Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kathleen Krucoff. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Kathleen with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?
My parents. They worked hard and led by example. As a child, I was an observer. If actions didn’t match words, I noticed. With my parents, it was clear that giving everything you have was important. Both told me to always do my best. If I fell short of the mark, it was okay because they knew how hard I tried and were proud of my efforts, regardless of the results.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
For the longest time, it was difficult for me to say “I’m an artist”. In my mind I thought the ‘art police’ would come along and thump me on the head, telling me I wasn’t an artist. That all changed with I took a drawing class in the early 2000’s taught by Deb Steddom. She helped me to grow and convinced me that I was an artist. We became and remain friends to this day. I’m grateful for her encouragement.
At this point in my life, I love to explore creative outlets. While my primary focus is designing and making jewelry, I like to have fun with other mediums like glass, fabrics, and paint to help generate ideas. I find it so helpful to just play and see what imagery develops. Recently, I’ve returned to working with glass, making little stained glass ornaments for friends and family. That type of exploration gives me a chance to relax, which tends to allow new ideas to flow. I love that.
I’m anticipating a new direction in my work, although it’s been a bit of a slow start, but I think that’s okay because when it takes off, it will be worth it. I’ve started to explore the ancient art of lost wax casting with a unique wax call Mitsuro Hikime. For those who aren’t familiar with the technique, you create your jewelry designs in wax, place the wax models in a ‘plaster’ that hardens around the wax, the wax is burned off and molten metal is poured into the design void. I find it fascinating.
When you work with the Mitsuro wax, it creates these very organic textures. Quite beautiful. I’ve only done a couple of castings with it, but I think it will be the new path I will follow as I move forward in my metalsmithing journey. As the cost of the precious metals market continues to be quite volatile, I am also planing on working with bronze and casting it. Bronze is a lovely material and the castings I’ve seen have a beautifully rich look to them. I’m very excited about this prospect and direction for my work.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
One of the important keys for me is I have a thirst for knowledge. I love learning. I think that need to understand and learn new things is one of my personality traits that has helped me to become the artist/person I am today.
As strange as this may sound, another aspect of my life that has helped me tremendously is learning how to sew. My mother insisted that I learn it and during the summer after 8th grade, I made my first garment under the careful instruction of an experienced seamstress in my home town. Anyone who has sewn knows that you must follow the assembly of pieces correctly or you’ll be ripping seams. Understanding the correct fabrication sequence applies to so many things, making an article of clothing, following a recipe, building software, and fabricating metal.
Another important part of my personality is staying curious. Asking “What if” and see where that takes you.
My advice to those who are early in their journey is to avoid being stuck in comfortable ruts. If you remain stagnant, you’ll stop growing and I think that is the kiss of death. Strive to learn new things, try something different, always be on the lookout for ways to improve and grow. Step outside of your comfort zone.
What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?
When I feel overwhelmed, I take a step back and think about the question “How do you eat an elephant?”. The answer is “One bite at a time”. It helps me to gain perspective. Whatever feels overwhelming, it can be broken down into pieces or tasks that I can start doing one thing at a time. That really helps.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.kathleenkrucoff.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kathleen.krucoff.jewelry/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KathleenKrucoffArtJewelry
Image Credits
Daniel Krucoff
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