What's the biggest piece you've ever made?
 
The biggest piece I’ve made was about 30 boards big. I was so tired of it at the end, but the photo came out good so I’m happy I finished it. It is an abandoned house in the forest, a pattern from pixelartist @indieshilov (twitter)

What is your art workspace like?
 
My workspace is a big desk in a small space of our house. I have a big window and some of my beadarts on the walls. I like to keep it neat and pragmatic when I want to be creative, I actually don’t want to be surrounded with too many things instead I keep it more minimalistic

What are the tools of your trade?
 
The tools are Artkals 160-color palette, pegboards, ski waxing iron and a tweezer especially for beading

Can you talk us through your creative process? How do you go about planning and creating a piece?
 
Normally a project takes around 1 week from start to finish. The first thing I do is to figure out what I want to do. I search for patterns, from pixelartists, crossstitches, old gamesprites or I create my own pattern in a program from pictures. When I then start beading I go into this feeling of flow, it is actually quite meditative to bead and it gives me time to think about how I want to photograph the artwork. Sometimes I know exactly up front how and where to take the shot, but sometimes I need to work with the piece and it kind of grows as the piece grows. After the beadwork is done I get to the ironing. I want it totally flat without visible holes and that means the ironing takes some time. I have tried many methods and now I only use a ski waxing iron. The last part is to photograph and after I have found my location I need to find a good solution for how to hang, stand or lean the beadwork, which can be very tricky sometimes. In the picture of the cat you actually see a two-piece beadwork where I hung the two separate pieces on each side of the branch. I love this part of the photoshoot, to find good solutions to let the artwork blend into the surroundings. The photoshoot takes from 5 minutes to 3 hours, the latest one with the golden dancer took 3 hours because I waited for the perfect sunset

What's the most time you've spent on a project?
 
I think some of my bigger projects have taken about 10-12 hours in total, but split over a period of say one or two weeks.
 
What are the most common questions you get asked about your art?
 
Many tell me that they think my pictures and beadwork are full of life and soul, and they wonder how I do that. I guess I just follow my instinct on what I find to be beautiful, important and fun to create. People also ask me about my ironing technique and how I succeed with my ironing. I have found a good quality brand of beads which are easy to work with and iron according to the tejping-method, and only use a ski waxing iron. You need to give yourself time and practice a lot to find the method that suits you the best

Have you had any art-related disasters?
 
Actually no major disasters, but offcourse I have made a lot of mistakes. Just as important for learning as anything.
 
Do you have a dream project you'd love to make, but just can't justify yet?
 
Actually, I am quite happy with how I have found my creativity and how I use it right now. I do what I like and that is good enough for me

What was your most recent project?
 
My latest project was a ballerina dancer. I have this idea of working on themes, where I make four different beadworks that goes together. This was my forth ballerina so now my dancers are complete. The pixelart of this last dancer is made of one of my favourite pixelartists Luis Maldonado @solosalsero and I have had this pattern in my phone for over 2 years and wanted to do it for so long. I think it came out beautifully, in the light of the sunset

What are your favourite experiences you've had as a result of your art?
 
I love that my artwork gives me time to go out in our nature, I have seen so many beautiful sites. It is very relaxing to spend time outdoors. I also find beading to be very meditative, I go into this sensation of flow after a while and then I sit for hours at my desk.
One of my favourite moment is when I take shot after shot after shot, and then suddenly I just feel that I just took the perfect one.
 
Do you have any projects in progress or in the pipeline right now?
 
I always have a new project :)

Do you sell your art? If so, how can people find it?

I don’t sell anything at the moment, but last year I donated a photograph along with the original beadart of my first project (the boy and the bike) to “Musikhjälpen” here in Sweden, where all the collected money went to medical care organizations around the world. I hope to start selling prints of my work in the future.
 
How can people find you online? Drop your social media handles, websites etc...
 
You can find me at my Instagram profile @skapamedparlor

Anything else to share? Shoutouts, words of wisdom etc?

Do more of what makes you happy!

Who are you? Where are you based? 

