As part of her latest project, #100jackets, Chicago-based artist Charlotte Croy Hudson is trading in traditional mediums and using jackets as a canvas for her elegant and tasteful work. Not only is this young lady helping spread and inspire an individualistic sense of style across the streets of Chi-town, she's also blurring the lines between repurposed fashion and fine art.

Me: In three words, who are you?

C: Driven, Spacey, Excited

Me: Where do you live now? Where do you come from?

C: I was born in San Francisco, but grew in Chicago, Vermont and NYC, and then went to school in Georgia. So I am from all over the states. I moved back to Chicago a little over two years ago, and have been living in Logan Square. 

Me: Have you had any formal art training? 

C: Yes, I went to Savannah College of Art and Design where I studied graphic design and printmaking. Before I decided to study art, I was always stealing my parents camera to put together photoshoots with my friends, or drawing elaborate maps of places, or writing story books and illustrating them, so there is definitely a self taught element there. It is really interesting for me to look back at work I've done throughout the years. Before I studied art I didn't really know what I was going for, but visually, my stuff wasn't so far from where it is now. Then at SCAD I pretty much exploded and wanted to try everything, and while that was exciting, I think a lot of what made my work "mine" was lost. Now I have a few years of perspective, (I graduated in 2014), and it's coming full circle, my own style is coming through again, but with more technical precision.

Me: Favorite art museum or gallery you've visited?

C: The Art Institute of Chicago was the first museum I ever went to as a little kid on field trips. I took some summer intensive classes there in 2012 and would spend my lunch breaks in the museum just soaking in everything, so it definitely has a special place in my heart. Mass MOCA is also up there for me. It is about 45 min away from where my family lives in Vermont, and has an amazing contemporary collection. 

Me: Favorite album to listen to while you're working?

C: Lately I have been doing a lot of Fela Kuti, Alice Coltrane, The Equatics. But I Podcast pretty hard too, Stuff You Missed In History Class, 2 Dope Queens, anything from Radiotopia, Comedy Bang Bang, Girlboss.

Me: Tell me about #100Jackets.

C: A lot of illustrators do #100daysofdrawing, which is where you do a drawing a day for 100 days, and I was gearing up to do it myself. I had gotten a jacket from a thrift store and really liked the first drawing I was going to post, so I started painting it on the jacket and as I was doing that I realized that I could just do all of the drawings on jackets. I checked the hashtag and no one had used it, so I impulsively just went and bought more jackets and started painting.

Me: What inspired this project?

C: People get excited about your work when you show them a finished product, like a jacket, with your design on it. I needed a way for people to understand who I am, and what I can do. Since I am new to the scene, and working for myself, I need a way to get the word around that I am here. A lot of recent projects have been through people who saw #100jackets on Instagram.

Me: Where are you at with it now? What number?

C: I am currently working on both 15 and 16, although I think I have only posted 13.

Me: Favorite jacket so far? Or the coolest back-story behind one?

C: My favorite one is the one that says "Hope All Is Well". I have this secret love for lettering so it was fun to show everyone that side of what I can do. I also really liked the domino jacket, I'll probably do more dominos.

Me: How do we score a jacket for ourselves?

C: Shoot me a DM or an email! I do custom jobs, and also have a few done that haven't sold yet. I am working on setting up a shop on my Squarespace. So, stay tuned.