An Interview - Trying Something New

Hello, Friends. Relyn at Come Sit by My Fire was kind enough to send me some questions to answer about myself. I've never done this before, so I hope that you enjoy what I have to share. If you would like to be interviewed, then read the directions at the bottom of this post and attach a comment saying "Interview Me!"

1. You are new to blogging. Welcome. What was the final push that made you decide to join us in this wonderful blogiverse?

I have tried blogging before and was at a point in my life where I just didn't stick with it for very long. As much as I enjoyed reading others' blogs, I really had a hard time keeping up with my own. It was much more enjoyable for me to use my time reading about others and looking at all of the wonderful things being shared. So many inspiring ideas are always out there! Now, I am trying to open up and share. I'm finding that blogging is a great way to do that.

2. You and your family seem to have traveled with your daughters a lot. Please tell us the most challenging aspect of traveling with children. And, the most rewarding.

My husband is in the military which has given us the opportunity to travel - a lot! In the summer of '08, we returned to the States from two years in Germany. During that period we really did make the effort to travel as much as we could and show the girls Europe. My husband and I had lived in Europe for three years before, and now was the opportunity to revisit places and explore new scenes with the kids.
I would have to say the most challenging aspect of traveling with kids is making sure to weave in sights and experiences just for them. Some places just lend themselves to, say, visiting the cathedral or an art museum. Although my girls are wonderful travelers, they do have their limits of patience and attention span with the "adult" sights. My husband is especially good at researching places ahead of time and finding at least one or two things that will draw the children's interest. Flexiblity is also important. It's always a good idea to follow Plan A, but have Plans B and C just in case. Oh, for anyone planning a trip to a foreign museum, castle, or gallery, we hightly recommend spending the extra money to get the children their own audio self-guided tour handset. The kids get to push in #'s related to the exhibit they are looking at and can hear the information in their own language. That little bit of autonomy combined with busy-hands is amazing!
The most rewarding thing to me about traveling with children is seeing their reactions to new experiences. Seeing the world through my children's eyes refreshes the way I see things. I like that. I have also found that as we expose our children to more things, they in turn become more interested in the world around them. They want to get out and do more. They see and interact with people of other cultures. How great is that?


3. Speaking of traveling... What place is in first place on your "Gotta Get There" list? Why?

Wow, that's tough. Since we had lived in Europe before, I knew there were places that I wanted to get back to, and some that I had no interest in seeing again. We did get to some of the places that I wanted to visit, but not all. Right now, I would love to get to Maine. I have always wanted to visit the shore and woods there. For my entire life it has been South that we've traveled on family vacations, mainly to the Outer Banks of NC. I find the idea of visiting Maine with it's rockier coastline and trekking through the woods really exciting. Also, the Pacific Northwest is appealing.

4. You are an artist, a blogger, a wife, a mother, a world traveler, and the list goes on. How do you make time for painting among all your other commitments?

What a great question. Well, to be honest with you, I'm still working on that one! Besides painting, I love to do many other arts and crafts. The variety keeps me interested, but finding the time is always an issue. Really I don't do anything too complicated to make time. I try and keep a relatively simple schedule, logging on my calendar the "must-do's", and then work in some time for the artwork. That is not the most scientific of approaches, but then I'm a random kind of girl, so it works for me most of the time. I do some artwork for others and I try to keep that to a minimum. The artwork I enjoy the most is what I create because I desire to create it - for me.

5. You are an artist with an art teacher mother. How do you encourage artistic pursuits in your own daughters?

I think that it is important to be very open and accepting with kids and their creations. My girls see how I enjoy trying a wide variety of art styles and mediums. Often they want to help with my projects or make one of their own. I encourage this. Perfection is not the key here. The willingness to try, to explore, to create is most important. Often we find that our end product is not at all what we had set out to do, and sometimes that leads to frustration. This is when I try to be "open" with expectations and "accepting" that this is part of the creative process. Art (to me) is not about being exact. It's about enjoying the creating and being surprised at the outcome.
There are times when my children compare my work to their own. At times they might feel like what they have done is not good by comparison. This is when I point out that I have been doing artwork for a long time and that is not always to my advantage. Often the girls hear from me that I would LOVE to be able to create work like theirs - fresh, naive to some degree, uninhibited. Their interpretation of whatever we are working on is unique and special. It should NOT look like mine. :0)


Instructions

1. Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me."

2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. (I get to pick the questions).

3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.

4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.

5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.