My name is Nick and I am based out of Montreal Quebec
 
When and why did you first start making your art?  

I first started with my daughters, I had bought them some beads on a whim for Christmas, I then realized I had a ton of fun making them myself. One thing led to another and as I got into looking for more patterns online I found some very intricate projects... the rest is history!
 
What inspires your artwork? 
​
I love making pop art-inspired pieces, 8 bit videogames, skateboarding, 80's movies (especially star wars & the Shining) 

​Do you remember the first piece you made? 

Most likely a princess pattern for my daughters
 
What's the biggest piece you've ever made? 
​
Probably either my "dull boy" jack Nicholson piece or my Han and Leia Gun portraits. I completed a "Lost Boys" piece as well but it was 3 separate portrait panels. 

What is your art workspace like? 
​
My couch in front of the TV. with a lot of cardboard to be able to move pieces on and off the table as needed lol

What are the tools of your trade? 

Perler brand tweezers (a must!!) I also have both a large Cricut as well as a mini Cricut (expensive but also a must!)
Just standard masking tape and patience after that. Oh yeah, I also work exclusively using HAMA brand beads.
 
What's the most time you've spent on a project? 

Probably months, the Jack Nicholson piece required the pattern background to be made on hex boards, (I only own 4 of them) but was determined to complete the project with the pieces I had. Putting them all together was long and tedious work... hahahah
 
Can you talk us through your creative process? How do you go about planning and creating a piece? 
​
I usually either start with an idea or pattern in mind then go from there, it appears all my projects just keep getting bigger and bigger. I also use Beadifier online to help me map and plan out my projects!

What are the most common questions you get asked about your art? 

How much time they took to complete
 
Have you had any art-related disasters? 

I have spilled entire bead trays on 2 occasions (truly brutal) I have 8-10 thousand beads per tray (all different colors) so that is gut-wrenching when it happens. 
I also once sliced off a fingertip trying to cut out a section of beads with a razor (no stitches though)
 
Do you have a dream project you'd love to make, but just can't justify yet? 
​
I am still looking for the next piece of inspiration to "top" my 3 big pieces (Vader helmet, Star wars blasters and Jack Nicholson)

​What was your most recent project? 
​
A Mariah Carey portrait as a commission. 

hat are your favorite experiences you've had as a result of your art? 
​
Meeting new people online, asking other artists for advice, being inspired by the creations of others, collaborating with other artists

Do you have any projects in progress or in the pipeline right now? 

I am doing a surprise Family portrait at the moment (can't say who!) 
I already looking forward to the next BIG project!
 
Do you sell your art? If so, how can people find it? 
​
Yes although I don't mass produce. I love art exchanges with non-bead artists. 
I do take commissions although I would have to be passionate about the subject as I would be staring at it for hours and hours hahaha!

How can people find you online? Drop your social media handles, websites etc... 

Instagram @ is_it_about_beads_tho
That's it! Contact me there, my LinkedIn is for my day job, and my Facebook is all skateboard collecting and what I am cooking for dinner! 

Anything else to share? Shoutouts, words of wisdom etc? 

Please feel free to reach out, I love to collaborate. Please feel free to use any of my designs and improve upon them if you think they could use it! 
(Just tag me in the comments so I can see the results)

Who are you? Where are you based?

I'm Squarepainter and I'm based in Philadelphia.

When and why did you first start making your art?

I've been an artist my whole life and always loved old video games so it was a natural progression to merge the two.

What inspires your artwork?

Nostalgia is at the root of my inspiration. I try to paint those moments from games that we all remember and take us back to a simpler time.

Do you remember the first piece you made?

I do! I painted Mega Man in 6 different poses on bristol board and mounted them on cardboard. I still have it to this day.

What's the biggest piece you've ever made?

I did a huge 48"x36" piece from The Empire Strikes Back in 2015.

What is your art workspace like?

Right now a complete mess haha. I have a small apartment so my game room doubles as my art studio.

What are the tools of your trade?

Acrylic paint, small flat brushes, palette knife, ruler, t square, mechanical pencil

What's the most time you've spent on a project?

