paint cut paste

i am so honored to have the opportunity to interview the amazing lisa whitesell, of the awesome 5 orange potatoes blog! her nature-loving, creative blog has been one of my favorite sources of earthy, artsy ideas. lisa was kind enough to answer some of my questions about her life, work, and inspiration AND to give away one of her adorable owl pillows to one of my lucky readers!!! enjoy her story below and enter for your chance to win at the bottom of this post.

lisa & her creations at her 5 orange potatoes "craftin' outlaws" booth

jen:  your 5 orange potatoes blog has long been a source of inspiration for me. i am so very drawn to the way you incorporate the spirit of the earth in each of your creations — from herbal remedies to nature art activities to upcycling sweaters into the most amazing plush creatures. can you tell us a bit about what most inspires you and the work you so beautifully offer to the world?

lisa: I’m just your basic natural earthy girl that loves the Earth and prefers natural to artificial- from the food we eat, the medicines we use, the art supplies we use, and the clothing we wear.  I have Appalachia roots and my granny is always comparing me to my great grandmother and the way she lived her life. I’m sure I was a peasant witchy woman in another life, a bit of a recluse, with a large herb garden making concoctions for the village people and what ails them -OR- maybe it’s because I was born on the very first Earth Day (April 22, 1970)! I can’t pinpoint what exactly drives me, it’s just something in me, seems to run in my veins!

lisa's acorn jewelry

jen:  you and i are kindred spirits in experimenting with medicinal herbs. i especially adore all of your posts on lavender, dandelions, and those honey herbal coughdrops! (the soothing gremlin softie is one of my favorite ideas of yours, as it blends your offerings of herbal remedies with your talent for creating such fun characters.) how did you first begin your love of herbology? can you share with us some of your favorite resources for learning about herbs and teaching your children about their healing properties?

lisa: Being raised in the country, with parents that always sent my sisters and me outside, and working in nature, with youth camps, really sparked my love of nature and herbology. My first taste of chicory coffee made from fresh chicory roots and a fresh salad made from wild edibles, sent me over the roof, really connected me to the wonderful bounty that Nature provides. Forget the man-made and artificial junk! Hildegard of Bingen, Juliette De Bairacli Levy, Rosemary Gladstar, Michael Tierra, Maud Grieve, and Jeanne Rose are some of my favorite go to herbalists. These amazing herbalists have fantastic books that make up a large part of my herbal library.

lisa's jewelweed poison ivy remedy

jen:  my daughter is blessed to have a couple of your creations. her winking fox, who is now called nuki, has brought so much joy into our home. i admire how you use thrifted sweaters and vintage fabrics to create them, in true earth-loving fashion. each of your plush creatures has such personality – the ones created from the upcycled sweaters are my absolute favorite! how does the idea for the animals’ patterns and images come to you?

lisa: My girls’ drawings are what inspired me when I first started making plush, but now I simply look at an animal’s eyes and the inspiration will be there or not. The actual critter has to inspire me before I can create it, this makes it hard when a customer asks me to create an animal I haven’t made before. For example, I’ve been struggling with a turtle design for the past year, I would LOVE to make one, but the design just isn’t there yet!

an inspirational drawing from lisa's daughter

prim and proper

jen:  it seems that your way of creating has gracefully piqued your daughters’ curiosity about nature and art. it is so wonderful to see them concocting potions and sewing on your blog. can you offer any words of wisdom to us about your philosophy on how to inspire children to connect with the earth and to create with their hands?

lisa: That’s simple, if they see you doing it and making it part of everyday, they will follow. Get outside everyday with your child and explore together, not only will you influence them but they will see and point out things you’ve never seen before! I really believe that experiencing nature with a child is the best way to learn and discover.

exploring nature with children

jen:  what are you most passionate about creating about RIGHT NOW?

lisa: Our basement flooded last Spring and all of our holiday ornaments got ruined, so we will be working hard on creating new decorations for this holiday season.

lovely applesauce ornaments

jen:  i’m sure it’s not the first time you’ve been asked, but i’ve been curious: where did the name 5 orange potatoes come from?

lisa: I get this question all the time! I asked my girls to throw out some names, Araina (5yo at the time) said “5 orange potatoes,” I loved the corky sound to it and kept it. It really works for us too, being vegetarians we eat a lot of sweet potatoes and I have red hair that looks a little orange in the sun. I shared this story with a man at a recent show and he laughed because his 6yo nephew named his goldfish “Roastbeef,” you really can’t beat the creative power of a young mind!

