the Handmade Mart?

Definitely my songbird screen-print series. These are brand spankin' new & I just love how the colors turned out: it's hard to show in a photo, but the silver ink catches the light really nicely.

Where can folks find your craft outside the Handmade Mart?

My full portfolio is online at ericavess.com and a large selection of my work is available in my Etsy shop: beeskneesstudio.etsy.com.

Find me at booth #37!