Its hard to tell since I spend so much time laying out my pieces in Photoshop first before I even get to the canvas. For just straight up painting a piece definitely the Empire Strikes Back.

Can you talk us through your creative process? How you go about planning and creating a piece?

I'll get an idea for a painting and then start mocking it up in Photoshop to see how big of a canvas I'll need to fit it. From there I box off and grid out the areas where different elements of the piece will be and then paint in the black or whatever dominant dark color there is for the outlines. With the rest of the colors I generally work from dark to light and build up layers of paint.

What are the most common questions you get asked about your art?

Always about how long it takes and the process that goes into.

Have you had any art-related disasters?

Way too many to list haha. If you're one pixel off it can throw your entire design off. I did a huge Maniac Mansion piece back in 2012 when I was still learning and ended up having to repaint literally half of it because I painted a side of the canvas just one pixel higher than the rest.

Do you have a dream project you'd love to make, but just can't justify yet?

I have some layouts that would be around 10 feet high and wide but I dont have the space to work that big. I've been asked if I'd paint a big mural on a building and thats something I'd eventually love to do.

What was your most recent project?

I just finished a 3 canvas set of the items from Mega Man 2 but I'm sure I'll have newer pieces done by the time this interview goes up.

What are your favourite experiences you've had as a result of your art?

Far and away getting involved in the convention scene. I've met some of my best friends from it and so many talented artists.

Do you have any projects in progress or in the pipeline right now?

I'm always working on multiple pieces at a time. Like right now I have a Sonic piece and Shyguy piece on my easel and some commissioned work.

Do you sell your art? If so, how can people find it?

I do! All my work thats currently for sale is at squarepainter.storenvy.com. I also signed to a gallery recently to sell my larger and more complex pieces but thats still in the works.

How can people find you online? Drop your social media handles, websites etc...

I was lucky enough to secure the Squarepainter name on all of my social media but I'm most active on instagram and twitter.

Anything else to share? Shoutouts, words of wisdom etc

A big shoutout to you for doing this interview and continuing to inspire me with all of your own work. Also aside from painting I also play the bass in the band Rex Viper. We currently have 2 songs done and are on the Cinemassacre youtube channel so please go check those out!

Who are you? Where are you based?

My name is Manuel, I am from Barcelona (Spain), as a child I was passionate about dragon ball, it was my favorite series and I played Nintendo games, Zelda, Metroid, Kirby ... which have marked my childhood and my life.

When and why did you first start making your art?

I started in 2018, I wanted to have something that would remind me of my childhood, those characters that I liked when I was a child, one day while on Instagram I saw a pixel image and I started with something small, a 5x5 centimeter Zelda shield and from There I was leveling up almost without realizing it.

What inspires your artwork?

Especially heroes of my childhood

Do you remember the first piece you made?

Yes, the first piece is always unforgettable, a shield and a sword from Zelda

What's the biggest piece you've ever made?

I don't make excessively large pieces, I don't have a lot of work space, they are usually small about 11 x 19 inches

What is your art workspace like?

A very small table and a very basic organizer, I don't have a fixed place to work and I move everything from one place to another

What are the tools of your trade?

An iron, a wooden board, some tweezers, tape, greaseproof paper and a lot of patience

What's the most time you've spent on a project?

In real photos is where it takes the longest, because each pixel is different, about 6-8 hours

Can you talk us through your creative process? How do you go about planning and creating a piece?

I do not have a predetermined creative process, I use inspiration along with memories and an idea is born, and Google also helps a little ?

What are the most common questions you get asked about your art?

How is it pixelated, what brand of pixel do I use, if I sell it ...

Have you had any art-related disasters?

Yes, I think that everyone has had bad experiences, it is best to learn, so as not to make the same mistake again

Do you have a dream project you'd love to make, but just can't justify yet?

Yes, I would like to do some spectacular Resident Evil, but I still don't know what.

What was your most recent project?

Now I take real photos for my family and friends

What are your favourite experiences you've had as a result of your art?

