We had the good fortune of connecting with Mac McIntosh and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Mac, is there a quote or affirmation that’s meaningful to you?
I have many favorite quotes but one that comes to mind is from the book Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer, “The most important thing each of us can know is our unique gift and how to use it in the world. Individuality is cherished and nurtured, because, in order for the whole to flourish, each of us has to be strong in who we are and carry our gifts with conviction, so they can be shared with others.” In this day and age, where social media makes art so accessible, in that it is easy to see a lot of art pieces in one day, the term ‘unique’ can come into question.
“Is anything original, is anything actually unique, is my gift unique?”
I would argue that no, nothing is completely original. We are inspired by many small things, from many works of art.
But I would argue just as much, that most things are unique.
It’s hard creating in this social media world.
Sometimes you can create something and think, “Wow that’s really cool”, only to log on to find someone has created something similar, only better, and think, “Wow I must not be original or good enough”.
It’s easy to get into comparison mode and it’s easy to start sliding down the slippery slope of not feeling like an artist at all.
Inundated with videos of the same thing just slightly tweaked,
you can start to ask,
“Why does what I create matter and does what I create leave an impact?
How does one be an individual now? How will I create something completely unique?”
I think, for me, that sometimes I get can get caught up in trying to figure out what people will buy verse what I actually want to create and what I’m feeling passionate about.
We all can get stuck in this mindset that we should find one thing we are good at, and do that single thing on repeat;
But that’s not how art works.
Art thrives off of collaboration, everything being a little bit different, and the energy of inspiration.
Awhile ago, I started branching out from my regular embroidery, because I was feeling a little jaded and the joy was a little harder to find. I started playing with fabrics, layering and sewing them together to make a landscape. But then I threw it away and told myself to “stay in my lane.”
But what’s my lane? What are these little boxes and constraints I put myself in when it comes to my art? I realized that was dumb, and after talking to some of my supportive maker community, I set out to make something I was really excited about.
There was still a lot of embroidery, and there was still things that were influenced from my normal art intake, but what I made was completely unique to me. Something I was really proud of.
And I realized, our unique gift doesn’t have to be one thing. It just has to be uniquely you.
So I often times think of this quote and think about the convictions that lead me to create.
It can vary from week to week, whether that be my love for the desert, protections for wild lands, art as protest, or just because my hands were itching to create.
I think about nourishing my individuality, but I also think of how I can contribute and nourish the individuality of those in my community.
Everyone human in it is so different, and creates uniquely to themselves.
It is a privilege to be able to choose to surround yourself with that kind of human creativity.
It is a honor to be able to witness as they showcase their art on subjects that matter to them, and have them reciprocate when I share things that matter to me.
Because remember, “in order for the whole to flourish, each of us has to be strong in who we are and carry our gifts with conviction, so they can be shared with others.”
Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My art comes in a couple of different forms. It started out as large scale landscape embroidery on denim jackets, evolved into embroidering on felt hat and making patches, then most recently adding in large swaths of material for texture. I’m mostly inspired by nature. I have a degree in Animal Ecology and Forestry, and have always been inspired by what our earth shows us. Plants, animals, plant-animal interactions, the desert, mountains, ocean, all of it.
I’ve done everything from small handmade patches to decals for a whole suit.
When I first started embroidering, I thought it was a fun hobby. My grandma had given me a little booklet that belonged to my great grandma from 1964 that had different embroidery stitches in it. I’m not great at following directions for art though, and I only got as far as short and long stitch before dreaming up a project. At the time, I didn’t feel like the job I was in fit right. I missed being in nature and working with animals everyday for work. So I decided to start bringing the nature and animals to me.
I’m not the best at starting small, so my first real project was an 12”x8” Delicate Arch from Arches National Park paired with some cactus on a denim jacket back. I thought “tops this will take me a month”. *3 months later* I completed the first jacket I started, and I was hooked.
I think what sets me apart from others, is the way that I am able to connect with my clients one-on-one. I love the outdoors, so that connects me to an audience that also loves the outdoors. I value listening to their experiences and why a place is so special to them they would want it permanently put on their favorite jacket or hat. Everyone experiences the outdoors differently and I want to hear what happened there. An engagement in the volcanos of El Salvador, a favorite river trip with friends in the Grand Canyon, getting married in Canyonlands, or just a place that a client has returned to over and over again through the years.
I get excited when someone first reaches out about a piece because I want my embroidery and art to act like a wearable journey entry. I want it to spark conversation and new friendships as they wear it out into the world. And for my clients to be able to carry that special memory with them as they explore more. I always feel that by the end of my projects, no matter how small, that I have connected with my clients and created new friendships.
