Subway Songbirds with Sonya Artis
Like most creatives, Sonya Artis’ life is a juggling act. Like many New Yorkers, in one act, she works a full time job that she loves and pursues her creative interest on her spare time. As a busy mom, finding moments to be creative is often a challenge, but she manages. By day, she works as the Animation Area manager at New York University. For her second act, she crochets the most incredible songbirds. Perhaps you’ve seen her on the train crocheting as she makes her daily commute. Each bird takes over three hours to make and Sonya makes them all by hand.
Sonya immigrated to NYC from Macau at the age of eleven. Her grandfather was a science teacher as well as a traditional Chinese painter and calligrapher. As a child, Sonya was interested in drawing. She learned knitting at the age of 8 from her grandmother. As a teenager, she made scarves for her crushes, but otherwise didn’t do much with her knitting skill. Then, after reading Debbie Stoller’s Stitch & Bitch, she developed an interest in felting. That interest can be seen in her songbirds, which are crocheted with felted accents. She has recently started to experiment with sheet felts making urban critters such as pigeons, squirrels and rats.
Sonya’s other creative talents include photography in which she holds a masters degree. An accomplished photographer, she loves to take photos of her environment. She keeps a journal of her family life and the things she makes on her blog ( www.knitsomethingmommy.blogspot.com). Family is a part of that environment where Sonya is married to another creative, Anthony. He recently published the book, The Shut Up and Shoot Documentary Guide ( www.downanddirtydv.com/home.html ) for aspiring filmmakers who want to take the DIY approach. So, on your daily commute, keep an eye out for songbirds. Their song is there if you listen closely. Maybe you’ll hear the sound of crochet hook, but I’m betting, that if you listen a bit closer you’ll hear music to soothe in the midst of a hectic commute.
See Sonya’s work at fingerknits.etsy.com
What a wonderful article about a lovely and very talented person! I have been reading Sonya’s blog for quite some time now, and I always look forward to her creative pursuits. For my birthday, she surprised me with my very own Subway Songbird and a knitted scarf (which I wear everyday, all day long!).
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