Tell us a bit about yourself.My name is Neely McCormick. I was born in Albuquerque, NM but grew up all over the US. I currently live in Montebello, NY in Rockland Co. My Etsy shop is NellsBelles.
What is your professional background?I was trained to dance professionally and began acting training at the age of 4. I moved to NYC when I was 17 to apprentice with a well known ballet company. I spent the next 25 years working in multiple capacities in the theatre world, acting, directing, writing and choreographing. Shortly after starting my own theatre company in NYC I got married and had a child. I left my career in theatre.
What led you to your current craft? I have always had “busy hands” and crafting and making things have been a part of my life since I was a child. When my son was about 4, I realized I had to do something beside being “Dakota’s mom”. I had read a book about early Pique Assiette (broken pieces mosaic) and it’s folk and outsider roots. The whole concept stuck a nerve in me and I set up a small studio in my laudry room and began teaching myself.
How do you feed your creativity and deal with a creative block? I am a magazine junkie! I love to look at pictures, see what ideas are floating around and see what colors call for me. I look at books and love to go to museums. Architechture inspires my eye for line.
I worked as an assistant to a very promenant screenwriter and he taught me to not let the internal “editor” to participate in the creative process. He said that editing is the role of another part of Self and must wait its turn until the creator is finished. Editing is a secondary process. So when I feel myself hesitate I commit to “making a mess” – good, bad, indifferent and jump in. It’s all about flow.
Describe your workspace.My work space has two areas. I call them my wet room and dry room. The wet room is dedicated to mosaics, concrete sculpting and paint. My dry room is for jewelry, fabric and trimming. The dry room is carpeted and painted with aqua and grey wide stripes. It is messy but whimsical. My wet studio is an unfinished basement space with metal shelves stacked with plates and boxed of broken bits, etc. I work on a large round dining table that I picked up on the street and loaded into my pickup truck.
When is your favorite time of day to create?I am a morning worker. I grew to like that time when I was writing and getting up at 4am to work. That’s way too early now but I take coffee downstairs with me and work until my son get’s home around 3pm.
How did you end up on Etsy?I saw an article in the local paper (The Journal News) about a woman that was supporting herself and family with her t-shirt business on Etsy. I held onto the article for about 5 years, anable to get involved because I had such limited computer skills. When I finally decided to tackle the computer, it opened the door for me to create my Etsy shop.
Other than your supplies, if you were stranded on a desert island, what would you like to have with you?Music. I would have to have music on a deserted island.
Any guilty pleasures?Chocolate, low-brow comedy (Jackass, Will Farrell, etc.), Ikea
Words of wisdom for aspiring artist?Follow your bliss. Do what you feel, not what you are told.
Loved reading about you neely! Great interview!
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