Since our environment plays such an important role in the inspiration for my pieces, I embroider and sew on recycled and thrifted items. 10% of each piece gets donated to a rotating list of non profits or I also donate pieces to raise funds for a non profits. In the past those non profits have included Marine Mammal Care Center LA, National Park Foundation, TreeUtah, Heal Utah, Montana Wilderness School, and more.
It has not been an easy road getting to where I am today. I think all small business owners can relate to feeling like the different hats you are required to wear, can be exhausting. Embroidery especially, can be extremely tedious. I think one of my most frequently asked questions is, “How long did that take you?”. My longest project took me 6 months and well over 100 hours.
No matter where you are at in your art journey, it always feels like you are putting and giving away a small piece of yourself in your art pieces. Sometimes it’s even difficult to part with a piece. But when I see the joy on my client’s faces, or they send me thoughtful messages of how much the piece means to them, it always feels worth the long hours. I think something I’ve learned along the way is that every human has a story, and this is one way they can tell it.
If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I live just southwest of Denver, Colorado, but spend much of my time exploring different parts of the Rockies. Most people would be surprised to know that I’m not very familiar with Denver hotspots, even after living here 3.5 years. I spend as much time as I can out in the mountains instead, looking through a hand lens at lichen, hiking fun trails, and finding as many wildflowers as possible! So I would defiantly pack them up for some mountain exploration.
We have some favorite ‘local’ spots to camp within about a two hour drive of Denver. So I’d love to take them to check out a couple of my favorite mountain towns, Leadville, Twin lakes, and Buena Vista, Colorado. Colorado has so many rad outdoor opportunities, it really is a choose your own adventure type of state.
Mountain towns can definitely be over crowded but we’ve found good times to explore them to escape the crowds, and support the locals, over the years. I love learning the history of old towns, so we’d defiantly do the history walks in Leadville and the mines outside of town. Twin lakes, for some paddle boarding and hiking with a view. Then we’d pop down 24, over to Buena Vista and drive up Cottonwood Pass to check out the Continental Divide from 12,126 ft elevation. If we’re feeling spicey after that, we can hike some of the mountaintop trails on the pass, and then head over the pass to a ghost town called Tincup. There’s a bounty of beautiful camping on this side of the pass. We can end the week back in Denver area with a trip to Green Mountain Brewery and dinner from one of my favorite food trucks, Isan Thai.
Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
To be honest, when I think about this question I start to get overwhelmed. I’ve been fortunate enough to feel so loved and supported throughout this journey by so many people, it’s hard to to pick just a few. I would like to say my mom, first of all. We were homeschooled k-12th grade, and she always made sure we had a huge art influence. She would take a whole week after spring break that would be Art Week. Here would learn about different famous artists and styles. We’d try a new style of art every day, and that’s where I learned you didn’t have to be good at drawing to be an artist. She’s always encourages me when I’m feeling bad about a project, gives me a different artist’s perspective, and even helped me sew on rhinestones when I had a deadline to meet.
Second, I’d like to recognize my wonderful group of close friends. You know who you are. The ones who’ve sent me breakfast when I’ve been up all night working on a deadline and think I can’t do it anymore, the ones I text at 2am ask if the shading looks funny because I’ve been staring at my project for 8 hours, and the ones who are sharing this small business journey with me and we get to bounce ideas off each other.
Third, I’d like to recognize the wonderful humans that welcomed me with open arms to my first market at Wild Earth in SLC, over a year ago. Courtney, Cat, and so many other amazing artists opened up their arms, and welcomed me in with a kindness that still makes me tear up a little bit, if I think about it for too long. They built up so much confidence in myself that really carried me through some more trying times with my embroidery. I had no idea what I was doing, but they made the market a soft landing place where I could learn, have fun, and solidify friendships and mentorship’s.
Last, I’d like to give a shoutout to my partner who doesn’t always understand what I’m doing, but always supports me anyways. When I started this, he wasn’t exactly sure why I would want to do this, but quickly saw how much joy and meaning it brought into my life. He makes me meals and snacks when I forget because I am absorbed in a project or on a deadline, reminds me to say no when I need to take time for myself, and reminds me to have fun when I get too serious. I appreciate him always being my continuous sounding board, telling me I’m badass when I don’t feel that way, and also for giving me constructive feedback.
This hasn’t been easy and I’ve have many moments where I doubt myself, but overall I am so thankful for the community embroidery has brought me.
Website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TrailStitchingCo
Instagram: TrailStitchingco
Image Credits
Picture 3 only, Abbey Moore