Artist Spotlight - Flannery Ballard

We are back at it with ✨Artist Spotlights!✨ There are so many amazing creatives in our community and we want to UPLIFT them. Each month expect new artist spotlights that will introduce you to them, their mediums, and let you in all the cool things they're doing lately. 

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Who are you and what do you do? 

My name is Flannery Ballard, and by day I am a program manager with the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation. I work to help guide contaminated sites through the regulatory process of remediation. By evening, I am a master craftsman who enjoys making sweaters of varying itchiness for my loved ones. I hike, I snowboard, I forage - I love living in Juneau. 

Who or what inspires you? 

I really love finding new artists who are making unique pieces that are wearable in everyday life. I love that knitting gives me the ability to wear hand made pieces that are useful, beautiful, and lasting. 

What is your favorite moment in your process? 

Puzzling out a pattern that on first read does not seem to make sense. 

What is a trick of your trade or a piece of advice for artists in your medium?

When in doubt - rip it out! I love that knitting is a reusable and recyclable craft! If you have made a mistake, or you end up not liking how a piece has turned out - simply rip it out and make something else. 

What's next? 

To become a pattern tester, or potentially a pattern designer myself! 

Where can we find you? 

I don't have social media for my work, yet! You can find me at Juneau Knit Worthy, I've been knitting there for several years.