Edie Simons was sent to me by angels at the Altered Arts Conference, Altercations in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Have you ever met someone and immediately known that you were going to be lifelong friends? Have you ever met someone who's heart is so genuine that you know you are in the presence of a force greater than yourself?
Edie's art is a true reflection of her heart. I am blessed to call her my friend.
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Blog/Website/On-line Gallery: http://ediesthisandthat.blogspot.com/
Where do you craft? I have a studio in my basement and another extra bedroom which I use exclusively for beading projects.
What time of day do you craft? Since I work a full time day job my crafting times are usually late into the evenings and weekends. I honestly become more creative after 8:00 pm and I really don’t require much sleep. I can work from 7:00 pm till 2:30 am and feel just fine waking at 7:30 am. for my day job.
What motivates you when you are in the zone or hanging with the Mojo Fairy? I like to work with a deadline for one, having an open ended project doesn’t force me to concentrate. I like to focus in on what ever project I am working on and get it done from start to finish when the time allows. Before I started working M-F it was normal for me to work on my art for 30 hours straight and then crash for 12 hours. I also really like commission work! When I am making something for a person that sought me out, paid me good money, and likes my work enough to ask me to make them something that seems to be all the motivation I need. I tend to throw in more embellishments or bells and whistles for my commission work.
If you had one day to do only you, with no consequences for how you spent your time, what would you do? I would fly to New Jersey and hang out with Suzi Blu, http://suziblu.ning.com/group/PeititeDolls who is a mixed media artist; I would let her teach me more about drawing and painting pretty pretty girly faces! I have just finished an 8 week online class with her and my skills in drawing have improved so much I can’t even believe it. I’m going to attach the first drawing I did during week 1 of class and the drawing I did at the end of week 8, you’ll be amazed.
If you could craft with anyone dead or alive who would it be and why? This fabulous Altered Book Artist that lives in Australia, her name is Judy, http://redvelvetcreations.blogspot.com and she makes great books, plus she is Jewish like I am. Her books touch on Jewish themes and family traditions, her work is similar to mine but different and I would like to learn more from her about incorporating metals into my books.How can others keep up with you? Don’t sleep as much! No really if you want to do art you will find the time to do it, if you want to exercise you will, the key factor is finding something that makes the time fly so fast that you look at your watch and say “OMG it’s 2:00 am already?” I love creating and loosing myself in a creative project, it’s the best! Love what you do!
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A Note from Me:
I made a commitment to finding awesome artists who are representative of the diversity in the industry.
Edie lives by a faith that is unshakable. She lets her faith guide her choices and it permeates her art.
My respect for Edie is based in the fact that her faith keeps her grounded and committed.
until we meet again,
I totally understand what Edie is saying about the night getting away.
And I know Judy -- have taken classes from her, have touched her work -- and I never cease to be amazed by what she does. She is still my all-time favorite artist.
Posted by: Leslie M. | 07 November 2008 at 11:58 PM
Edie is one freakin genius.
Posted by: artist | 02 January 2009 at 02:08 PM
I'm glad you are highlighting diversity in the industry like I do. I'm glad I'm not going at this alone. Can't wait for more interviews.
Posted by: ethnic scrapbooking-lisa sanford | 12 February 2009 at 10:54 PM