October Artist Spotlight: Jane Burson

 How did you start doing art and what is your preferred medium?I loved to draw as a little kid and just kinda kept at it. My parents are also both makers – I think that nurtured my natural inclination to want to tinker around and try to figure out how to make the concepts in my head reality. I’ve dabbled in a lot – pottery, jewelry making, leather-working, weaving, knitting, painting, graphic art - but these days I mostly work in illustration (both digital and traditional) and as a ‘geek couturier’ – designing, patterning, and sewing outfits inspired by fashion history and geek media. What drives your creative spirit these days? Community! At the beginning of last year I was in a terrible art rut, then I won the Her Universe Fashion Show with a look inspired by Howl’s Moving Castle at 2018’s San Diego Comic Con and got to design a Marvel Avengers Endgame capsule collection for Hot Topic as part of the prize. I’ve met such incredible people through this experience, and really, being part of a community of encouraging, supportive, passionate people makes it easy to keep the creative spirit fed. How does reuse play a part in your art?Reuse comes in a lot when I’m working on a fashion piece in particular – I’ve always been uncomfortable with how much negative impact the fashion industry has on the environment and the communities exploited by the first world’s demand for cheap clothes. Using secondhand materials is my small part in mitigating that. It’s also a lot easier on my bank account – people who don’t sew are often surprised that even a relatively simple outfit can require hundreds of dollars’ worth of materials! What compels you to donate to ACR?I hate wastefulness, and I hope that if I’m not using something to its full potential, someone else might be able to. Do you have a favorite ACR find? What did you do with it?Oh man… how to pick! I’ve found so many incredible fabric deals – bolts of silk dupioni, Italian wool gabardine, changeable taffetas - for only a few dollars a yard. Most of the projects I’ve sewn this year – my Captain Kirk, Captain Marvel, Golden Snitch, She-ra - have been made predominately from ACR Fabric.  I also love scouring the fine art section for paints and drawing pencils at a steal. Where can we find out more about your art? I’m currently most active on Instagram as @JaneMakesStuff