Interview with the artist - Gail from Stormy Designs

Today we will meet Gail who is the face behind Stormy Designs, a shop with lots of color as you will see soon.

Tell us a little about who you are and where you come from.

I'm a widow and I have 3 beautiful daughters who have blessed me with 10 wonderful grandchildren. I come from an artistic family. My father was a professional photographer who loved to paint and draw, and my mother hand colored the portraits for the studio with oil paint or colored pencil, back before color film was invented. She was always sewing or crocheting something. I guess I inherited their artistic abilities to some extent.

Triple fishtail bracelet

Have you always been creative?

I have always drawn, painted or made things with my hands even as a small child. I remember my father teaching me how to color properly and to shade with the crayon so that my coloring looked more dimensional. I've done wood work, cutting out different animals and such and painting them and years ago had a successful business of it in northern VA. I've worked with beading since I was a child, wire wrapping in my later years. About 8 years ago I started working with polymer clay and loved sculpting with it. I made my own beads and wire wrapped earrings, bracelets and necklaces and made ornaments and such for a couple years. The polymer clay items that are currently in my shop are the remains of my claying period. A few years ago I moved into a smaller living space and gave up crafting for a few years.

Ladybug leaves clay choker

What or who inspired you to do what you do now?

Last year my granddaughter Bella made me a rainbow loom bracelet and I was intrigued. I searched online, found the loom and bands, bought them and have been creating ever since.

Bird of Paradise bracelet

Where does your inspiration come from?

Color and nature inspire me. I love working with different colors, seeing which ones compliment each other.

Do you do other crafts, if yes, what?

I love creating web graphics. I use Paint Shop Pro to create with and have used it for many years. I make my own tiled backgrounds and banners for my blog http://stormysdesigns.blogspot.com/ and my own banners and buttons for my shops.

Does your crafting leave you time for other hobbies, too?

Yes, I love to read, have been a bookworm all of my life. I read books mostly on my phone now, it's easier than lugging a huge novel around and my phone is always with me.

Polymer clay fall leaf earrings

Is there something you would really like to try doing, anything from a new craft to bungee jumping?

LOL it wouldn't be bungee jumping because I have a terrible fear of heights and falling. I would love to try learning to crochet, it's pretty similar to working on the rainbow loom.

Which one of your pieces is your absolute favorite?

That's really hard to choose an absolute favorite. I love all of my creations, but if I really had to choose it would have to be my Black, Metallic Purple & Metallic Gold Cincofish bracelet.

Cincofish bracelet

I love those colors together, and the bracelet pattern, Cincofish, is one that I created myself.

Which one was the hardest to make and why?

That would have to be my Coral bracelet, it took hours and hours just to twist all of those "coral" bands.

Coral bracelet

If you had free choice of a supply you need for your craft, no matter how expensive, what would you pick?

An unlimited supply of bands in all of the colors available.

Do you sell online, if yes, where can we find you?

I sell online at Zibbet and at Handmade Artists.

Is there anything else you want to tell us?

I love custom orders! If you see something in my shop that you'd like in a different color or size, just let me know. I'd be glad to make something just for you.

Thank you for your time, Gail. I am sure you'll want to get to back to your loom now to make more lovely and colorful designs for us all to see!