The best without a doubt are the people you meet on Instagram and the good friends you make, many share your tastes and hobbies

Do you have any projects in progress or in the pipeline right now

There are always new projects, I'll tell you a secret I'm doing one of Kirk Van Houten from the Simpsons

Do you sell your art? If so, how can people find it?

No, I don't sell, I do it as a hobby

How can people find you online? Drop your social media handles, websites etc...

En Instagram: manujito88

Anything else to share? Shoutouts, words of wisdom etc?

Have the courage to seek the saduria that will give you power

Who are you? Where are you based?

My name is Brandon Maldonado and I am based in the LA/Inland Empire area in Southern California. 

When and why did you first start making your art? 

I started about 7 years ago and all because I bought something off of someone on Etsy. It looked fun so I took a trip to Michael’s and started making things that I thought looked cool and before I knew it I had a lot more than I thought. My mom's friend was organizing an estate sale and she asked if I wanted to sell there so I did which snowballed into me going up to people having yard sales asking to sell there. It all eventually led to selling at pop ups and farmers markets.

What inspires your artwork?

People’s interest and being able to impress them. I strive to be a shop that kid me would have loved to visit. The look of a client’s face as you present them their order is what keeps me going. Kids going crazy as they pass by my store is amazing to see.

Do you remember the first piece you made?

It was a Charmander and one side was melting and the other side was crumbling. Ironing is hard lol.

What's the biggest piece you've ever made?

The biggest piece is Princess Leia in the slave costume on her side. She was 6 feet long and took about 12 hours to complete. I ran out of “Rust” twice making this.

What is your art workspace like?

Its a corner in my apartment with a dual monitor setup and drawers full of beads organized by color. One monitor is for the references and the other is for Netflix/videos.

What are the tools of your trade?

Cricut iron, perler beads, perler pen, pastels and my dual monitors. Gotta have that background noise.

What's the most time you've spent on a project?

I usually spend about 2-3 hours on a custom portrait piece, but I once made a huge virgin Mary that took about 15 total hours. Other projects have taken just as long but mainly because I’m not fully satisfied with my rough draft.

Can you talk us through your creative process? How you go about planning and creating a piece?

First I take a few days to find references and start to mentally piece a concept together before finalizing a concept and diving in. Then I do an outline/silhouette of the project and then start from the darkest colors to the lightest until it starts to come together, this is the longest step and revolves around Color Theory. From there I do about ~8 drafts before it finally looks like I want it to. Usually this step involves alot of tweaking and taking photos to see which tweaks look better. I then send the client a rough draft to approve before moving on to ironing. If the project includes a canvas, then I try my best to find either colors that compliment the main colors of the project or a scenery that is doable for my current skillset (pastel,spraypaint)

What are the most common questions you get asked about your art?

“What is this made of” and “how long does it take you to make this?!” haha  
I also get a lot of “did YOU make this??!” Always fun to answer this one.

Have you had any art-related disasters?

YES. They happen about once a week, usually from my knee or elbow hitting the board.

A big one that comes to mind is before I learned the masking tape method. I was making a Heisenberg but I ironed it by itself then promptly watched it crumble before my eyes as the boards lifted and warped.

Do you have a dream project you'd love to make, but just can't justify yet?

I want a wall sized Mario piece, like World 1-1, but it seems absurd since I am limited in space in my apartment. 

What was your most recent project?

I recently had a Harley Quinn and Joker piece that was pretty fun to do. The client wanted her tattoo as a Perler, so that was pretty cool converting the tattoo into pixel art.

What are your favourite experiences you've had as a result of your art?

When I first started, I used to sell at a school flea market in East LA. The first time I was there I was taken back by the amount of appreciation and love that my art was getting. Shortly after, I received an email from a young kid that made me cry.

Do you have any projects in progress or in the pipeline right now?

I am currently working on a 24x30 Canelo Alvarez piece for one of my favorite clients. It is an action shot of his recent victory. This client also recently commissioned a 22x28 Pancho Villa which was a lot of fun to work on.  

Do you sell your art? If so, how can people find it?