sewing with children

and now for the giveaway… [CLOSED]

lisa is generous enough to offer one of her amazingly adorable owl pillows, hand sewn with love from vintage fabrics or upcycled sweaters, to one of my readers! that could be YOU!

to enter for your chance to win:

• first click here, which will open a new browser window where you will visit the 5 orange potatoes etsy shop to peruse the beautiful wares. choose which owl pillow is your favorite (that you’d like to win!) and come back here and let me know in the comments which owl you’d choose. *make sure your valid email address is attached to your entry so i can contact you if you win.*

you need to do the above entry to be entered, and for THREE MORE chances to win, you can do the following and leave an additional comment (read: entry into drawing) for each of these actions:

• like 5 orange potatoes on facebook
• follow 5 orange potatoes on twitter
• share a link to this blog post giveaway on your facebook page, your twitter account, and/or on your blog.

i will choose a winner using a random number generator this thursday night (november 10) at 9pm pacific/midnight eastern.

*CONGRATS TO WINNER, TARA C!*

and now for my unsolicited PSA: while you are on lisa’s 5 orange potatoes etsy shop, keep in mind that the holidays are fast approaching, and these make for amazing gifts for special people in your life. if you’d like to support artists and the idea of a handmade holiday (as opposed to store-bought, mass-produced goods,) please consider shopping on sites like etsy, at your local holiday faires, and, of course, making your own holiday gifts this year (and every year!) occupy the holidays!

*all images courtesy of 5 orange potatoes.

you may remember my gushing about an artist couple N and i met at a local art festival – they’re rick and heather from earnest efforts natural woodworking, and they make the most amaaaazing art out of trees: beautiful boxes and magical spirit shakers that will make you swooooon!

N checking out the earnest efforts booth at the kings mountain arts fair last month

i’ve scored an interview with the artists and they’re giving away a spirit shaker and a rattle to my readers (one winner for each) so read on to learn more about the art of wood and enter for a chance to win a lovely handmade piece!

my interview with heather of earnest efforts

jen: can you tell us a bit about how and when you came to find the gift of your woodworking craft?

Heather: Earnie Efforts (aka Rick) has been selling his woodworking wares at the Eugene, Oregon Saturday Market (the longest-running outdoor, handcrafted marketplace in the US) since the 1980′s. I, Ellie Efforts (aka Heather), joined the Market in 1994 with my fiber arts. In 1998 we got to know one another, fell in love, and married in 1999. Earnie was an apprentice cabinet maker to his grandfather and continued working in wood to supplement his family’s income. I tell people that I not only married him out of love, but the fact that he had a woodshop – I had wanted to work in wood since I was little.

"Earnie & I in our booth at the Saturday Market"

jen: i notice that each of your pieces clearly has resonance with the spirit of the wood from which it was created. how do your natural materials inform your work?

Heather: If you could crawl inside Earnie’s head and see the world through his eyes, you would know that he doesn’t see driftwood on the beach… he sees boxes. Each piece of wood has it’s own personality, story and destiny. We don’t just see wood or trees; we see life on many levels. I think we forget that wood is still living long after it has fallen to the earth and will continue to live on long after that box we made is discarded and goes back to the earth. This is also why it is so important to us that we maintain the integrity of the wood with a natural beeswax finish. We want you to be able to feel the warmth of the wood, not a plastic coating so often used in “preserving” wood and we want the wood to return to the earth clean.

"Earnie cutting up driftwood on the Coquille River - note the top left piece of wood has been chewed by a beaver"

"River Alder Box - chewed by a beaver"

jen: my daugher and i just love making music with the spirit shakers and rattles we’ve purchased from you! can you tell us a bit about how they are created (like, what’s inside?) and why you call them spirit shakers?

Heather: The spirit shakers are very special to us on many levels. Earnie & I scavengers and hoarders (in a good way) – we don’t waste anything. When he cuts the boxes, the heart of a box becomes another box, a rattle, or a spirit shaker – until all that remains is kindling for our house wood stove. I’m going to leave the spirit making a little bit of a mystery for you, but inside are copper BBs. We call them spirit shakers because we have witnessed that the essence of the living tree continues to live in on in the wood and within us as we touch, make music, and meditate with the wood.

