An Interview with purl3agony
A talented new Hubber gives back to the crafting community by creating helpful Hubs
How long have you been involved with artistic pursuits?
My interest in art started in high school when I began to take a lot art classes with my friends. I began to really enjoy painting and anything that allowed me to explore and play with color. I went on to major in art in college, then on to working in an art supply store for a few years after college. I started my professional life by earning a masters degree in non-profit management, which allowed me to merge my administrative skills with my love of the arts. I've continued to work at arts organizations in education programming and fundraising.
What inspired you to begin publishing art and crafting guides online?
When I started knitting, I took advantage of the vast number of free knitting patterns that were available on the internet (and I still do!). I feel that sharing my knitting patterns and other craft ideas online is my way of paying back for the help and resources I used when I was starting out. I also feel that I'm part of a wonderful craft community of sharing and support for other crafters!
Your knitting guides are particularly splendid. Where did you turn when you learned to knit? Did you make guides to improve upon the resources that you had available to you when you got started?
I've only been knitting for about five years. I started with one knitting class at a local yarn store. After that, I went to the internet for answers to any questions I had. As I said before, the internet is full of wonderful free resources for any craft pursuit (knittinghelp.com, craftgossip.com, Youtube, and Ravelry.com are some of my favorites). However, when I started to think about Hub topics, I noticed that there were some subjects that I could offer advice on that you really couldn't find mentioned in any books or other resources. I've started a "Knitting Hints" series to discuss some of these topics.
You're a relatively new Hubber- and yet you're already publishing splendid, useful Hubs. How did you get off to such a strong start?
Having a background in professional writing certainly has helped. I had some patterns and other articles already written when I signed up for HubPages. For my knitting patterns, I follow a pretty standardized format for writing my directions. For other craft projects or recipes, I concentrate on breaking things down step by step so others can follow the steps.
Your craft guides feature gorgeous original photos. What kind of camera do you shoot with? What sorts of photo-taking tips could you offer to fellow Hubbers?
Wow! Thanks! I don't think my photos are anything special, and my camera certainly isn't. I used an old Sony Cyber-shot digital camera for most of my photos, but we've recently upgraded to a Canon S100. My husband is wonderful about helping take a lot of my knitting photos. He can be very picky about the photos, but I'm grateful for his expertise. We try to make sure the photos are clear and the lighting is good. We also try to create an interesting composition, using photo editting software to crop the image if necessary.
If Hubbers are looking for guidance on photos, check out catalogs or websites focused on your subject matter. Look at the photos that attract your attention. What do you like about them? What makes the photo interesting or appealing? Then try to capture those aspects in your own photos.
What is it that drives you to share your advice online? If you could leave one message with your readers, what would it be?
As I said before, I've benefited immensely from others who freely shared their knowledge and ideas online. I feel honored to be able to pay that back by sharing my own patterns and projects. I first started posting my knitting patterns to my own blog, but got zero traffic. Zilch. A friend recommended HubPages as a way for my postings to get more traffic, and it has really paid off. The community and staff of HubPages have been really supportive and helpful. I'm always surprised by the kind comments and interest people show in my hubs. I'm thrilled with the response I've received. It certainly encourages me to keep posting Hubs!
If I were to offer any advice to other Hubbers, it would be to write about what you love and what interests you, regardless of the traffic it might attract. If you write about a subject you love, you're going to write a better hub which is bound to get the traffic it deserves!
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