Featured Member: Linda Poche

What inspires you to create?

Anything. Everything. My mom is an artist, so I’ve been surrounded by art all my life. I took art classes in junior high school and was an apprentice for my mom my senior year of high school. I love exploring any kind of museum, in part because I am fascinated with public spaces and how we communicate through form and display. Nature has endless beauty and man-made structures can be amazing in either their complexity or simplicity. We live in a visually stunning world.

When did you decide to pursue art or did art pursue you?

I’ve played with art all my life. I’ve enjoyed photography exploration, hand building ceramics, being arts supervisor at day camp, building sets for educational theater groups, designing layouts for poster art (before computers!), and doodling on all my notes through two and a half degrees in English. I grew much more serious about it after I married my amazing husband who said I should “go for it” and see if I could start my own arts and crafts business.

If you weren't an artist, what would you be?

I don’t know how to answer this question. I can’t imagine my life without art.

What other jobs have you had which have aided you on your artistic path?

Working as a merchandising manager for Barnes & Noble Bookstores let me use my artistic bent to design wild and awesome window displays. As a day camp counselor, I had to post schedules for our activities and I drew all kinds of illustrations on them to make them more interesting. (And the kids loved it!) And I volunteered time with an educational theater group and ran two university film groups: both of these interests gave me experience at creating visually appealing advertising materials to draw audiences in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At the art supply store, which section do you gravitate to first?

There are sections?

 

What new technique or art form would you like to learn?  Do you have plans to do so?

What would you like to teach me? I’m willing to try almost anything (although needle arts are probably at the bottom of that list).

If you could do anything, and knew you could not fail, what would you choose to do?

I designed a one-woman installation show ages ago that would have all interactive pieces and fill an entire gallery space. It would include so many of the cool things I’ve seen in museums and galleries. It would teach important ideas to kids and make adults stop and rethink preconceptions.