This week the Etsy Around the World features takes us out West to visit with artist who implements a variety of mediums and styles. In her Etsy shop, customers find a mix of subjects and styles of art.. from canvas paintings to miniature room boxes and dioramas to altered art.
Who are you?Aria/Whimsical Fantasies
Where are you located?
Oregon
What do you create?
Altered Art, Miniatures, Journals, And Regular Paintings/Drawings
Why did you choose your shop name?
I wanted something that spoke of the kind of art I create, that way others would know right from the get-go that what they will find in my shop is both whimsical and full of fantasy.
Have you ever visited North Carolina?
No, but my husband has, and he said he loved all the trees.
What is your favorite place to visit in your hometown?
The airport, because of where it’s located: it’s the last spot in this city where it’s still country with farms, fields, and livestock.
What inspires you?
Two things inspire me: music is so much a part of my life, I’m surrounded by it everyday (married to a musician), I’ll hear a piece of music and it will bring back a memory or help me make a mental picture of an emotion, and then I’ll go paint it. The other is the imaginations of children, because they have such fun and creative imaginations, they come up with the most unusual ideas and ways of looking at things sometimes.
What is the most time consuming part of your art?
It’s not any of the logistics such purchasing supplies or running a shop, but actually the very first thing that comes to mind with regards time consuming is one particular piece I make, that of the mini buildings and homes. Every bit of them is hand cut, even the roof shingles. And since they fit in the palm of your hand, that’s a lot of shingles.
When did you start creating?
I have been interested in art since I was a kid, in fact the very first picture I sold was when I was seven years old, my single mother worked at a fitness gym, and I used to sit in the lobby of the gym waiting for her shift to end. I’d occupy my time with drawing. I happen to have a bag of bird feathers for crafts, and I drew a bird in which I glued the feathers onto the paper. A gym guest took pity on me and bought it for 10 cents. Fast forward 13 years, I started selling graphite portraits, mostly by word of mouth, then around five years ago, I started selling them online.
What do you do when you are not creating?
Read. I read a lot. I just love books. Right now I am reading about how to build a ‘homestead’ believe it or not. Also I’m always on the internet trying to learn new and useful things. There is a lot of time wasters and just plain awful stuff online sometimes, so I try to avoid those kinds of things.
No, but my husband has, and he said he loved all the trees.
What is your favorite place to visit in your hometown?
The airport, because of where it’s located: it’s the last spot in this city where it’s still country with farms, fields, and livestock.
What inspires you?
Two things inspire me: music is so much a part of my life, I’m surrounded by it everyday (married to a musician), I’ll hear a piece of music and it will bring back a memory or help me make a mental picture of an emotion, and then I’ll go paint it. The other is the imaginations of children, because they have such fun and creative imaginations, they come up with the most unusual ideas and ways of looking at things sometimes.
What is the most time consuming part of your art?It’s not any of the logistics such purchasing supplies or running a shop, but actually the very first thing that comes to mind with regards time consuming is one particular piece I make, that of the mini buildings and homes. Every bit of them is hand cut, even the roof shingles. And since they fit in the palm of your hand, that’s a lot of shingles.
When did you start creating?
I have been interested in art since I was a kid, in fact the very first picture I sold was when I was seven years old, my single mother worked at a fitness gym, and I used to sit in the lobby of the gym waiting for her shift to end. I’d occupy my time with drawing. I happen to have a bag of bird feathers for crafts, and I drew a bird in which I glued the feathers onto the paper. A gym guest took pity on me and bought it for 10 cents. Fast forward 13 years, I started selling graphite portraits, mostly by word of mouth, then around five years ago, I started selling them online.
What do you do when you are not creating?Read. I read a lot. I just love books. Right now I am reading about how to build a ‘homestead’ believe it or not. Also I’m always on the internet trying to learn new and useful things. There is a lot of time wasters and just plain awful stuff online sometimes, so I try to avoid those kinds of things.
Wow - That journal is beautiful!
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