Artist Profile: Rachel Wall of Twilight Visions

It's that gift giving time of year and I can't think of a better handmade gift than a lovely piece of jewelry from Twilight Visions. Here's a little bit about owner and designer, Rachel Wall.



1. Where is your business based out of?

At the moment I’m based out of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. That changes every couple of years with how much I move though!


2. Where are you from originally?

I was born in Napa, California but grew up and spent a large part of my life in Alaska so I consider that home.


3. How long have you been an artist and/or business owner?

I’ve always been an artisan, but didn’t start selling my work until about nine years ago at festivals and galleries. I’m very new to the world of online selling though, and have had a shop on Etsy for about a year.


4. Where do you get your creative inspiration?

I get a lot of my inspiration from ancient tribal arts and crafts, nature, nostalgic styles, bohemian and everywhere else in between. I feel most inspired after going to a museum. Inspiration is everywhere.


5. What does your creative process entail?

This question is always the hardest to answer. My process usually changes with the medium. It usually starts with the color I want to work with or certain piece I want to make something with. I’ll hold it in my hand for a while and envision a design. I then try different combinations of complimenting that original piece until I come up with a basic theme. After that my hands do the rest and there have been many times I end up with something completely different than my original intent.

When it comes to the other mediums I work with it’s usually impulsive. I love photography and working with acrylics and textiles as well.


6. Would you say your environment (where you live, work, play) influences your creative process? If so, how?

Yes I would say my environment influences my work. Since I move a lot I get exposed to different styles and personalities. I have been inspired by people’s personalities which is always fun.


7. Who are your creative mentors?

I would have to say every artist out there. We all mentor and inspire each other!


8. Tell us about the one project you would say you are most proud of.

So hard to pick just one so I’ll have to go with the pieces where I have upcycled. I like the challenge of coming up with a piece that had a prior life. I have made some really great pieces with vintage components. Many times those pieces have components from 4 or 5 different pieces of vintage jewelry. I’m in the middle of one right now that could possibly be one of my favorites. I have collected enough vintage leaf brooches to finally do it!


9. What do you enjoy doing when you're not creating?

I love the outdoors, hiking, traveling, eating good food and spending time with my man, friends and my cats. I’m a bit of a movie buff as well so I love watching obscure movies and discovering new independent filmmakers.


10. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

This answer is so not going to be an expected one. In ten years I see myself as a biologist working in conservation. I deeply care about the environment and just went back to school last year to pursue a degree in biology. I was inspired while living in Pittsburgh and working for non-profit environmental lobby group to travel this path and I’m well suited for it. I will always create and am sure I’ll get even more inspiration as a biologist.

Artist Profile: Jennifer Ladd

Well it's that time of year again! The holiday gift giving season is upon us. This year it is my personal goal to give primarily handmade gifts. There are plenty of resources out there and this handmade artist is no exception. Meet Jennifer. Stop by her shop for some fun holiday gift options for that special sister, friend or coworker.


1. Where is your business based out of?

My beautiful new (bright and cheery yellow) sewing room in Milwaukee, WI.


2. Where are you from originally?

I grew up in Milwaukee, moved around a bit during college, and just resettled in Milwaukee this past summer.


3. How long have you been an artist and/or business owner?

I have been sewing since as long as I can remember. I learned to sew by watching my grandma and then copying what she did to make clothes for my dolls. I sewed my whole life, mainly for myself and as gifts. In 2007, we adopted our daughter from Vietnam, and I quit my job as a French teacher to stay home with her full-time. I started sewing clothes, bibs, and booties for her (and diaper bags for myself), since it gave me a bit of a mental break during the day ... a bit of time for myself. After a few months, I decided that I could turn my hobby into a business, and I opened my Etsy shop in December, 2007. I started the shop as an experiment, and I wasn't sure it would work. But it is over a year later, and my business is expanding every day and I am having more and more fun every day, as well!


4. Where do you get your creative inspiration?

I am inspired by beautiful color combinations. My brain just feels happy when I see beautiful colors together.


5. What does your creative process entail?

I have a "design board" in my sewing room where I keep my sketches and project ideas. I also draw inspiration from my huge (and ever growing) stockpile of gorgeous fabrics. Between these two sources, I am never short of long lists of projects I want to work on!

When I decide on a project, I usually cut straight from the fabric ... I'm not always a big fan of patterns (although I do use them from time to time). Once I have the pieces cut, I get to sewing ... my favorite part becuase I can see my ideas become a reality. When I finish each piece, I usually spend quite a bit if time inspecting it, admiring it, and wishing I could keep it for myself (ha, ha, ha).


6. Would you say your environment (where you live, work, play) influences your creative process? If so, how?

Milwaukee has very distinct seasons. In the winter, I tend to work with deeper, warmer, and richer colors. When Spring hits, i tend to be so tired of snow and cold and ice that I really break free and go for the bright, bold colors. In summer, I use bright, airy, refreshing colors, and then I go back to the deeper oranges of Wisconsin leaves in fall.


7. Who are your creative mentors?

I learned to sew from my Grandma when I was about 3 years old. I'm 30 years old, now, and I still go to her all the time for sewing advice. Just today, in fact, I was back at the side of her sewing table, watching how she hemmed a coat ... she's always teaching me something new.


8. Tell us about the one project you would say you are most proud of.

My husband and I just reupholstered a vintage chair. I did most of the sewing, but he helped me every step of the way. He did a lot of the physical labor, but I was at his side helping him with each step. We had so many laughs and so much fun together (even despite a run to the emergency room for a tetanus shot!). We ended up with a beautiful chair and amazing memories together.


9. What do you enjoy doing when you're not creating?

I spend all of my days with my daughter. She loves to run, play games, play hide-and-go-seek (although we are still working on the "hiding" with her since she likes to jump out and say "here I am!"). We do art together, go to museums, and go shopping. In the summers, my husband is off of work, too, so we spend a lot of family time outdoors ... biking, walking, playing at the park, and enjoying our beautiful city!


10. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

Hopefully as happy as I am right now!

Artist Profile: Darlene Lowe of Amazing Grace Designs

Meet Darlene Lowe of Amazing Grace Designs. October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and one of the ways we are supporting the cause is by supporting creatives like Darlene who care enough to make a difference. Darlene makes and sells her orriginal "Grace Relief Pillow", which designed to help women who suffer from breast cancer. I hope you enjoy reading about her as much as I enjoyed coming across her.

1. Where is your business based out of?

I live in a small town called Mount Gilead in North Carolina. I do all of my work from my home.

2. Where are you from originally?

I was born in Deleware, but my father was in the Army and we traveled all over the world. I spent most of my time in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

3. How long have you been an artist and/or business owner?

I have been doing interior decorating for quite some time now, but I only progressed into being a business owner in the past couple of months.

