Wonderbug Wednesday – Courtney Chelo

Courtney is super fab. She is the queen of Apples-to-Apples and inappropriate conversations. In addition to these things, she is also an incredible artist. Her stuff is so great. I am in constant awe and envy.

Who she is and what she does:

I hate describing what I make because I haven’t yet figured it out, honestly. I didn’t really start “making things” until last fall, so it has been a little less than a year, and really, most of it was initially intend for my eyes only. Friends roped me into a studio space and I was at a crossroads of sorts so it seemed like a good escape… the crafting was just a byproduct of having a therapeutic space. I started making things to hang in my house and it just grew from there. So fast forward to now, where I’m sitting here with the task of describing what it is I create. It is all mixed media, and the majority of the things I make are at least half recycled materials, so there’s that. And then there are some themes. Paper cranes, maps, wings, human anatomy, sea creatures, trees. They all mean things, but I like to let people decide what for themselves. I’m excited about what comes next. Now that I’ve taken the leap and started crafting, I have some much bigger projects I want to build up to.

Three things that make Courtney oh-so-loveable:

1. I am a vicious thrifter! Seriously, you probably don’t want to go to a thrift store with me because I will find that awesome suitcase, the gorgeous-and-functional typewriter, a couple of globes, and the prettiest chair. I have radar, and it will clear out the shop.
2. I’ve managed to snag a few pretty wonderful people to make fixtures in my life, and I’m pretty proud of that, and of them.
3. I make a ridiculously good lemon basil pesto. Seriously.

What she’s into lately:

- I have finally figured out (okay, almost) how to truly enjoy time spend on my own just as much as I enjoy time spent in good company, so I’m kind of digging that.
- I’m also on a serious bookworm kick. Honestly, I can’t stop. Go read anything by Etgar Keret. He writes the most absurdly wonderful short stories. I promise.
- And finally, Neutral Milk Hotel’s “In the Aeroplane Over the Sea” is back in heavy rotation. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. Everyone loves that album. But something about summer and the ocean makes it so much better. Try it.

Who she admires:

I have a huge artcrush on Louise Bourgeois which is part predictable and boring, and part awesome, and has much more to do with her personal family history that her work. But moreover, I really admire a handful of my friends who, in the last year, new and old, have been some of the most wonderful, patient, and ridiculously awesome people you could ever hope to meet.

See more of Courtney’s fabulousness at her Flickr

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