Featured Artist - Lottie's Trinkets

This week's featured artist is Lise Spence-Parsons. She's the owner and designer of Lottie's Trinkets.

Lise is a Brit ex-pat living in the Minneapolis suburbs since spring 2002. She decided that she no longer wanted to work formally, but wanted to “chase the dream” and follow in her paternal family’s artistic direction, so she drew a deep breath and in late 2004 started her business, Lottie’s Trinkets, with a real time launch on Jan 1st 2005. This is her 5th year of trading and so far has been the most demanding yet also rewarding in the people she's met and the opportunities that she's been presented with recently.

What are your sources of inspiration?

My inspiration and ideas come from many places and usually from the weirdest situations. I read a lot and in particular have a fascination for Tudor/Elizabethan history, some might call it an obsession, I call it fascination! The colors and the fabrics and display of opulence in the Tudor court was something to behold and a lot of my designs try to capture that richness and depth of color. Also, sometimes I find myself staring at women’s necks to see what is “in” and also look through the mountain of women’s clothing magazines that arrive daily, looking for color trends and shape and size and length.

Where and when did you learn your craft? Who taught you?

I am basically a self-taught jewelry designer, I mix mediums and will try out whatever I think might work. I like to think that I have an eye for color and shape and try to put that to good use. I can spend days mulling a design over, lay it out and walk away, keep looking back and then tinkering some more until it looks right and balanced.

Aside from your craft, what else do you enjoy doing?

Besides jewelry design, I like reading, cooking (another way to experiment), gardening and shopping! I also enjoy a good movie and a glass or two of wine!

What piece of advise can you give to other artists?

My advice to others is, never be afraid to express yourself and your ideas, don’t give up, however hard it seems some days you have to keep going, just think how dull the world would be without the expression of color and shape in all it’s art forms.

Lise, that's a great piece of advice. Good luck and more power to Lottie's Trinkets!