1. What type of art do you practice? Tell us a little bit about your background.

I took my first sculpting class at age 9 but I had been sculpting miniature dolls, animals, and dollhouse supplies for years before that. I also used to make doll clothes as a child. I went to ISU college of Design and learned to translate my love of textiles into sculptural art quilts and three dimensional fiber sculptures. As an adult I have been able to marry my loves of fiber and sculpture in “art dolls”, which are nothing like the dolls little girls play with. They are sculpture in human or animal form, which become mixed media works with costuming, hair styling, and facial and body expression. I have always had a taste for whimsical, nostalgic, and colorful art which is evident in nearly all of my work. I also make whimsical custom cake toppers for weddings and birthdays.

2. Who / What have you been influenced by? Which artists have influenced your art?

The master artists from history that I love are:

• Michelangelo
• Pablo Picasso
• Gustav Klimt
• Current art doll artists that I admire:
• Wendy Froud
• Gail Lackey http://gaillackey.blogspot.com/
• Marilyn Radzat http://www.marilynradzat.com/

3. How has art had a positive influence on you and how do you plan to have your art be a positive influence on others?

Art is like food for me. I forget to eat, but I never forget my art. Art is often the last thing I think of before sleep and the first thing I think of when I wake. Creating keeps me moving, inspired, and excited. I have always been sure that I am here to create. Art is more than just a positive influence on me; I would call it a driving force.

I like that my art elicits smiles and joyful expressions from viewers. People often get excited and nostalgic when they see my art, and I like the effect it has on those who respond to it.

4. What is a favorite experience you’ve had?

When I was a child my father would take me with him to the sprint car races in Jackson, MN. It was fun to have an outing with my dad, and I remember getting treats from the concession stand that I would never get at home. But after a watching the races for a little while I would head straight for the area near the front of the bleachers that was covered in a clay-like mud. I would sit there for the duration of the races and sculpt figures with the mud-clay. I loved sculpting with the mud, it was like Play-doh but the texture was so much better!

5. How have your past life experiences influenced your art?

I remember a past life as a Rastafarian man with 7 wives, and others where I was a harp player, a belly dancer, an orphaned child. Oh but you probably mean past experiences in this life, lol!

My art has certainly been influenced by my travels. I have lived in many cities in the US, and I’ve traveled a lot in Mexico, Central America, Indonesia and Southeast Asia. I love visiting cultures that are vastly different than my own, and absorbing the sights, sounds, smells and traditions of far-away places.

As a child I spent so much time at the lake and wetlands, and I shared a special understanding with the frogs, salamanders, birds, fish, and plant life I encountered there. I like to think my art reflects the connectedness I feel to the earth and the non-human life I respect and enjoy so much on our planet.

6. What is special about your art? Why do you stand out among other artists?

Since childhood I can remember often seeing faces in rocks, trees, ponds, and clouds. It seemed to me that everything had a face and something to say or convey. My art dolls give a body to the faces that I have always seen, with clothing, hair styles, and fashion to convey a message that desires to be understood in absence of being spoken. Art dolls are still a new and unusual form of art, especially in northwest Iowa, and I hope my art can help bring awareness to forms and styles of art beyond the traditionally accepted art forms of sculpting and painting.

7. What are your plans for the future with your art?

I will continue to make custom cake toppers for a few more years, but ultimately I will move into fewer cake toppers and more art dolls. I also have some plans to incorporate framed paintings with my art dolls so they can hang on the wall.

Where to find me:

• My shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/SpiritMama?ref=si_shop
• My blog: http://spiritmama-art.blogspot.com/
• My website: http://spiritmama.com
• Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/SpiritMama