Artist Profile: Meagan Claire Hall + Sasha Barr = Wonder Thunder

Tell me a bit about yourself name, location, affiliations, personal stuff.
Wonder Thunder is a collaborative effort between Meagan Claire Hall and Sasha Barr, two Tennessee transplants living in Seattle, WA. We're proud parents of a grey tabby cat named Fatty, Sr.

happy vegetable reuseable bags - red

Apart from creating art, what do you do?
We enjoy fermenting pickles, making yogurt, baking, summer bike rides, planting plants, and trips to Goodwill. Sasha has a BFA in Printmaking from the University of Memphis, works as a freelance designer/ illustrator, and is part of the art department at Sub Pop Records. Meagan has a BFA in Fibers from the Appalachian Center for Crafts, is currently studying herbal sciences, and runs another Etsy store, Asteria Gems.

mini prints - set of 9

What first made you want to become an artist?
It runs in our families. Meagan's mother is a metalsmith and her father once moonlighted as a blacksmith. Sasha's parents have degrees in printmaking and ceramics. It's in our blood.

little forest pillow - orange

Please describe your creative process how, when, materials, etc.
All of our illustrations start out with pen and paper, and are digitally manipulated for screen-printing. We buy fabric in bolts and screen-print our illustrations directly onto it. The fabric is then ironed, sewn, and assembled into the finished products.

carrot placemat - set of 4

What artists have influenced you and inspire you to create?

Obviously this could be a HUGE list, so we'll keep it short and simple. Jim Henson creations, Edward Gorey, Evan Hecox, Tyler Stout, Cayce Zavaglia, and Harry Whittier Frees!

mini octopus pocket friend plush

Where else can people find your work?
We currently sell online, in our Etsy shop and in a number of stores across the USA:

20Twenty- Ballard, Seattle, WA
Bluebottle Gallery and Store- Seattle, WA
Fontanelle, Portland- OR
Sugaree's- Murfreesboro, TN
Renegade Handmade- Chicago, IL
Schmancy- Belltown, Seattle, WA
Tender Loving Empire- Portland, OR
Wholly Craft- Columbus, OH
Young Blood Boutique and Gallery- Atlanta, GA

Visit the Wonder Thunder Blog

All photos are by and copyright of Wonder Thunder--they were real nice and let me borrow 'em--thanks, guys!

A Silver Lining

The Irvington Artist Market (IAM) was not all that we had hoped it would be. We did not make the sales we had hoped for due to low attendance of the event. We're chalking this one up to limited advertising by the event organizer (it was their first time out), cloudy weather in Portland and the long-established Bite of Oregon event happening downtown on the same weekend.

We have learned that shows and markets are a live-and-learn kind of experience and each time we attend we learn what works...and what doesn't work. We were pleasantly surprised by the variety of the other artists and crafters who participated at the market and impressed with the quality of their work. I am including a list of the names and contact info for those vendors we connected with at the end of this post in case you're in the mood for eye-candy and maybe some handmade shopping!

Our booth did look fabulous thanks to a few yards of Ikea's Lena fabric I had stashed away months ago for another project. Our photo album idea worked out nicely and caught the interest of a shopper who asked for our business card. Judy has plans to open a small gift shop in the uber-hip Mississippi Avenue district here in Portland this fall. She loved our photos of local city dwellers and architecture and is interested in opening a wholesale account to sell postcards of our work which gave us a silver lining for a cloudy day.

B.Hive Designs - handmade clothing for baby, kids, men, women...in shops and on Etsy.

Stubborn - modern jewelry handmade with stainless steel, aluminum, silver and opaque resins.

Molly Muriel - homemade natural soaps and vegan soy candles in found glass.

tiny forge design - handmade silver jewelry (also on Etsy!).

Meme Cosmetics - 100% handmade, 100% natural cosmetics.

Dave Sage Designs - handmade furniture using reclaimed and salvage woods.

Octavine Illustration - another Etsy artist offering journals, paintings, notecards & more.

Refashioned by Lisa - New fashions and bags made from reclaimed clothing and fabrics.

The photos included in the latter part of this post were used by permission and are the property of the individuals that create these fine art and craft items.