Eva Buchala

We proudly present
Eva Buchala
The Lady Artisan



Eva, also known as “Lady Artisan“, lives in Schertz, Texas, in the good ole USA.




Eva enjoys making books and dolls. She also does some production work for her mom’s mail order business.




Eva has always done creative things but never really got to “indulge”, until after the birth of her first child. She stayed home to be with her baby, rather than working outside her home. Eva first started using polymer clay in 2001. For quite some time, she sculpted small whimsical figures, business card holders, jewelry and vessels. In 2004, a friend taught her how to do Coptic stitch binding on a book and she immediately started incorporating polymer clay and bookbinding. Eva worked almost exclusively in polymer clay until 2008 when she developed an allergy to it, she switched to air-dry clay for her sculpting. She also began using apoxie sculpt and started working with leather for her bookbinding. She says its been about 10 years that she’s called herself an artist.




I asked her about getting support from her family. She told me that her husband is supportive, although she doesn’t think he fully comprehends a lot of what (or why) she does what she does. Her kids are delightfully encouraging and quite an inspiration with their confidence that they can do just about anything when given the right materials and just a little guidance.



When asked what kinds of crafts she likes to buy, sell or make, she told me she loves all kinds. Her favorite, at any given time, is largely dependent on her mood. Her favorite to create is Steampunk, grungy, antique-looking pieces. She finds herself doing a lot of whimsical stuff, but not always by plan. Her favorites to buy are all of the above, with Steampunk, grungy or primitive topping her list.



Eva says she has lots of projects needing to be finished. She has three current bookbinding projects in various stages of completion. She has a Steampunk sketchbook/journal, called a Temporal Displacement Book. (reportedly #6 of eventually her series of 7) She's only done one series and the book she is working on is the 3rd one, but she's calling it the 6th book in the series. She thinks it's a bit confusing, but after all we ARE talking about time travel here.
She is also working on a Mechanical Book and a Steampunk rebinding of a vintage book (Great Tales of Terror and the Supernatural from 1944).
She is also working on some new ideas with dolls and sculptures. Some interesting concepts involving ball-jointed dolls and such. Keep an eye out for that.



In the past Eva has donated items in support or a cause she believes in or thinks is important. She has donated books for a literacy charity, items for the Haiti flood victims and occasionally simply donates an item to a guild or team she is on to help promote the team.



I asked about her favorite designer or who inspires her. Eva said she gets inspired by so many things and a huge variety of artists, both visual, writers and performers. Music frequently inspires her with ideas for sculptures and/or story ideas. She really can’t pick a specific person but some of her favorites include Vermeer, da Vinci, Loreena McKennitt, Michael deMeng, George Stuart, Trent Jamieson, Isaac Asimov, Patricia Veryan, The Dreaming, Rosie Rojas and many others.



I asked her for advise or what information she would share with a beginning artist that is starting an online business. Eva told me “patience and promotion”. You can’t be afraid or embarrassed to promote yourself. Do your research into SEO techniques, online marketing, social networking and other internet opportunities. Be willing to give and help others. The more people who see your work and feel comfortable with you, the more likely you are to find the right buyer for your work. Don’t give up. It really does take patience to build your brand and sell yourself. Just keep creating and putting yourself out there.”




Eva gets a lot of her ideas from history and ancient cultures. She frequently spends time researching a culture or design idea before making a piece. It’s a way for her to explore ancient cultures and themes and gives her an excuse for researching various interests of hers. There are only a few clay artists who use ancient culture themes and Eva loves ancient pieces for their beauty and the history they represent. She tries to express that in her work.




Her goals and aspirations as an artist are to share her love of history, ancient cultures, other people and their motivations for what they do. She wants to share with other artists and help, if possible, those who are interested in similar art forms. If she can make a living at the same time, so much the better. We think this shows in Eva’s wonderful art.




You can see her creations and follow her work on her
website
Etsy
Etsy dolls
and
Artfire
Stay tuned for her new Etsy site sculptures and dolls ....

You can also follow her on facebook

We are definitely going to see a lot more of Lady Artisan!