4. What inspired this product that is geared toward helping breast cancer patients/ survivors?

It actually started when a friend from church was diagnosed with breast cancer. I really felt that the Lord was leading me to this idea of a pillow to assist with the pain and discomfort that comes from the many procedures such as lymph node removal and masectomies.
My mother and my aunt also had a long battle with breast cancer, and I witnessed in both accounts the pain that they both had to endure. I watched both of them use small pillows constantly to help relieve some of that discomfort, and now I just want to bring some of that relief to other women as well.

5. Where do you get your creative inspiration?

I spend a lot of time praying, and seeking after the Lord to give me ideas. I also think about my mother and the times we had together and how special they were. My three girls and my grandchildren also give me inspiration, as well as the love of my husband.


6. What does your creative process entail?

First, I go through all of my fabrics and pick and choose colors and patterns that I feel coordinate the best. Second, I usually cut out and pin about a dozen or so pillows together at a time. Then its down to sewing and stuffing all of them. That takes the most time so I finish about three pillows each day.

7. Would you say your environment (where you live, work, play) influences your creative process? If so, how?

I really believe that where I live has a very large influence on my art. I live out in the country, surrounded by trees, flowers and even a stream. As you can imagine, this gives me a very peaceful working enviroment!

8. Who are your creative mentors?

My mother and my grandmother were really the ones to pass on the creative gene. They both did plenty of quilting sessons and canning all sorts of different foods. I was exposed to this for so long, I think it rubbed off on me, just in a different form.
My mother-in-law was also very creative. She really dabbled in all sorts of artistic mediums and was very encouraging for me to do the same.

9. Tell us about the one project you would say you are most proud of.

The creation of the Grace Relief Pillow is the one that has definitely given me the most joy. Its my first project that has such profound meaning behind it. It's a way to give back.

10. What do you enjoy doing when you're not creating?

My days are filled with wonderful things starting off with reading my Bible. I try to see my three grandbabies as much as possible. I really enjoy the time that I get to spend wih them! I also really like helping out at church. I try to make meals for people within our congregation that may be sick, have had a baby or ones that are just having a hard time. In a nut shell, I just really like to help people.

11. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

In ten years, I hope to have an entire household of grandchildren! I also want to be able, in ten years, to go with my husband on many more mission trips-Sudan, India and Jerusalem. And in ten years, I hope that The Grace Relief Pillow has helped many, many women who are suffering. But maybe by then a cure will be found and my pillow won't be needed anymore.

Artist Profile: Sienna Orlando

I love buttons. I have always loved buttons. I especially love unique buttons. It would make sense then that I would fall in love with Sienna Orlando's work. Read all about her then check out her etsy site by clicking HERE.


1. Where is your business based out of?

Currently by business is based out of my studio apartment. I am an artist-in-residence at the Mendocino Art Center in California. I live and work here making sculpture, sewn objects, and, yes, handmade buttons.


2. Where are you from originally?

I am from the Sacramento Valley in northern California. I'm a good ol' farmer's daughter, and I call Chico my home.


3. How long have you been an artist and/or business owner?

Well, I've been an artist and craftsperson (seriously) for that last four years. When I went back to school to get my BFA, that closed the deal (no turning back)! I have been selling my sculpture for a couple of years, but my Etsy store didn't come about until February 2009. I love it! I've been able to make an income while living temporarily on the coast. I travel so much, I now have the freedom to take my business anywhere.


4. Where do you get your creative inspiration?

Little things like my parakeet, or a particular song will inspire my objects. I love myths and stories, and end up creating little story-objects. My "Datura" buttons emerged as a form that I saw as a flower I grew as a child. Native Americans would use this plant in religious ceremonies. It came about as a formal exploration, but I know that each design has an immense history. Who would of thought all of that in just a little button?


5. What does your creative process entail?

My process comes very intuitively. I just start pressing out buttons and see what happens. Patterns emerge in the clay. The form will come and sometimes I'll think "yuk"! Then I glaze them and the magic of the kiln just takes over. The pieces start talking at some point and suddenly a simple button is a crystalline water drop, coming from where? I do a lot of experiments, and a lot of these little guys are great but can't be recreated. I use a lot of these special buttons in my Variety Packs.


6. Would you say your environment (where you live, work, play) influences your creative process? If so, how?

Absolutely. I live in a sort of Fairyland right now, and that has been a huge inspiration. There are plants and ocean and forests, and little things popping up everywhere. I have strong ties to nature, and often live in the country, or with a garden.

On the other hand I pay attention to what's happening on the web, too. What are the trends? What are the color palettes and icons that are pertinent right now? The aspects of design on the internet, and the whole Etsy community becomes a part of my environment.


7. Who are your creative mentors?

I have an "Art-Mama" who has been a great ceramics teacher, business owner, and mentor for me.


8. Tell us about the one project you would say you are most proud of.

My culminating show for my BFA degree. It was a carefully designed show of 9 pieces that worked not only on their own, but actually created an invisible flow for viewers. Some of my largest pieces were wheel-thrown and weighed as much as me before they dried! Others pieces just seemed to take on a tightness and a command for the material that really was a culmination for me.

Three years before I had been a potter. Upon graduating I was able to take all of my forms and create something more profound and conceptual. I titled the show "Brave Ascent" because when you get out of academia you really have to push yourself to soar; especially in the art field. You can see the show on my website at http://www.siennaorlando.com


9. What do you enjoy doing when you're not creating?

Cooking (especially canning and baking), gardening, hiking, picnics and cavorting, doing little breakfast dances in the kitchen with my boyfriend.


10. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

Running my own business, possibly a brick and mortar as well as internet sales. I'll have a family, lots of animals and plants, and a pantry full of homemade goods!

Artist Profile: Kim Berger

It gives me great joy to introduce you to Kim Berger of KbOriginals, etc.! Be sure to check out her shop by clicking here. Enjoy.




1. Where is your business based out of?

My home. I throw pottery in a small studio in my basement during the colder months. When the warmer temps arrive, I drag my wheel outside and throw. I also have a pet free studio on our 2nd floor. That's where I sew, bead and any other project I might be working on.


2. Where are you from originally?

I was born, raised and lived in Waukesha, Wisconsin up until November 2006. My husband Kurt and I bought an older ranch and renovated it on Lake Beulah, which is in East Troy Wisconsin. We live there with our 2 dogs, 2 cats and chickens.


