Today we’d like to introduce you to Tammy Smith.
Hi Tammy, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
I always say I got my education on the job at Hallmark Cards. I always drew as a child but was self-taught. I was fortunate to get to show my portfolio at Hallmark and was hired as a technical artist and trained from there to paint in several mediums and on the Mac computers when they were first introduced.
I’ve been a full-time artist-entrepreneur since 2012 when my corporate art job ended. Since then, I’ve worked in the mediums of ceramics, wire, and clay mixed media, digital design, and illustration. I’ve been to many art fairs around the country and locally in KC, like the Plaza Art Fair and Strawberry Swing.
Now I have a studio in the River Market that I share with 3 other artists and writers where I go almost every day to work on ceramics for a business I call Small Ideas Studio. Some of those pieces can be found in my Etsy shop or at Kemper Museum of Art gift shop and Du_et. At home, I have another creative business under the name of Tammy Smith Design where I illustrate and print cities, states, countries, and landmarks on products like tea towels, mugs, and totes.
I print them myself on a DTG (or direct-to-garment) printer at my house. Those products can be found via my Etsy shop, website, or at Made In KC, Shatto Milk, and Rally House.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I’ve had times where I’ve had to hold down more than one job to make the art thing work.
I’ve been freelance in some aspect since I was 18 when I owned my own stained glass business. I would create and install large glass projects in restaurants and new homes. I was also a waitress to help make ends meet. It was a job I could depend on and take time off from if I needed to for my artwork.
Also, showing my work in large outdoor art fairs was not always easy with the expense of travel and being dependent on the weather. I usually had large breakable pieces so that made it tougher.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I guess you could say I “specialize” in drawing maps.
That’s where the bulk of my sales come from definitely. My signature look is a limited (usually three) color palette that has a distinctly retro vibe to it. It’s my favorite style-the mid-mod or midcentury modern style of illustration and home decor. I’m most proud of the one-off pieces that I make: The pieces that are each one-of-a-kind.
Many of my ceramic pieces are like this, although I have just started a collection called the Night Owl collection of retro-looking plates and platters that have owls on them holding cocktails. Each of these is original and unique but all the pieces hang together in color and style.
Any big plans?
I am looking forward to building my body of ceramic work and showing it at our studio open house on April 23.
Also, I’d like to possibly show it at a gallery sometime in the future. In my other business, I am looking forward to completing more states in my state map collection-right now I have 26 done so 24 more to go!
Other than that, I am looking forward to this June when the ICON illustration conference comes to Kansas City. I hope to take part in their roadshow where you show and sell your work to visiting designers and other art professionals.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: https://www.Etsy.com/shop/TammySmithDesign
- Instagram: https://www.Instagram.com/tammysmithdesign
- Facebook: https://www.facebook..com/tammysmithdesign
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/smallideasstudio
