Today we’d like to introduce you to Summer Hughes.
Hi Summer, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Thank you so much for this opportunity to share my journey and process for my work and my life. I have always had a diverse set of talents and skills both in my work and in my personal life. I have always been determined to try things at least once. from a young age, I have always needed discovery. In both my life and my work I seek out opportunities for many moving parts so I may be most fulfilled while expressing my creativity. this same energy is why I often find myself moving to new places and finding new skills to master: always in search of ways to make every place feel like home. Just as in life, the materials and mediums of my work change regularly but my subject matter always remains in the same realm. Introduced through drawing and painting, I quickly explored various other forms of expression as a child. I have always been a collector of things and considered all found and lost or even ‘trash’ to be useful materials in my creative expression. just as in the world and people, everything holds beauty if you’re willing to look for it.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
With such constant change both in professional and personal life, I often find myself in these lulls between creating. Times where I have in the balance of liminal space and struggle to find motivation or inspiration in my craft. This is when I work to return to my inspirations in nature and the human form. At the end of these times, when my creativity dims and my momentum slows, I always find a cathartic release once I can begin creating again. As though all the energy that settled in my reserve is sanely able to burst out in grand ingenuity. It is up to me to approach life – and work – with creativity and light.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
As an interdisciplinary artist, I thrive in finding new ways to challenge my creative abilities. Greatly influenced by my environment, my work often alters in size, materials, and usage due to my own personal, immediate capabilities, which are constantly changing. My degree is in Visual Arts with my concentration listed as interdisciplinary. I thrive when working with my hands and creating external representations of internal thoughts, struggles, turmoils, you name it. My subject matter often stems from the inspiration I am most drawn to nature and the human figure. Whether it be ceramics, paintings, sculptures, or other forms of craftwork, I am always finding myself creating new lenses to the philosophies and ideologies I study and turning them not art. I have dabbled in embroidery and other similar crafts and always find new ways to keep my hands occupied. Most of the work I sell is specific commissions. People come to me already knowing my capabilities or are inspired by the work I offer online and request their own. I create everything from logos and business designs to eccentric high-end pieces to crafty postcards and small gifts. My work is constantly growing and I will never cease to discover new ways to create. Though I find myself in a constant state of learning, I always return to the materials that best suit my expression. Painting and ceramics draw me home whenever I am lost in my artistry. Primarily working in opaque watercolors, my work gives the viewer the notion of an otherworldly experience. Where my ceramic work is rooted in the earth and finds itself rural and rustic, my illustration work is far more magical and charismatic. My subject matters, though similar, are a far cry from the same in the way they are expressed. This range of work allows me to bring my designs to a variety of clientele.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting?
My advice to anyone beginning their creative journeys to explore. Never seek perfection over exploration. You are the artist, the creator. You are the authority over your craft. Master it and own your creative decisions as well as your failures. You cannot succeed in art or really anything if you first do not attempt it all. When striving for perfection, you may easily find frustration before anything else. In these times, just remember, you’re probably just tired and need a break to return to your work with gumption again.
Contact Info:
- Email: summerhghs@gmail.com
- Website: https://summerhghs.wixsite.com/mysite
- Instagram: summrhues
- Other: https://www.flowcode.com/page/summergrace