3. How long have you been an artist and/or business owner?

I guess I would say I've been an artist my whole life. Looking back, I was crafting and creating as a small child. I remember selling earrings in high school-remember those??? the black wire and wood beads...oh gosh...I'm dating myself here. I started doing a few craft sales when my boys were young. I decided to officially sell my goods and began KbOriginalsetc in the early 90's.


4. Where do you get your creative inspiration?

From everything! Color, nature ...you name it... I just can't turn it off! There are nights I lay awake thinking about something I saw earlier in the day. I can visualize colors and textures. I also visualize how I'm going to market it! I love reading magazines such as Martha Stewart, Country Living etc. for creative inspiration.


5. What does your creative process entail?

I'm a pretty organized person, so I work best in a neat area.... It keeps my thoughts clear. Then I’m not wasting time looking for tools, paperwork for orders etc. I also have folders full of ideas I’ve seen in magazines etc. I rip them out and occasionally I sit down and go through a file or two. It freshen my thoughts and sometimes reminds of things I had thought about a while back. Years ago I would just jump into projects without thinking things through. Age is a wonderful thing....you can learn from your past mistakes.


6. Would you say your environment (where you live, work, play) influences your creative process? If so, how?

Absolutely! For my day job, I work with the public.. You can learn very interesting things from others...all you have to do is ask. We live in a rural wooded area on a lake...so the nature surrounds us. For the most part-my time is my own. Both our boys Kyle & Kalob, live out on their own. So I don’t have the extra chores etc. that young mom’s do….Been there done that.


7. Who are your creative mentors?

I guess I would have to begin with my mom...showing me how to sew very young. Then my grandma...she would have never considered herself an artist, but I now know she was. She always had some type of craft project going on at her house. That's where I learned about candle making, casting silver jewelry and so much more. In high school I took every art class available. I always had very supportive art teachers, but I think about my pottery teacher the most. About 12 yrs ago, I was taking an art class and was invited by the instructor to assist in her class. Ruth, a very talented special lady has become a good friend over the years. Her spiritual connection with art allowed me to see that art can make your "soul sing"-her words not mine. Most teachers have no idea how much of an impact they can make on a student’s life. Currently my mentor is a potter named Jessie. She has graciously allowed me into her private studio. I volunteer my time, but while I'm there I get to ask lots and lots of questions. She has shared so much knowledge with me over the past year. I truly admire her talent and tenacity.


8. Tell us about the one project you would say you are most proud of.

I have done so many things over the years that I’m quite proud of, but I think I’d have to say that the success of my Etsy shop is at the top. I’m so thrilled to see emails from orders coming in…not because of the money…but because someone is actually interested in something I’ve made! I also enjoy collaborating with customers working with custom orders. In general I really enjoy the communication with people.


9. What do you enjoy doing when you're not creating?

I enjoy cooking/baking, gardening and relaxing on our pontoon with my husband Kurt our dogs Kirby & Jade. Honestly...In my mind, I'm always creating.


10. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

I would love to own my own business...a little gift shop with all handmade art. I would invite a few fellow artists to sell their work along side mine. I would serve homemade soups & sandwiches….. But if that does not work out, I look forward to each day throwing pottery in my PJ’s.

Shani Neal of SNEAL Made Woolen Creations

I love fiber arts! Knitting and felting are on my long list of things to learn. Until I master these skills, I will have to be content with admiring the beautiful work of people like Shani Neal of SNEAL Made Woolen Creations.

Enjoy reading about her!



1. Where is your business based out of?

My business is currently based out of my home in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania.


2. Where are you from originally?

I am an Air Force brat so I am not originally from anywhere. I was born in New Jersey. My younger years were mostly spent in North Dakota, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania. I have lived nearly all of my adult life in and around Boulder Colorado. My husband, son and I just moved to Pittsburgh last year to be near my family.


3. How long have you been an artist and/or business owner?

I have been involved in art my whole life. One of my degrees is in Fine Art. I actually became a floral designer right after college and soon had my own floral design business. I left it behind when I became a mom about 4 years ago, and started full time selling my art. I have never looked back.


4. Where do you get your creative inspiration?

Mainly color. I am in love with bright colors and like to find new ways to marry them together. My other big love is nature in general and flowers. I am fairly obsessed with flowers and they always find their way into the things that I make.


5. What does your creative process entail?

The creative process for me is almost random. I get an idea for something that I want or something that I see and want to try and recreate, and then I just keep making and remaking until I get it right. The most difficult thing for me is remembering how I made something the
first time so that I can do it again. I am getting better with writing things down so I have at least a pattern for the next project. When it comes to needle felting onto something that I knit, I often will ponder over it for days. Looking at the piece and trying to picture what wants to be on it. ANd yet again I play with different colors to see what ones will make the piece pop.


6. Would you say your environment (where you live, work, play) influences your creative process? If so, how?

Oh for sure. Again it is the plants and flowers that I surround myself with that influece me the most. Mother nature has the best imagination when it comes to color. Also I have alot of color in my home and I can easily be influenced my seeing how two colors play off of one another. Like with an afghan that my grandmother has knit next to a painting that I may have. Or by seeing a few pieces of pottery next to one another.


7. Who are your creative mentors?

I come from a long line of creative folks. So without really knowing it, I have been influenced my whole life. I am proud to say that a good chunk of the items that I use everyday has been made by a member of my family. So I think that the wole idea and need to create functional pieces of art has been handed down to me through my genes. But I do need to give credit to all of the wonderful teachers that I have had through my education. Unfortunately there have been too many to name.


8. Tell us about the one project you would say you are most proud of.

Honestly any of them that work. I am so very proud to create sturdy pieces that hopefully will last a lifetime and then some. It has meant a lot to me to surround myself with things that have been in my family for generations. And I really hope to create things for others that will have that same affect on them.


9. What do you enjoy doing when you're not creating?

Being with my family, cooking and baking, mountain biking, reading, traveling, caring for my orchids, getting some love from my kitties, and catching up on my long list of movies that I need to see.


10. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

Hopefully happy, healthy, and still creating while living on a beach somewhere.

Artist Profile: Barney BeGuhl

Happy Cinco de Mayo everyone! Today's artist is a fellow etsian: the super talented Barney BeGuhl of Joyful Crow. For more info and to purchase, please check out his Etsy site by clicking here.




1. Where is your business based out of?

Eugene Oregon, The far left coast!


2. Where are you from originally?

A small town, now a suburb of Milwaukee, Wisconsin


3. How long have you been an artist and/or business owner?

Well, all my life I suppose. I have been making jewelry since high school, in 72. I turned those more occasional pieces into a for sale type venture after moving to Oregon in 89. I have also been a business owner of a natural foods manufacturing company since 91.