I mainly sell art locally but I also have an Etsy page for my portraits and an upcoming website that should be up in a month or so. 
My instagram bio contains it all :).

How can people find you online? Drop your social media handles, websites etc...

Instagram: @justbeadit21
Etsy: JustBeadIt626

Anything else to share? Shoutouts, words of wisdom etc?

I would like to shoutout my mom first and foremost. She has always hyped me up and continued to push my creativity to levels I didn’t think were possible. I honestly hated making arts and crafts growing up, but now I can’t put them down. 

Shoutout to my customers for keeping me going and for their words of encouragement. I am nothing without them, I owe it all to them.

Shoutout to my girlfriend Kim for her continued support and love, I am having the most fun I have ever had making these. P.S she makes our mini-perlers :) (My fingers are too fat)

Who are you? Where are you based?

My name is Jon DeStefano and I am 38 years young with 2 wonderful daughters. I am from the home of Dean Martin, Steubenville, Ohio.

When and why did you first start making your art?

I’ve been making art my whole life. As a child my dream was to be a comic book artist and I would draw from the comics I would read. I’ve gone through many phases in my art journey but I started out sketching and did that for many years. Then I dabbled in painting for a while and really found that to be therapeutic. I would paint cartoons, comic characters, and pixel art! About 3 years ago on Christmas eve I was at my mothers house for a party and my brother pulled out these beads and asked me if I wanted to make something. I figured it would be an easy transition from painting pixels so I gave it a shot. The rest is history

What inspires your artwork?

I find inspiration all around me. It could be a song I heard, a show I just watched, or even a few cases where it was just a word a friend said that got the gears turning. My Sho’Nuff piece was inspired by a co-worker I was emailing and he replied with shonuff. So really anything and everything inspires me but my friends have probably been my biggest inspiration.

Do you remember the first piece you made?

Like it was yesterday, It was Roger from American Dad and I actually have it in a frame.

What’s the biggest piece you’ve ever made?

The biggest I’ve done so far is The Green Bastard, I’m really not sure about the bead count but I'm guessing its at least 20k + It's a 36’ x 36’ canvas and takes up entirely too much space on my wall lol

What is your art workspace like?

It’s a little cramped and serves many purposes but it’s enough…for now

What are the tools of your trade?

The things I get most asked about are my iron and tape. For tape I only use Scotch Blue painters tape, I’ve tried other brands but wasn’t happy with the results as I always poke holes in my tape. My iron is the Cricut Easy Press 2–9” x 9” version. I also use the Cricut Easy Press mini for touch up jobs.

What’s the most time you’ve spent on a project?

Probably the 2 weeks I spent on the 3 Jokers project (which was incredibly fun)

Can you talk us through your creative process? How do you go about planning and creating a piece?

I’m not really sure if i have one or not, most of my pieces are pretty spontaneous. My inspiration is all around me so really whatever I’m feeling at that time has the most to do with how I pick a subject matter I would say. Maybe I do have a process, it’s just unpredictable.

What are the most common questions you get asked about your art?

“What the hell is that made out of?” followed by “How long did that take” haha

Have you had any art-related disasters?

Oh yes, plenty. The worst one though was the 3rd joker I did. I was still making rookie mistakes when ironing with my new expensive Cricut toy. I had been pressing and holding in 1 spot for too long and then moving to the next and so on and by the time i had gotten back to a certain spot it had cooled and was curling and separated from the non melted beads and I lost a huge chunk of it so i trimmed it and was able to make a sale of what was left. I constantly have the iron moving now when finishing the bigger projects and haven’t had an issue since.

Do you have a dream project you’d love to make, but just can’t justify yet?

I have a few in mind, but until i have the room to put them it’s gonna be just that, a dream.

What was your most recent project?

My most recent project was my favorite cartoon character ever. Randy Marsh as Lorde.

What are your favourite experiences you’ve had as a result of your art?

First and foremost all of the wonderful people I’ve gotten to know in the bead community. It’s been a bright spot in a terrible time we are all living in with the pandemic.

