On today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we’re talking about building a life and career as an artist with my guest Courtney Cerruti.
Courtney is an artist, collaborator and Editor-In-Chief at Creativebug, an online arts and crafts education site. She’s authored 5 books, one of which was released earlier this year and is called Make Art Where You Are and her new one, One Color a Day releases in September. She’s a new mom but still attempts to do something creative everyday and can be found on instagram as @ccerruti
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We begin this conversation by talking about Courtney’s family life growing up and what her parents did for work. Courtney talks about her mother’s job at a family-owned party supply store and the creativity she was able to put to work in that job, making displays. Next, we talk about Courtney’s jobs after college and how each experience helped her to grow her skills at teaching, presenting, creating displays, and learning that she was truly capable of making anything. (In her role at Creativebug, Courtney makes a custom set for each instructor.)
Courtney talks about the day that she was recruited to come to work at Creativebug when the company was just getting off the ground. She explains her evolving role there as Creativebug has grown, coming under new ownership multiple times, and was eventually sold to JOANN. We talk about what it has been like being part of JOANN and what Courtney’s role as Editor-in-Chief really means.
In addition to her work at Creativebug, Courtney is an artist and maker in her own right. She talks about designing fabric for Anna Maria Horner’s Conservatory with Free Spirit and how that collaboration came about. Courtney has also written several books, including two new books with Abrams. We talk about each of these and what inspired them and what she hopes they will achieve.
A spread from Courtney’s book, Make Art Where You Are, recently published by Abrams.
Flower Market by Courtney Cerruti for Free Spirit. Image courtesy of Hawthorne Supply Company.
In this interview, we reference:
- Kate Woodrow of Present Perfect who is Courtney’s literary agent
- Octavia Butler’s Parable of a Sower
And, of course, I ask Courtney to recommend great stuff she’s enjoying right now. Courtney recommends:
- Algorithms of Oppression by Safiya Umoja Noble and Mudlark by Lara Maiklem
- Watching is reruns of the Great British Bake Off and (In)Visible Portraits directed by Oge Egbuonu
- Sewing with felt
Keep up with Courtney on Instagram to see what she’s up to.