4. Where do you get your creative inspiration?

Mostly from this beautiful Earth we live on. Nature and the way she displays her interacting parts. The natural world never ceases to amaze and inspire me.


5. What does your creative process entail?

I spend a great deal of time in the outdoors, hiking, climbing, just getting into the wilderness. Its there I get both ideas for pieces, and have time to be clear of thought to sketch items or work out fabrication problems in my head. I also design from the stone up. Meaning I will take gemstones and play around with them. See what they are displaying of their own needs in design to be represented well. What would serve them best. I used to think it was all the metalwork when I was younger, the technical proficiency that made the piece shout, but I realized later its just a supporting role to what the stone as to say. Surely they work together, but the stone, even in an accent role, puts the italics to the words of the piece, the emphasis on what the overall item states.


6. Would you say your environment (where you live, work, play) influences your creative process? If so, how?

Absolutely. I get easily jangled in this worlds busyness and rapid fire way in which information and imagery comes at us. No way we can keep up with it all. It upsets the daily dance incredibly. I need the flowing effects that nature has to surround me often to soften the impact of our culture's onslaught. The day to day is way too much a jittery obstacle to my particular creative thought process.


7. Who are your creative mentors?

Well I have quite a few. I admire John Paul Millers work probably more than any other single Jeweler. Etruscan pieces as well, for their incredible detail and design application. Renee' Lalique and many of the art deco stylings in metalwork.

My immediate mentors in my own self taught journey, would have to be Larry Shapiro, and the late Marv Shapiro, of Milwaukee Wis. and Laine Goldman of Palm Springs Ca. These folks inspired me to challenge myself and push my envelope. They also taught me to be critical of my technical craftsmanship.


8. Tell us about the one project you would say you are most proud of.

Well pride is a funny word to me in that it can be both a good and bad thing. I prefer to frame the question as a project I am most happy with in its ability to convey what I really meant.
And in that scope, of current works, I would say "Spring" for its use of stones together, both metaphysically and interactively, its uplifting and growth orientation as a design. Its as a little daffodil popping up in the early spring. I also like "Hollow Woman, Hollow Man". Its not an especially happy fun piece, but it isn't trying to be. Humans while capable of so much wonderful beauty and humanity can also spend so much energy at deception and facade that it decays us inside out and leaves these shells to confront and interact with. Two others are "Jacobs Ladder" which just nailed the feeling of our twisted climb from below, and "Lightening Shield" which I think is one of my best pieces to depict the stones statement on its own.


9. What do you enjoy doing when you're not creating?

I like to be outdoors. Gardening, hiking, biking, climbing, backpacking, dancing.


10. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

Well, retired from the day to day working world. And be able to not only have more time for my art pieces in jewelry and electroluminescent wire sculpture, but to expand into a line of lower cost fun daily wear jewelry.


Spring:

Artist Profile: Laura Zielinski

From the simple beauty of her paintings and mixed media art to the embraced elegance of her vintage pieces, the description that comes to mind when I think of Laura Zielenksi is "simply eclectic". I hope you enjoy reading about her as much as I do!




1. Where is your business based out of?

Lake Orion, Michigan


2. Where are you from originally?

Lake Orion, Michigan


3. How long have you been an artist and/or business owner?

I suppose I've been an artist since I was a little girl; my "all about me" book I wrote in kindergarten states that I thought myself to be very good at art. The pictures I drew speak otherwise. But since then, I've been fine tuning what I've learned throughout the years. I went to college for graphic design. Several years of graphic designing and just semesters away from graduation, I switched to an English major, as I felt graphic design wasn't my passion after all. Thankfully, I was schooled in all mediums, and though it didn't stand out to me at the time I took it, painting has taken over my love.


4. Where do you get your creative inspiration?

Much of my inspiration comes from my experiences. I hate trying to force out ideas just for the sake of creating something new; I find those to end up Poor Half-Formed Things that clearly show themselves as Poor Half-Formed Things, which are quite unslightly to gaze upon. Instead, I have a book where I jot ideas and sketches as they come to me, where they can sit and lounge about until I need them. When I read a phrase I like or hear something that pleases me, I write that down; these are either reworked into piece titles or are turned into paintings.


5. What does your creative process entail?

Usually, when it comes time to start a new painting, if I don't have something right on my mind I want to work on, I pull out my book and to see what speaks to me the most. I decide a layout and a canvas size, then sketch out what I am thinking. Lots of times I cut my sketch elements out and play with placement and size on the canvas. When I can't decide on specifics, I take a picture of the layouts I'm debating between, and that helps me step back and see it with a new objectivity. I sketch my design roughly on the canvas, then start painting.


6. Would you say your environment (where you live, work, play) influences your creative process? If so, how?

I recently moved to South Carolina for a year and then back, and I had the most gorgeous place to live (by happenstance). It made painting and my other love, refurbishing furniture, a dream since it was an old mill turned into lofts. I didn't have to worry about spilling paint on my cement floors and the 12 foot windows helped keep all my "painting smells" to a minimum, much to the joy of my neighbors, I'm sure. :)


7. Who are your creative mentors?

Any artist who doesn't have the natural talents some are so lucky to have, but perseveres anyway. I feel somewhat in that boat, I've had to work hard and will continue to work hard to make up for this. It helped greatly to switch to a medium I really loved, rather than plod along in graphic design because that's just what I initially signed up for. I love Etsy and the vast array of artists and crafters found there, all have such creativity and spark.


8. Tell us about the one project you would say you are most proud of.

I can't say I have a specific one I am the most proud of, but I am proud when I finish a piece that I have struggled to find a solution for. You hit all these dead ends, then all of a sudden, there it is (the solution). I also like pieces like my "Prison Door- Chapter 1" that I have in my shop right now, because it's made of all recycled and repurposed elements. It's nice to not let those go to a landfill.


9. What do you enjoy doing when you're not creating?

Thrifting! I adore hunting and rummaging about for furniture and odds and ends I can use in my art. I recently posted on my blog about a rusty heating vent I found in the store. I'm probably the only one who would have bought that silly thing, but to me it was a great find. I love reading, especially biographies; currently I'm on an American presidents and historical figures kick. Franklin was last; Washington, just started today. And Jeeps. I love my Jeeps. I have a vintage one that's like a child to me.


10. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

A dream of mine is having my own store one day of found furniture, restored for some new owner to enjoy. A local business downtown, Chic Antiques, has done that with great success. That would be so fun for me, and it'd be wonderful to also include art from local artists and such. I'm a big fan of helping other artists and the handmade movement. I'd be overjoyed to attain that in 10 years, but either way, these will be ten years working towards that goal.

