Handmade Mart: Q&A with Dreaming In Nuclear

Monday, May 11, 2009

Q&A with Dreaming In Nuclear

What is your craft all about?

Dreaming In Nuclear Crafts are all about pushing the limits of crafting. My hand painted wooden plaques feature the collision of folk art, contemporary kitsch, and images based upon the absurdity of modern mass media's coupling with the internet culture.

Dreaming In Nuclear's Jewelry line currently consists of the Dead Celebrity Head Line, and Nuclear Candy Lines. Dead Celebrity Head Jewelry was created to follow suit with the concept of the plaques. All of the celebrities are made from original ink drawings, which are copied in order to be mass produced. Nuclear Candy Jewelry features images of kitschy dolls and sculptures that I have photographed.

What inspires you to make what you make?

The inspiration to create my plaques came out of a concept I had been developing that dealt with internet culture, and the wave of what I considered to be high tech “outsider art”. I felt that there was an obvious correlation between these very modern artistic expressions, and more traditional folk art. I approached this project by attempting to use very traditional techniques, and combine them with these very modern modes of image manipulation. The folk art element of the project lead me to make the decision to execute these pieces on wooden plaques as opposed to canvas. I was also inspired by traditional Mexican folk art to add things such as glitter and rhinestones to the pieces, both items which are not generally considered to be acceptable in the painting community. I began to really enjoy the indie craft community, and eventually my love for it, and concept for the plaques gave birth to my recent adventures in Jewelry making. However, i could continue on about my inspiration for this project for an hour, so if you really want to know more you can check out my website www.dreaminginnuclear.com, or ask me at the show!