One of my favorite shows is Trailer Park Boys and now Jacob owns the piece I made of him!

Do you have any projects in progress or in the pipeline right now?

I just finished Randy today so I have absolutely nothing planned as of right now.

Do you sell your art? If so, how can people find it?

I do, most pieces I sell are by commission. I do however have shops on Etsy and Mercari. what I’ve done in the past is whenever someone wanted to buy from me online I have made a listing so all sales are done through either one of those. My Linktree is in my Instagram profile

How can people find you online? Drop your social media handles, websites etc…

instagram.com/koruptidperlers

Anything else to share? Shoutouts, words of wisdom etc?

Big shoutout to the Cricut Crusaders! you know who you are :)

Who are you? Where are you based?

I’ve been a grown up for a very long time, but I’m still a kid at heart.  I’m very fortunate to be able to live in the Southern Utah Desert for the winter months, and the beautiful forests of Arizona for the summer months.

When and why did you first start making your art?

I enjoyed working with Perler/Artkal Beads for many years, but I was thinking about quitting the hobby as I didn’t have any projects to work on.  I had already done portraits of everyone in our family and some Holiday projects and didn’t really have a need for anything else.  Then I noticed Robin Gavie’s work (@skapamedparlor).  I was fascinated by the way he used his bead creations in nature, and the amazing photos he took of them. I knew at that moment I wanted to do something similar.  About that time, the Pandemic hit.  Everyone was so depressed, and stuck at home, and I wanted to do something that would cheer them up.  That’s where it all began, and continues to this day.  My goal is to make others smile when they see my art. 

I don’t take myself too seriously, but I am serious about the quality of my art.

What inspires your artwork?

I’m inspired by everything I see!  Any time I see something fun or interesting, I try to think how I can make it in Beads.  I love all things Disney, as well as movies, TV shows, video games and commercials.   I pretty much work on my projects daily, and if I’m not beading, I’m trying to think of new ideas.  My goal is to make someone smile, jog a childhood memory, or merely take their mind off the depressing things happening in the world.  

I try to be as original as possible.  90% of my work is my own design, but sometimes I enjoy following someone else’s pattern. 


What's the biggest piece you've ever made? 

This beast of a project is 3 feet x 4 feet, and it almost killed me...I think I’ll stick to the smaller ones in the future.  I worked on it on and off for a week.  

What is your art workspace like?

Because I have to move it frequently, I can use any large table, and my Bead collection is on a cart with wheels.  


Can you talk us through your creative process? How you go about planning and creating a piece?

I have a list of so many ideas of things I want to make.  The problem is coming up with a clever way to photo them.  Once I figure out the presentation, I get excited to make the project. 

I tend to embarrass myself and my family when creating my posts and I’m usually sitting or lying on the  ground trying to get the perfect shot.  They’ve had to eat out with a ninja turtle, and have witnessed me laying on the road with my head in the gutter among other things.

Have you had any art-related disasters?

Who hasn’t?  


Do you have a dream project you'd love to make, but just can't justify yet?

Most of my dream projects are just too big.  I grew up going to Disneyland often and would love to do a design of each ride....maybe I can figure out how to do that in the future.  I did do two projects related to the Haunted Mansion that I’m pretty proud of.

What was your most recent project?

My most recent project is a Halloween themed one that I will be posting in October. 


What are your favourite experiences you've had as a result of your art?

I would be lying if I said that I didn’t enjoy reading the comments on Instagram.  The worldwide beading community is really awesome.  People are so kind, and it’s so fun to see what they create and develop a friendship and mutual respect for each other’s art.  Even though I do it to make others smile, it has certainly brought a smile to my face too.  

Do you have any projects in progress or in the pipeline right now?

Always!  I have about 40 projects done that I haven’t posted yet, and many more ideas in the works. 


Do you sell your art? If so, how can people find it?

I usually donate my work to school teachers, friends, or family.


How can people find you online? Drop your social media handles, websites etc...
All of my work is on Instagram.com/lindasusanhansen.  I also post in the Perler Bead Facebook group.