Artist Profile: Marie Wyatt

Marie not only designs jewelry but lovely pieces of art too. I was initially drawn to her pieces containing birds, I can't seem to get enough of birds these days! For a fanciful piece of your own visit her etsy site.

Without any further ado, Marie Wyatt of Frost Collections:




1. Where is your business based out of?

Beautiful Vancouver, British Columbia


2. Where are you from originally?

A little Scottish town called Fergus, Ontario. About an hour west of Toronto.


3. How long have you been an artist and/or business owner?

My business partner and I have been running Frost Collections for 2.5 years, but I've been an artist my entire life. I think I was born with a pencil in my hand. Since I was a kid I've been drawing non-stop. For the last ten years I've been working professionally as an animator.


4. Where do you get your creative inspiration?

Nature. I've always been a very outdoorsy person and living in BC I never have to look very far to be inspired. I also take much of my inspiration from the places I've traveled to. Europe was an amazing experience - it's so steeped in culture and art history, it was impossible not to come away from that inspired.


5. What does your creative process entail?

Much of the time, my creative process begins with a photograph. Sometimes I use that photo as reference for a drawing, inspiration for a color palette or the photo itself becomes the framework for the piece. In our fine silver jewelry and encaustic art, it all starts with the photograph.


6. Would you say your environment (where you live, work, play) influences your creative process? If so, how?

Where I live and work has a huge impact on my creative process. It affects my mood, it affects my inspiration, my motivation, my time and space...it's all intertwined. What it comes down to is that I have to be happy with where I am (physically and mentally) in order to create. I know some artists who feed off depression and sadness to create amazing work, but the tortured artist syndrome doesn't work for me.


7. Who are your creative mentors?

I'm lucky to have been surrounded by so many talented and creative people, it's really hard to choose. But if I'm going to, I'd say my first mentor was my grandfather. Papa, like my father and like my great grandfather, was a potter and an artist. He taught me how to draw and nurtured my love for art from a very young age. I wouldn't be where I am without him. My other mentor has to be my friend, Linda. She's a modern day renaissance woman, a whirlwind of talent and a constant inspiration to me. She introduced me to the art of jewelry making and has been a great source of advice and support through the years.


8. Tell us about the one project you would say you are most proud of.

I'm most proud of my business as a whole. What it took for my business partner and I to put this together while both juggling full time careers has been a huge effort and I'm really happy with the direction it's taking.


9. What do you enjoy doing when you're not creating?

I love spending time with my friends. I'm equally content to enjoy a good vegetation session at home with my husband and two cats.


10. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

I'd like to plant myself on a beach in the Greek Islands, maybe run a little B&B while my husband and I work on our respective art projects. I'd be just as satisfied with a cabin on the BC coast, out of the rat race and surrounded by nature. Whatever I end up doing, I hope by that time I'll be happy as I am now.

Artist Profile: Lidia K. Anderson

Today's artist profile comes to us from L.A. Glass. I love how Lidia's designs capture and transform light. Her pieces are truly unique! To browse or buy, please visit her etsy site: LAGlass.etsy.com.




1. Where is your business based out of?

Powell, Ohio


2. Where are you from originally?

Sydney, Australia


3. How long have you been an artist and/or business owner?

I have been an artist for 35 years. I started my business, L.A. Glass Studio, about 27 years ago.


4. Where do you get your creative inspiration?

Creative inspiration comes from daily meditation and also from young children.


5. What does your creative process entail?

My creative process entails observing the energy around me as well as watching, and listening to children and their conversations with each other.


6. Would you say your environment (where you live, work, play) influences your creative process? If so, how?

I believe my environment has everything to do with the creative process. I find inspiration in listening to classical and new age music. I am also with young children every day in an afternoon kindergarten class and find they are the teachers. They have very simple thoughts which reminds me to stop being complicated when I'm designing.


7. Who are your creative mentors?

My creative mentors are other artist friends whose talent is in a different medium, e.g. metal sculptors, traditional oil painters, jewelers, and many other wonderful talented people. I admire all that they create and I am appreciative of their talent.


8. Tell us about the one project you would say you are most proud of.

I believe that it would be a restoration of 18 leaded windows at a chapel in Ohio. This was a massive project that I just wasn't sure at first if I could actually do it and after completion, which was about 18 months, I felt I could do anything. 7 of these windows had to be constructed from scratch which was very challenging. This project allowed me to work in the leaded and glazed technique of stained glass construction which was different from the copper foil method which I was more comfortable with making.

As a result of this project I was able to design and fabricate another church window during the past couple of years utilizing the same leaded technique. This one was very exciting because it allowed me to design in a contemporary style which I love the most.


9. What do you enjoy doing when you're not creating?

I don't know that I ever stop creating. Seems non stop. I would have to say thought, that having fun with friends and reading are my other passions.


10. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

10 years older and even more accomplished with my art. I don't see myself doing anything else except for what I love, creating my art, for me, and for the enjoyment of others.

Artist Profile: Jeanette Forney Van Wicklen

Today's artist profile comes to us from Austin, Texas. I first met Jeanette when she ordered a custom lampshade for a floor lamp for her biz. She has been great to work with and, I gotta say, I love love love her coastal style! Without further ado, Jeanette Forney Van Wicklen.




1. Where is your business based out of?

"jvw beach" & "jvw home" are both based out of Austin, Texas , from a "barn" garage!
We currently sell online only but are looking into other retail "avenues" .
Van Wicklen Design operates from my home office.


2. Where are you from originally?

San Antonio, Tx.

3. How long have you been a designer and/or business owner?

I have been decorating for others, since 1999. Van Wicklen Design started in 2001, as a freelance decorator. Later, I became Certified in 2002. "jvw beach" and "jvw home" started in 2008.


4. Where do you get your creative inspiration?

Hard question to answer because I get inspiration from so many things!....alot of times I get inspiration from my favorite magazines such as Coastal Living, Cottage Living, Country Living, etc., visiting Showhomes, visiting home decor stores & eyeing the vignettes, new fabrics, Round Top/Warrenton/Marburger Farms, etc. "antique week" in Texas (so many creative people there!!), or through my fave blogs.


5. What does your creative process entail?

If it's decorating rooms: Usually starts with fabrics or it could be starting with something special a client wants to keep in the room or the style of the house....... then the room details such as unique patinas on furniture, different buttons, trims, accessories, art, architectural pieces, come into play....it's not always in a specific order.
For furniture & accessories on the site: I research alot of magazines and trade articles for the going trends on furniture finishing/paint colors. I LOVE to hunt for unique hardware to update antiques & to make them different.
For custom pillows/bedding: just going into a fabric store or eyeing my own library of fabric books gives me inspiration for a start.... then I add in fun buttons/trims or monogramming.


