o Tell us a little about yourself
I am a wife and
mom to an 8 year old little girl and 2 year old little
boy. My husband is a cyclist and works as a bicycle mechanic in a
bicycle shop. We live in beautiful Colorado Springs, Colorado. I
started on my home business adventure 8 years ago with henna body art. I
grew from doing parties and festivals to contracts with entertainment
companies. Last Christmas, I decided to hand make all of my gifts. I
made jewelry for all of the women in my family and they absolutely loved
it, so I reopened my Etsy shop in February and it has taken off.
o Where does your inspiration come from?
My friends! I
have some amazingly talented friends who are photographers, models, body
painters, makeup artists, performance artists, painters, sculptors,
etc. Also, where I live. I live in a beautiful area and can see the
mountains by just looking out of my window.
o Who has influenced you the most in your creations?
Wire artists such as Nurrgula
, Twisted Sister Arts, Lirimaer, Cook on Strike, and Nix Creations.
o How would you describe your creative process?Sometimes
I will pick a color scheme and it will determine how my piece comes
together. Other times I will see a shape, make the shape in wire, and
then build around that shape.
o How do you get out of creative ruts?
By visiting
the local bead shops. There is one I go to regularly where the owner has
traveled around the world and brought back several kinds of stone beads
and metal components. Each piece I have found in there seems to have
its own personality and I know just what to do with it.
o What advice would you give to aspiring artists?
Don't
give up! There is a whole world of supportive artists, groups, youtube
videos, tutorials, books, blogs, and websites out there to help you on
your path. I don't think I would be where I am at today without them.
Never stop learning! Jewelry has this snowball effect. Once you learn
one technique, you can apply it to several styles of jewelry and
sometimes learn another new technique in the process and it builds on
itself.
Links:Blog:
http://whimsicalweavings.blogspot.com/Etsy Shop:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/WhimsicalMonkeyFacebook Fan Page:
https://www.facebook.com/whimsicalmonkey
