The person behind @craftplanter‘s pictures is Hanni Baumgardner. She lives with her family in Northern Indiana, she is a passionate mother of three children and is married to her best friend. We were lucky enough to have a little chat with the artist and are happy to give you a peek behind the scenes of her visual world.
As her Instagram name already suggests, Hanni Baumgardner likes to photograph plants in a particularly creative way. We wondered where her love of nature came from and if she always had a talent for gardening. “I’ve always been a creator and a flower-lover. I was afraid of bugs for a long time though, so I didn’t start gardening until my mid-twenties. I still scream a little when I see spiders! All the women in my family are gardeners, so I believe it’s in my blood!”
95% of the plants that Hanni uses in her pictures grow in her own garden. Her plants are a source of inspiration for some of her artworks. When asked if she has a favorite image, she replied: “I love creative challenges! For the past two years, I have created different images of Christmas trees during the month of December (#craftplantingtrees). I have done a similar series with leaves (#craftplantingleaves) and I really enjoy the creative problem solving of coming up with new images within set parameters.”
The joy she gets by designing is always a great motivation to come up with new images and motifs, but what else drives Hanni to create works of art and to publish them? “If the internet shuts down tomorrow, I will still be making things. It’s part of who I am created to be. Sharing art online has pushed me to give validity to my work and to acknowledge the worth of creating. I go through times of not wanting to post work, too – because that is easier and a lot less scary. Therefore I’m so grateful to my little Instagram community for spurring me towards growth and I hope I am encouraging them as well.”
Hanni has always been creative. Her artistic talent helped her to complete a graphic design degree. She is usually engaged in several creative projects at the same time on a variety of occasions. The pictures she takes for these projects are usually very vibrant and colorful. When we asked Hanni how this visual language reflects her personality, she can’t help but laugh. “I’m a bit shy by nature and would call myself a mix of Charlie Brown and Eeyore. However, I have heard many times that I have a quirky sense of humor and I think that is visible in my work.”
Especially introverted people can find it difficult to present themselves and their own works in public. Platforms like Instagram can simplify this step. Hanni told us about her social media beginnings and she also revealed her personal favorite Instagram feeds to us. “I had a gardening blog many years ago which stopped when I changed the place of living and no longer had a garden to blog about. I missed the connections. I had made friends with other gardeners online and decided to begin sharing on Instagram in late 2017. Since it was late fall and my garden was done for the season, I started sharing some of my other crafty endeavors – hence the name @craftplanter. I have collaborated with other Instagrammers in the past and have truly enjoyed that connection! I love accounts that make me laugh – @denstorm has wonderful visual puns, @chillwildlife makes me giggle, and @runnerkimhall is like the sunshine of the internet!”