6. Would you say your environment (where you live, work, play) influences your creative process? If so, how?

Absolutely, because I live in an older home from the 1800's. My husband and I both are constantly discussing & collaborating new ideas of what we'd love to do next with this old house....if money were NO object, right?? Also, being in Austin, Texas is a mecca of creative people, so you find inspiration around every corner. I love to spend a lot of time at the beach and this gives me the inspiration for the coastal website.


7. Who are your creative mentors?

Dana______, a designer that used to design at Cowgirls & Lace, in Dripping Springs, Texas. (can't remember her last name!) I learned a lot about designing/creating from her. Dana was also a GREAT support to me when I was just starting out . I'm not sure where she is now because she retired from decorating at Cowgirls & Lace.


8. Tell us about the one project you would say you are most proud of.

This is a hard choice.... but I would have to say decorating my sisters' antebellum historical home in Mississippi. (We always have a lot of fun decorating her different homes but this one involved a lot of custom window treatments/bedding/pillows and antique hunts.)


9. What do you enjoy doing when you're not creating?

Being with my husband and family, traveling, Pilates, blogging, water sports, all kinds of fishing, hiking, and just being at the beach!


10. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

Hopefully moving to the beach, after our youngest son graduates!



For more info on Jeanette and her awesome products please visit her website: http://www.jvwhome.com/

Artist Profile - Cheri Johnson

I first met Cheri when I was in college in Iowa City. We kept in touch as we both eventually made our way to the East Coast. Her eye for design was evident then and now that she's on the on the other side of interior design school, she's an unstopable creative force! For more information on Cheri's biz please stop by her website: cherijohnsondesign.com.




1. Where is your business based out of?

New York City


2. Where are you from originally?

A little town near Davenport, Iowa. I have also called Iowa City, Iowa, and South Hero, Vermont home during times of my life. –But for the last 4 years, the Bronx!


3. How long have you been a designer and/or business owner?

A designer? My whole life. I was sketching new inventions and rearranging rooms at five!
A business owner? Almost 2 years.


4. Where do you get your creative inspiration?

To me design means being irreverent of rules; it is an expression of individuality, imagination, and whim, not a product of trends encumbered by fixed formulas (something contemporary interior design commonly suffers from I often think). I like to use that thought as a guide as I create.

I love to take my inspiration from a diversity of people and places. I try to keep an open mind about all styles, because trends come and go. As an interior designer, unlike those in some other design fields, there is a great need for the designer to appreciate different styles. There may be many styles an int. designer would never put in his/her own home, for example, but a good designer understands the artistic merit behind every style, and why and how a client may feel a connection to a particular style.

As the ultimate inspiration, nature inspires me with its color and texture and balance. Natural elements work in a dynamic, 3-dimensional conversation with each other. We can capture a sense of balance when we take direction from nature, and pay attention to the relationship that occurs between aesthetics and utility in it. I try to take heed of the details found in the created world, because it helps me in my own creation.


5. What does your creative process entail?

The responsibility of the interior/architectural designer is to help his/her clients fulfill their particular design dreams and needs, rather than merely his/her own. (After all, it is the client who has to live with the design!) The designer’s style, therefore, must interact uniquely with each new client, and so that is where I start. By using my clients’ needs and desires as a springboard, I look for ways to synergize what it is they want with my aesthetic. There is a unique conversation that goes on in merging a client’s style with what I consider to be my creative eye and the vision I have for a space. This conversation is crucial and lasts through the whole of the design process.

The creative process of an interior designer is a unique dance- it has to go back and forth from technical precision and calculated utility, to creative whim and individuality. A left brain-right brain thing, if you will. In combination with client conversations, I start a design very practically by assessing the space – getting a sense of how it is used, taking physical measurements, and considering its feel and its light sources at different times of day. When I start with those definites as my solid foundation, then I have the opportunity to run with my creativity from there, challenging myself to find ways that different forms and colors and textures can interact within, or even push, the parameters.


6. Would you say your environment (where you live, work, play) influences your creative process? If so, how?

Yes! Living in the Bronx can seem like a dreary or dirty place. But actually, it just makes you work harder to find the beauty in things. (And they are all around!) New York City has a story, a diversity, an energy, all its own. I suppose that in the same way I recognize that about New York City and its people, I look for those same things in individual pieces, and in the stories my clients want to tell and surround themselves with through their environment. We long for our environment to reflect the beauty we want to see in the world and the stories we want to tell. I like figuring out ways to do that- because it’s unique to every individual!

New York is also a very efficient place to live. Living communally, while it has its challenges and requires its sacrifices, has made my carbon footprint much smaller than when I drove my gas sipping car every day to my individually heated, home of ample square footage. New Yorkers have to be choosy about the products and amounts they bring home from the store, because every item needs to fit into a small, efficient space!

I like to mimic this precision as a consumer and a purchaser of goods for my clients, whether or not they live in the city. Responsible design is sustainable design, and when possible supports a renewable life cycle from material sourcing to production to product use, and eventually, to demolition and recycling. We must be intentional and responsible about the products and trades we support, and I try to do that in the surfaces, textiles, and pieces that I specify for my clients. We must return back to an embracing of the local, artistic, and hand made traditions that have provided responsible products for consumers for centuries.


7. Who are your creative mentors?

This is the hardest question for me to answer on this list!

Renzo Piano, Rem Koolhaas, Frank Gehry, and Lord Norman Robert Foster rank among my favorite architects. Miv Watts, Madeline Stuart, Candice Olson, and Philip Starck rank among my favorite interior and architectural designers. There are just so many inspirations out there! They all are connected in their pursuit of the intersection of art and functionality.

Personally, I was lucky to have two professors during my schooling named Casey Sherman and Renan Pierre who both had a great impact on me. As Harvard trained architects and business partners, their focus was on the process of creation, and the philosophy and purpose behind a design. They believe architecture and space planning should enrich the human experience through built form. Their emphasis on revision, on new perspectives and ways of going about problem solving has greatly influenced how I approach a project. They have been lauded as “architectural activists” by a number of national magazines and newspapers, and they actively pursue opportunities in their work for “architectural intervention and invention.” I respect the projects they choose, their collaboration process, their contributions to public purposes, and the support and guidance they have given to me throughout my time as a designer.


8. Tell us about the one project you would say you are most proud of.

Yikes. This is going to sound sappy. A long while ago I designed sets for “Confessions of a Shopaholic,” and it was a proud moment for me. Not because it was a great film, (Um, errr… I mean, it was. You should all see it. Twice.) but because it was my first job out of design school. It was a proud moment for me. The end product was great, and it was an actual paying job that edified me as a designer. Getting a paycheck from Paramount Pictures was a sort of reality check that said, “Look! You are really here! You’ve made it. You can do it. Look where you started, and where you’re headed now!”


