Tell us about yourself.My name is Kim Ripley (formerly Sobanski) and I am a 26 year-old female from Mount Clemens, MI.
I have always had an interest in art. I graduated from Wayne State University in Dec. 05 with a BFA in photography. Since then I have moved onto other things and began exploring collage work and resin jewelry-making. I am very passionate about photography and I love shooting colorful things with my Holga camera or one of my many Polaroids.
I am also a collector of vintage and kitsch. I love hunting out unusual items that will bring interest to my home or my wardrobe!
What are your favorite materials and what types of things do you create with them?
Right now my main interest is resin jewelry. I am fascinated with the medium. I love embedding little things inside resin. I also began making photo pendants with my original artwork and photography.
The main theme of my current work is candy. I have been embedding all sorts of sweets and treats inside the resin- rainbow cupcake sprinkles, Nerds candy, and anything else that is sugary and bursting with color! When I am creating this type of work it really takes me back to my childhood. I think I was born with a sweet-tooth!
What first made you want to become an artist?
Nothing in this world brings me more joy than art. I love surrounding myself with it.
Ever since I could hold a crayon in my hand I have been creating art. I'm not quite sure where this strong interest came from since neither of my parents are artists. My mother was always very supportive of me and my work and I think that has had a major impact on my life.
I think the greatest thing about being an artist is knowing that my work is hanging on the walls of people's homes and around people's necks all over the world! I have sent my work out to so many different countries and I think it is just amazing to know that I am "out there" and all over the place.
Where does the inspiration for your work come from?
My work is very colorful, funky, and fun! I love color and I like my work to be oozing with it! I try to provoke feelings of happiness with my art. Often, my work can be inspired by something as simple as a single color and the work evolves out of that.
Right now a good word to describe my work would be "sweet". I've become quite the sprinkle-whore lately with my resin obsession!! Candy has been a major inspiration in my current line of resin jewelry. I want people to feel happy when they are wearing my jewelry. My goal is to create something sensational and so sweet it hurts!!
How do you promote your work?
I have had a lot of success with promotion using the Flickr site. I am active in a lot of groups there and have several contacts on Flickr. I think the site is wonderful because the audience is so vast. When sharing your work with Flickr you are sharing your images with the world.
I am also very active on the Etsy forums. Because I am a fulltime artist and work from home I am capable of spending a lot of time in the forums... sometimes way too much time! lol!
Where can your work be found?
www.stoopidgerl.etsy.comwww.myspace.com/stoopidgerlwww.flickr.com/photos/stoopidgerl www.trunkt.org/stoopidgerl
What do you like best about the DIY scene?
The greatest thing about the DIY scene is the support from other artists. Etsy is a fabulous community with so much talent and the people there are so amazing and friendly.
I love buying and selling handmade. I think that handmade items have a lot more character than mass-produced store-bought items. I also love knowing that a lot of love and care went into the handmade item.
In 10 years what would you like to be doing?
Sipping free drinks in Vegas and pulling the lever of a slot-machine 24/7!
My dream for the last few years has been to relocate to Las Vegas. I visit there once a year every summer. I find the atmosphere out there to be very inspiring and I love cities that have a pulse.