AREtsy Featured Member: Forever and a Day

It's time again for another weekly featured artist from the AREtsy Street Team. ForeverandaDay joined the AREtsy team this past year and instantly became one of our most talkative and supportive members. She is eager to get the AREtsy name out there and spread the word about the wonderful artists that make up this team. Besides being an active member of the team, she also runs two other shops (besides ForeverandaDay) - TheWishingWell and GypsysLament. I'm honored to be able to do the same about her in this feature.

Tell us a bit about yourself name, location, affiliations, personal stuff.

My name is Maria White and I am 35 years old. I live just outside of Bentonville Arkansas. Bentonville is the Home Town of Wal-Mart and things are a little different around here; not much like back in Pike County where I grew up. But they have the only diamond mine in the whole USA. We have also lived in northern Italy and Germany for a few years while my husband was in the Army. Europe was a great inspiration to a wannabe artist.

My husband works as a business analyst for Wal-Mart Aviation in Rogers. I married my husband at seventeen, we were high school sweethearts…sappy I know, but we are still best of friends and have a great time together.

Apart from creating things, what do you do?

I am a mother of four, three boys ages 10, 7, and 2, and a 16year old daughter. We enjoy traveling, fishing, hiking, camping, and all kinds of outdoor activities (you would too if you had three boys!)

What first made you want to become an artist?

I didn’t really, just always made things and wanted to learn how to make anything I could visualize. There are so many other media I want to try. I took a pottery class in college and just didn’t get enough; I always loved playing in the mud.

Please describe your creative process how, when, materials, etc.

My inspirations sometimes come from the strangest places, especially when they are from dreams. I also get a lot of ideas just from being outside enjoying nature. Sometimes just a lucky shot with the camera can lead me to a new creation.

I drive my family crazy with my schizophrenic need to experiment with lots of mediums. I have done mosaics, watercolor, oil and acrylics; I have even taken a farrier class and learned to shoe horses and believe me that is an art form that is tough a body.

What handmade possession do you most cherish?

I have a quilt made out of flour sacks that is very old, it was given to me by my mother in law and I love it. Especially because of its uneven, hand stitched imperfections… it has character and is beautiful.

Name your top five books, movies, songs/musical groups, and web sites besides Etsy.

I am a steady reader and have always loved literature; my favorites are Gulliver’s Travels, A Farewell to Arms, Anna Karenina, anything by C.S. Lewis.

Musically my tastes are pretty varied, I like a lot of different styles from folk to alternative rock and even the occasional opera.

How do you promote your work?

Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, and just being friendly with the people who buy from me, I get a lot of repeat buyers and I always try to add a buttonhole gift with every order big or small

What are you favorite things about belonging to AREtsy?

I feel a kinship with other crafters, artists, and makers of things, I have always been the strange one who is always making something but my grandmothers and their grandmothers did what I do they made things with their hands and got lots of joy from it and from giving to others. I love seeing the other things that people on the team make. I am so proud when someone does well.

In ten years I'd like to be...

Alive, coherent, and have a 401k that’s not in the tank!