9. What do you enjoy doing when you're not designing?

Cooking, traveling, volunteering, movies, social justice issues and current events, observing the world and enjoying nature, and especially enjoying time with my husband, Kurt, and occasionally, my cat Adi. It’s hard not to design, if just in my head, when I go to new places or see ways that things can be done better. So a little piece of me, I admit, doesn't really stop designing.


10. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

It’s such a hard question. I hope to have a successful interior design business in ten years, but most importantly, I just hope to be a better person. It’s hard to guess what’s in the future, but I hope to find myself and my family healthy and becoming better people a little every day.

Eventually, I would love to be able to use the money I make serving many clients to fund projects for lower income clients and non-profit organizations. Some of that I do right now, but my true dream is for that ability to bring good design to anyone to multiply as time goes on... I believe that everyone deserves good design, and that it should be accessible to all. I almost did not become a designer, because for years I believed it was just a career that catered to the rich. But eventually I realized that I have the power to make my career whatever I like, and my intention is to carve a new path...

Artist Profile: Nikki Heidemann

1. Where are you from originally?
New Jersey...Atlantic City

2. Where do you get your creative inspiration?
Honestly it comes to me when I'm sleeping. In dreams

3. How long have you been dancing?
Since I was 6, sooo...22 years.

4. Do you have a favorite type of dance you enjoy? What about a favorite type of music?
My favorite type is hip-hop & lyrical. I love all music, classical to country, rap to 80's rock! :)

5. Who are your creative mentors?
Oh brother...um, Jesus! It used to be my dance teachers, but when I stopped taking classes I really had to rely on God.

6. What do you enjoy doing when you're not dancing?
Reading, scrap-booking, hanging with friends, throwing parties

7. Would you say your environment (where you live, work, play) influences your creative process? If so, how?
Not really. Like I said most of the time I dream up the choreography while I'm sleeping.

8. What does your creative process entail?
Sleep...:)

9. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Oh goodness. I would have to say wherever it is, it will be where God wants me to be...

Artist Profile: Penelope Reedy, Weaver

Today's artist comes to us from Pocatello, Idaho. While I affectionately refer to her as "Aunt Penny" (yes she is my real aunt) to the rest of the world she is Penelope Reedy - professor, poet, weaver and all around creative soul. Without further adieu, I give you Aunt Penny.

1. Where are you from originally?

I'm from western Washington State, Lake Stevens.

2. Where do you get your creative inspiration?

Nature, books about ethnic clothing or art movements, the Back to the Land Movement of the 1970s , Whole Earth Catalog, etc. I love the idea of making something from "scratch" -- it's like magic, and makes me feel less dependent . . .

3. How long have you been weaving?

I've been weaving since the 1970s on a handmade loom -- had to let weaving go in the 1990s because of divorce, returning to university, work, moving 12 times, general fatigue and hysteria.

4. Do you have a favorite type material, yarn, etc. you enjoy working with?

I like working with cotton, wool and rayon. I'm making much finer warps than I used to -- 20 ends per inch compared to 8 and 10 in the "old days" of lovely coarse weavings when the idea was to make sure it didn't look like it was machine made, then machines started making fabrics that mimicked handmade, go figure!

5. Who are your creative mentors?

Artist Lenore Tawney, Iron Age weavers, King Arthur stories, Sleeping Beauty who pricked her finger on a spindle, Rumpelstiltskin turning straw into gold. . .

6. What do you enjoy doing when you're not weaving?

When I'm not weaving, I'm thinking about weaving -- but I love hanging out with my grand kids. And then there's my job, teaching English at ISU.

7. What does your creative process entail?

Process . . .hmm. I'll get an idea from a book or memory, then I'll sit in my house and look at all the cones of yarn and imagine what colors and textures will make interesting cloth. I like having lots of yarns on hand, like having a box of paint tubes ready to be mixed.

8. Would you say your environment (where you live, work, play) influences your creative process? If so, how?

Yes, my environment influences my work. For local sales, I know I have to stay within a certain price limit, and although my customers like unique things, this is a pretty conservative (in terms of dress) area. But living with easy access to mountains, trees, sagebrush, farm ground, etc., gives me ideas for colors and textures. Also, being out of the rat race of urban environments provides a pleasant working pace. However, I would like to visit museums in large cities at least annually, and some day I would really love to attend a Paris Fashion Couture runway show.

9. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

I don't like to think that far ahead at my age . . .

For more information on how to purchase Penelope's weavings, please visit her website: waitingforodyssiusweavings.com

Artist Profile: Valerie Waters, Actress

I first met today's artist when we were both students in the University of Iowa Theatre Department. Though she considers herself an actress first and foremost, she is well versed in every area of theatre production, working in such venues as The Public Theatre in NYC. It is an honor to call Val one of my closest friends, she is truly an inspiring and prolific artist. Enjoy!






1. Where are you from originally?

I consider my hometown to be St. Louis, MO, though I was born in Florida and spent about a third of my childhood in the suburbs outside Tampa. But St. Louis is where I learned long division, where I performed in my first play, where I had my first kiss, and where much of my family still lives, so this city will always be "home" to me.


2. Where do you get your creative inspiration?

An easier question to answer would be "where DON'T I get creative inspiration?" As an actor my art is based in the human experience, so there is no part of my life that cannot be tapped for artistic stimulus. That said, though, theatre is typically centered around the most important moments of a person's life, so the inspiration for a role usually has to come from something other than my most recent trip to the grocery store. Like most actors I draw on powerful moments from my own life, but something else I find extremely helpful is the art of others. Since art is so often the distillation of an experience into its most visceral parts, I find a wealth of creative energy in music, poetry, paintings, photography, novels, and other works of art. I can infuse my own emotional history with the power of a heart-wrenching song and the transcendent imagery of an epic poem and have an arsenal of inspiration to draw from onstage.


3. How long have you been acting?

My very first performance took place when i was in fourth grade and I played "Mrs. Brown" in my class's production of Paddington Bear. But I was an actor long before I ever took the stage. My mother is a brilliant performer and she was constantly acting when I was little, so I was virtually raised in the theatre. In fact, it was also in fourth grade that my teacher called home to report that I was using foul language in the classroom, but in a most unusual manner: I was singing it. My mother was in rehearsals for Best Little Whorehouse In Texas at the time, and I had picked up the lyrics from hearing her practice. I wasn't punished for my transgression, but I was asked not to sing any more songs from my mother's shows - at least not until she was in something more wholesome.


