Artist Interview - Heartshapedcreations

Each week we invite a different Etsy seller to visit us at our home: The House of Mouse, where all the mice live. This weeks guest is Athens based polymer clay artist Maria from HeartshapedCreations.etsy.com.


Maria and Anna are sitting in The House of Mouse garden, a place in our home that is very special to the mice as they love to spend time outdoors. Buddy the Gardener mouse spends all day looking after the plants that grow here. We sip wine and nibble on cheese while we enjoy this beautiful autumn evening. Anna pulls out her notepad and begins the interview.

A - Welcome to our home Maria! Thank you so much for talking to us today.
M - Thank you for inviting me over in your wonderful garden on such a lovely day. I already feel like home!

A - We'd like to begin by asking you a little bit about your Etsy store and what it means to you: when telling someone about your shop for the first time, what do you say about it?
M- Well, I can say for sure that my Etsy shop means quite a lot to me. I decided to open it during a rather hard period in my life and it was one of the things that truly helped me and filled my heart with joy and positive emotions. When I talk to someone for the first time about what I do, it is a bit difficult to express all the feelings that I have inside of me. The one thing for sure is that I talk about it with a lot of love and as something that gives me great joy, inner peace and lots of happy creative moments.

A - Would you share a memory with us of when you first fell in love with your craft?
M - My first attempts to create something out of clay were not very successful I must say. As with everything new you must have patience and practice a lot in order to say that you are happy with the outcome. The most important think is not to give up and try your best for something you truly love and speaks to your heart. I think that I fell in love with what I do the very first time I saw that I was able to create something from a shapeless piece of clay. I never knew that I was able to do something like that and my enthusiasm was so big that for the first months I was literally in a creating frenzy! Of course the more I worked, the better were the results and that motivated me even more, I haven’t stopped ever since.

A - How do you plan for a new item in your Etsy Shop, if at all? Do you know how something will look before you start?
M - My ideas change constantly, even during the creation process. However, I always start with a basic idea and then make changes or additions as the sculpture starts to take its form. I usually have brainstorming during night time, so I always keep a little note book by my side to write my thoughts. Sometimes it’s hard to sleep afterwards coz I wanna get up in the middle of the night and start working right away! So, yes I can say that I do have an image of what I will make beforehand.


A - We do hope that you're a keen Etsy buyer as well as seller. What is your favourite shop on Etsy and why?
M -Yes, I do love Etsy as a marketplace. The variety of items is amazing and the creativity of people never seizes to amaze me. I know that when I own something from another Etsy seller is something unique and that the person who made it devoted not only time but also his/her heart and soul, to make that special item. It’s really hard for me to pick just one shop among my favourites. The only thing for sure is that I buy things (either for me or my loved ones) that stir something within me, either with their beauty, their sensitivity or warm up my heart and make me smile.

A - We'd love to get a little snippet of your home life, please describe your home in just 5 words!
M - Peaceful, Creative, Love, Organized, Cosy.

A - Musculus Maximouse gets terrible midnight cravings. If he were to raid your refrigerator right now, what treats might he find there?
M -I think that Maximouse would be delighted if he raided my fridge, since there are always fresh fruit and veggies. But if he craves for something sweet, chocolate is never absent from there as well!

A - If you were a mouse living in The House of Mouse, which one would you be and why?
M - Let’s see… I guess I would be Lizzy the Guitarist Mouse, because I have always wanted to know how to play the guitar :)

A - And finally, one of the mice would like to ask you a question. This one comes from Mr Applecheeks the Librarian Mouse. He'd like to ask you: What is your favourite book or author?
M - My favourite book has to be the: "Manual Of The Warrior Of Light" By Paolo Coelho. It has a very special meaning to me as it refers to the warrior each one of us hides within him/herself and the battles we have to face during our journey in life. Every difficulty we come across must be faced with strength, faith, hope and positivity in order to mature as individuals and achieve personal growth and inner peace.

A - Thank you so much for taking the time to visit us, Maria. Please let us know how we can find you on the internet by sharing some links!

My Gallery in Deviantart:
http://www.heartshapedcreations.deviantart.com
My Gallery in Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/39911550@N06
My Twitter page:
http://www.twitter.com/heartshapedcr
My FaceBook FanPage:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Heartshapedcreations/259029738984?v=wall#

Thank you for honouring me with this wonderful interview. I had tons of fun and I really enjoyed talking to you and your little furry friends!!!