Today we’d like to introduce you to Kaitlyn Luhm.
Hi Kaitlyn, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
As a child, I have always been focused on little details and have a love for the arts. I was an avid sketcher and writer in my sketchbooks and journals. I had wanted to be an author and illustrator when I grew up but started loving clay. Modeling clay, air dry clay, and paper clay, and then discovering polymer clay. I watched so many videos of people making their own charms and miniatures and knew that was my next endeavor.
Being young at the time, I knew it was more expensive and just asked for a 1 lb brick of white polymer clay. From there, I began sculpting a variety of small charms and painted them with acrylic paint for myself and my sisters. I started talking with other artists on YouTube where we all learned from each other, made tutorial videos, and watched each other’s improvements. It was a fun way to find others who had the same hobby and love for small things.
My dad would sell various things like tools, antiques, toys, and jewelry at flea markets on weekends to make extra money and encouraged me to make earrings and accessories to sell as well. Eventually, he made a table that was a combination of just jewelry that he made and that I made.
It was the first “job” I had where I could make money until I was old enough to work at a local art store. From there, I learned product knowledge of many different supplies. I also got to interact with local artists and learn different techniques that I could later apply to my own work and make connections with others.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has not always been the easiest. There have been people who view my work as lesser than others and as just “crafts”, but that hasn’t stopped me from doing what I do.
I may not have always had the same confidence in other aspects of my life, but my quality of work is something I have always been working on, and have been proud of my accomplishments. Even crafts can evolve into skillful artistry. Like most artists, I am by far my own worst critic and that’s because of the potential I see in myself and how I improve every year.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m a mixed media artist that is most well known for their sculpting of miniature food earrings. What sets me apart from other artists is making realistic miniatures that are based on something you’d see in your own kitchen. They are imperfectly realistic and each one of a kind.
We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
The Covid crisis has helped confirm that being well-rounded in other mediums has been helpful to keep me creating. There were shortages in all supplies for different reasons, whether it was a packaging shortage, resin shortage, clay shortage, or pigment scarcity. I took a break from making miniatures and earrings and working on painting and printmaking again. It forced me to work with what I had. Limitations can be beneficial in making you work harder and create new things.
Shortages and price increases have spread to all aspects of life.
I had participated in some fundraisers during the pandemic and knew I wanted to eventually be able to donate profits locally to a food-related cause as well. This year I’ve finally been able to do so! Currently, I am donating 10% of the profits to Community Kitchen Minneapolis (@communitykitchenmpls). I also plan to rotate different pairs of earrings that exclusively donate 100% of profits to them as well on my website.
Contact Info:
- Email: KLuhmArt@gmail.com
- Website: Luhmstudios.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kaitlyn_luhm