4. Do you have a favorite type of theatre you enjoy doing?

I adore musical theatre, and it would be accurate to call it my "first love" in the theatrical realm. However, my tastes have matured since I first discovered the stage, and now I am never more happy than when performing Shakespeare. As any actor will tell you, there is something unique about Shakespeare: the language is liquid and hypnotic, and so pervasive that it seeps into your everyday life until you find yourself thinking in verse. Recently, while in rehearsal for a Shakespearean production, I was plagued by a stressful project at my day-job, and at one point I actually caught myself uttering curses such as "ancient damnation" and vowing to let "fire-eyed fury be my conduct now!" Shakespeare's ability to bring beauty and lyric to even the most mundane aspects of my life is a large part of why the Bard's plays are my favorite to perform.


5. Who are your creative mentors?

I had a professor in college who changed the way I see theatre, the way I see acting, even the way I see myself. Carol MacVey introduced me to so many different theories of acting, and gave me so many practical tools that I could never list them all. But more important than the methods she taught was the method in which she taught: she encouraged all forms of discovery, celebrated the most meager triumphs, and most importantly she gave herself fully and passionately to every moment, and by doing so not only made each of her students feel nurtured and valued, but also taught us an invaluable lesson in how to live, both on and off stage.

In addition to Carol there is Jonna, my counselor. I am a great advocate for therapy for all people, but especially for actors, whose job requires tremendous self-awareness. Jonna has helped me work through so many artistic blocks, to develop a sense of self-worth and an enduring confidence in my abilities and my goals. At the same time she has shared with me the trials and triumphs of her own artistic journey as a musician. She has helped me to trust in the creative process, and to trust myself.

Of course, I cannot discuss creative mentors without mentioning you, Annie. Your creative drive, determination, and strength are an inspiration to me. Your ability to move so easily among mediums - from light to fabric to paint to dance and beyond - gives me hope that I might increase the spread of my own artistic endeavors. And you have been a rock for me: a voice of reason, of encouragement, of love, and a source of unwavering faith. You have been both a model of the artist's process and a partner to share it with, and without you I would not be an artist worthy of the name.

6. What do you enjoy doing when you're not creating?

Sleeping. I love sleeping. It may not seem so but acting can be exhausting, especially when those four hours of rehearsal come immediately after eight hours of work. So I have a slightly over-developed affinity for my bed. Oh, and I also like eating. And I enjoy cooking but I despise doing the dishes, and so since the first almost always necessitates the second, I often abstain from culinary pursuits. In all seriousness, though, usually when I'm not acting or singing I can be found reading, listening to music, going to the theatre, watching movies, and watching tv series on DVD. So, essentially, when I'm not creating I like to spend my time enjoying other people's creations.


7. Would you say your environment (where you live, work, play) influences your creative
process? If so, how?

Absolutely. I feel that in order to function properly, both as a human being and an artist, I have to have balance in my life. The most difficult balance for me to find is one between work and rest, and an environment can dictate how much of each I get in a day. I am a person who needs a lot of rest - lots of peaceful quiet time to myself for reflection and relaxation - or else I become frazzled and frustrated and unable to accomplish anything. So it almost goes without saying that when I lived in New York I had a very difficult time getting anything done: there is nothing restful about New York City, and at the time I had not yet learned how to create peaceful space for myself at home, or how to find rest on a crowded train. Here, in St. Louis, the problem still exists, though to a lesser degree. I have my quiet time in my car during my commute every day while I listen to NPR or opera and relax my mind while focusing my thoughts. At home I am careful to keep my bedroom in a semblance of order because I know that I don't sleep well when lying amidst chaos. My current day-job is a perfect fit for my lifestyle, as it requires just enough energy and commitment to be psychologically satisfying, but not so much that I leave exhausted at the end of the day. I am always adjusting my life to fit my environment - either adding projects and commitments when things are too slow, or finding new methods and times for meditation and relaxation when life becomes too frenetic - and it is only when I achieve a careful balance between the energy surrounding me and the energy within me that I feel most creatively enabled.

8. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

In 10 years I see myself as a successful actor. And by successful I mean doing theatrical work that is meaningful to me and paying the bills with it. I also see myself branching out into directing, and possibly attending graduate school to further that goal. Another dream of mine is to obtain a degree in psychology and expand the field of drama therapy. Of course, in ten years I might also have children, in which case I see myself pursuing my career goals in a city with a good balance between cultural opportunity and domestic comfort, such as Seattle or Minneapolis. There are any number of scenarios I can dream up for a future ten years down the road which are equally plausible and exciting, and I don't presume to know, or even want to know, which path my life will take. I have long-term goals and long-held desires towards which I will work, but I am most happy to simply enjoy the journey.

9. What does your creative process entail?

My creative process as a whole would be difficult to outline since I am trying to make it more a way of life than prescribed procedure. However, if I limit the question to how I approach any one particular role there is a certain method to which I tend to adhere. First I read the play several times, trying mightily not to pay too much attention to my character at the expense of discovering the others. Then I like to research the play's period and environment and circumstances. I study any relevant historical events or movements of the era, as well as the more mundane details of clothing and food and housing and weather. For example, a play I did last June was set in St. Louis in 1917, so I visited the Missouri Historical Society and spent hours wandering among displays of dresses and fans and purses, taking an audio tour which detailed racial relations of the time, and studying the women's suffrage movement. After I feel comfortable with the circumstances of the play as a whole I dive into my own character's background, researching topics specific to her history, which for the above play included turn of the [20th] century childbirth practices, the New York modeling industry in the early teens, and the etiquette and societal customs of New England socialites of that era. After I have a strong historical and environmental background then I get to my favorite part of the process, which is the dissection of the scenes. I examine every word I say, every word someone else says to or about me, I try to determine what my relationship is to each of the other characters in the play, not only the ones who appear onstage but also those merely mentioned in the script. Sometimes I use a free-form style of writing to explore a scene, writing in first person about the events and my [character's] reactions to them. Sometimes I like to try to transpose a scene to fit my own life and circumstances to get a more honest perspective. By far the most useful tool, though, is rehearsal. No amount of writing or research can substitute the energy and life received from another actor. This is where the background becomes just that, background, and the human interactions of the play and the needs and desires and loves become the focus of the work. Every rehearsal reveals a new aspect of a relationship, a new way to fight for my goal in a scene, a new obstacle to battle through. And the process of discovery continues, all throughout rehearsals and through all performances, which is truly one of the most marvelous things about theatre: it is a living art form. You may see a play in June and go back to see it again in November - the same play with the same cast - and have a totally different experience. The creative process never ends, there is never a finished product, and I am always trying something new (often failing), exploring different tactics, and making surprising discoveries. And so the work continues, and I could not be more grateful for that work.