Today we’d like to introduce you to Cindy Wang.
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
I taught myself to crochet in 2011 out of sheer boredom, the same year that I was going to attend San Diego Comic-Con for the first time. I started out making lumpy little generic dolls, and when I got bored with that I started turning them into lumpy little superheroes. Around that time, I also first heard about Catlanta, an artist based in Atlanta who leaves little cat magnets behind for people to find. Since I was just starting out on my crocheting hobby, everything I made was just for practice. I ended up with a bunch of lumpy little superheroes that I didn’t plan on keeping, I had an upcoming trip to San Diego Comic-Con, and an idea from an artist in Atlanta. Next thing I knew I was leaving little superheroes behind for strangers to find, and eight years later I’ve built a small following and scored a book deal!
Please tell us about your art.
I crochet little superheroes and scatter them around for people to find by posting clues on twitter! The superhero part is just me being a geek and enjoying pop culture, the part where I leave them behind in sort of a scavenger hunt is just a matter of wanting to spread some fun around the world. Hopefully they put a smile on people’s faces, and hopefully it’ll inspire others to do good around them.
What do you think about conditions for artists today? Has life become easier or harder for artists in recent years? What can cities like ours do to encourage and help art and artists thrive?
I feel like it’s become both easier and harder for artists. Social media makes it so much easier for your work to be seen (I’m 100% convinced that there’s no way my work would be recognized if it weren’t for social media), but it also creates a larger, more overwhelming pool to compete with. The flip side is that I feel like it creates a vast art community that we can all share and create from! I feel like the best way to encourage and help artists thrive in any setting is to give honest support to anyone who’s willing to put in the love and labor to create, whether it means sharing someone’s work with others to spread the word or buying their art at local markets and shops.
How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
People can see my work at my blog (geekyhooker.wordpress.com), or on twitter and Facebook. People can support my work by checking out my book Literary Yarns!
Contact Info:
- Website: http://geekyhooker.wordpress.com
- Email: geekyhooker@gmail.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/GeekyHooker
- Facebook: Facebook.com/GeekyHooker
- Twitter: twitter.com/GeekyHooker
Image Credit:
Cindy Wang (GeekyHooker)
Getting in touch: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
