Maker Spotlight: Kathryn Hughett

Where do you live?

I live in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

What is your job?

I consider my position as the Facilities Director at the Milwaukee Makerspace my job even though it’s a volunteer position.

How did you get started making?

I’ve been making all of my life. I believe that it’s in my genetics. As soon as I could hold a pencil and crayons I was hooked on making beautiful things. My great grandmother was into botany and nature crafts. My paternal grandmother was an artist and teacher. My father had a workshop and also built the house we lived in. My mom bought me a subscription to the Pack-o-Fun scrap craft magazine for a number of years in the 1960s. They all had a huge hand in influencing my skills and the things I like to make.

What type of maker would you classify yourself as?

I’m a mixed media artist. I love to make things from stuff others would have thrown away. The wooden totes I am showing off at the Maker Faire this year were made from wood that ended up in the scrap bin at the Milwaukee Makerspace.

What’s your favorite thing you’ve made?

My most favorite thing that I made in the past year was a bowl that I painted and decorated for the Feed Your Soul fundraising event at Flux Design here in Milwaukee. I did some really amazing art on it and it sold to a woman in Waukesha, Wisconsin that loved it so much she even contacted me to tell me how much. That is a rare thing indeed.

What’s something you’d like to make next?

The next project I want to work on is painting a wooden chair that came from an auction. It’s a lovely, well constructed, solid wood chair that normally would be a shame to paint but it has a crack in the wood of the backrest. I’m going to putty the crack, degloss the finish and paint it with some funky artwork.

Any advice for people reading this?

I’m a huge fan of Pinterest and get a lot of ideas and inspiration from it.

Kathryn will be showing off some of her hand-painted wooden totes in the Milwaukee Makerspace booth at Maker Faire Milwaukee, which takes place September 28-30, 2018 at the Expo Center at Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis.