Erika Hitchcock | Wurm Wares

Business Name: Wurm Wares

Business Website: http://www.erikawurm.com

Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/wurmwares

Instagram Handle: @wurmwares

Etsy Page: http://www.etsy.com/wurmwares

I got started as a young girl doodling and creating new worlds, letting my imagination run wild.  As I grew older it was clear that I would want to pursue a creative career and experience the world outside of my small Midwestern town.  So I packed my bags and flew to the west coast to hone my skills as a traditionally trained Illustrator at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, California. In school my focus was mainly working traditionally in children’s art, but soon I found my artistic voice getting lost in the saturated creative San Francisco scene.  I then decided it was best to take a break not knowing it would be over 10 years until I was brave enough to pick up a pencil once again.  During this period I immersed myself  into my other passion,  everything plants; becoming more in tune with nature, new skills and most importantly myself.  I believe this journey away from art was necessary for me to come back with a strong individual expressive point of view and style. This new chapter in my life has been challenging yet exciting with big hurdles I thought could never be accomplished.  I began to teach myself Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop to expand my artistic abilities (which is quite the feat because computers and I have a very unstable relationship). But even tougher was moving away from what was my “home” for the last 16 plus years, the Bay area, to the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state.  I am looking forward to learning more about this incredibly beautiful area and what fresh inspiration it will bring.