Artist Interview - Cart Before the Horse

Jo's shop ~ Cart Before the Horse, Jo's Blog ~ The Cart Before the Horse, Jo's Website ~ Cart Before the Horse (Since I don't have a photo of Jo, we'll pretend this is her!)

Jo James and Dylan Curry are the husband and wife team behind Cart Before the Horse. They're a two-person company of artists creating contemporary folk art pieces from their home in Oregon. All of their creations are made one at a time with their own four hands!

If you have time, you might enjoy visiting their website. Their creativity is so evident even in the design of this quirky fun spot on the web.

Here's the inspiring interview from Jo from The Cart Before the Horse!

When did you first know you were an artist?

Very early on. I was always that kid drawing during class when I supposed to be writing my spelling words or whatever. I specifically remember sitting in my 5th grade class drawing a picture of the girl who sat across from me, and something clicked in me and I felt like all of a sudden I could see things better if I drew them.

Who and/or what inspires your work?

I'm mostly inspired by life spent playing with my kids. Kids have such an innate sense of Play. When they're pretending to be an elephant, they are an elephant. That is, until they're something else. I was blessed with two very creative kids who loved to include Dylan and I in their pretend-play. I got to hunt for bugs, make elaborate monster traps, and fly around the world with fabric wings. I got to make capes and puppet theaters and any number of costumes for my daughter's favorite "dolly" (an odd roughly-hedgehog-shaped puppet). The kids would put on scenes from all their favorite stories. They especially like Little Red Riding Hood, Alice in Wonderland, Pinocchio, and Peter Pan. And kids will gladly celebrate any occasion. Kids need no better reason to have a parade than finding the perfect baton-shaped stick. I love that. It's no wonder that many of our recurring themes center around classic stories, playing dress-up, and a sense of celebration.


As an artist, what is your biggest challenge?

The biggest challenge as a working artist-- that is, someone who depends on their entire income from their art-- is to just keep doing what you love without it becoming some sort of commodity. It's also a real challenge trying to balance life and work, especially for an artist I think because "work" can be so much more fun that things like household chores.

What do you do to motivate yourself when you are in a creative rut?

Mostly I just keep working and let the work inspire me as it will. But if I'm feeling particularly burnt out I'll flood myself with visual stimulation-- stacks of picture books, trips to museums and antique stores, browsing favorite websites. Or maybe I'll try a new medium, something completely different.


What is the one thing you are most proud of about your work?

I'm happy with how steadily I make (and finish) stuff. It may seem like something silly to be proud of, but a lot of artists get hung up on lofty ideas and don't really have anything to show for it. Or they go in a million directions at once, and are surrounded by undone stuff. I may not do the most high-minded art, but I stumble across some keepers in all my prolificness.

What words of wisdom can you offer students?

Have fun! Don’t think that you’re about to make a masterpiece, just enjoy the creative process itself. The journey is the thing, right?


Thanks for being an inspiration, Jo! You and your husband make a great creative team. :)

Well, next week's lessons are especially meaningful to me. On Monday I'll be sharing more personally about some of my life obstacles and on Wednesday I'll tell you some of the things I've learned through them. We'll also be talking about creative ruts and other road blocks that artists in particular run into along the way.

And, I'll be posting a do-it-yourself project from Tina Fussel of Traveling Mama!

Have a relaxing, rejuvenating, and creative weekend ladies. See you here on Monday!