(these are our earnest efforts rattles & spirit shaker - isn't that purple one AMAZING?! no dyes or paints - that's the natural color of the wood!)

jen: how can parents and teachers help inspire children to begin working with wood as an art material?

Heather: Taking children to meet artists at art festivals is a wonderful way to introduce children to art in all of it’s forms. When children can touch, smell, feel and see artwork with an artist they can ask questions and process in a way unavailable in books or online. We meet children at every festival who are interested in woodworking and we encourage their parents to seek out woodworking classes at community colleges or art centers since so many schools are closing their woodshops.

"Earnie cutting a box on our 1953 Boice Crane bandsaw"

jen: is there anything else you’d like to add?

Heather: Take care, be good & kind, and don’t forget to laugh.

giveaway

Oregon-Myrtlewood Spirit Shaker & Maple Baby Rattle/Teether

earnest efforts is so kind to offer one spirit shaker (left in photo above) and one rattle (right in photo above to two paintcutpaste.com readers who enter the drawing. the rattles are beeswax coated and completely safe for babies to chew on. heather says, “these are representational photos – they are not the actual rattle & spirit shakers we are giving away, as we will chose beauties with lovely sound for the winners.” oooooh, and they’re all so lovely!

i will use a random number generator to choose TWO winners (one for each) this thursday evening, october 20, at 9PM pacific/12midnight eastern.

how to enter: comment on this blog entry and let us know your favorite type of tree AND the age(s) of your child(ren) — incase you are a winner, the child’s age is how i will know whether you should receive the baby-safe rattle or the spirit shaker. please be sure your correct email address is associated with your entry so that i can contact you if you’re a winner. (comment link is up there on the left, under the date of this post. i’ve gotta move this at some point…)

two winners were chosen! thanks to all who entered!

please do yourself a favor and check out earnest efforts’ awesome etsy shop to view and purchase more of their wares. (think: holiday shopping!) and be sure to “like” earnest efforts on facebook.

good luck, woodchucks!

as you all may recall, we got a great package from decoart this summer containing lotsa artsy fun. someone in our house was definitely psyched about this surprise! we have made a few projects so far with these materials — like our first day of school chalkboard sign:

and our glow-in-the-dark rocks:

while there’s still much more fun to be had under our roof with these goodies, i thought we’d share the artsy love by giving some supplies away to you, dear readers! many of these giveaway items are part of our decoart surprise package and others are from our own overflowing stash. i am so thankful that you’re here, sharing in our artventures and continuing to provide me with amazing feedback and inspiration. enter to win some tangible tokens of my gratitude:

• decoart 8oz chalkboard paint (not pictured – oops)
• three 8oz bottles of decoart acrylic paint in the primary colors (red, yellow, blue)
• three 4oz bottles of decoart stencil paint in fuchsia, yellow, and turquoise
• decoart flower stencil set
• decoart glow-in-the-dark puffy paint
• decoart pearlizing medium – 2oz (fun to add to your acrylic paint to give it a shimmery glow)
• rose art rainbow swirl pencil set
• package of twelve #2 pencils
• 4 color ballpoint pen
• a little jar of pixie dust, for art-making magic!
• and one other very cool surprise…

DRAWING IS NOW CLOSED.

you can enter the giveaway drawing up to five times by doing one, a few, or all of the ideas below:

• entry #1: leaving a comment below telling us what you’d like to paint with chalkboard paint
• entry #2: like us on facebook & comment below to tell us you have
• entry #3: follow us on twitter & comment below to let us know you have
• entry #4: follow us on pinterest & comment below to let us know you have (i’d love to know your pinterest link so i can follow you back, too!)
• entry #5: share this giveaway on your own blog, your facebook wall, or twitter page and let us know you have by commenting below

apologies to all of my friends in other countries (who i also deeply appreciate,) but i can only ship these goodies within the continental USA. i will use a random number generator to choose a number of the winning comment on the autumn equinox – friday, september 23rd, at 9pm pacific/midnight eastern. be sure to leave your email address with your comments so that i can contact you if you win!

THE WINNER IS MANDY:

you know i adore my brilliant and inspirational bloggy friend, pink & green mama. this weekend, she will begin selling an awesome art lesson plan booklet (in pdf form) called “ocean fun art camp lesson plans” on her blog. we got our hands on an advance copy – how special is that? you can get a copy, too! read on – there’s a juicy giveaway* at the end of this blog entry… (*closed as of 7/23/10 midnight)

we have already done pink & green mama’s wooden mermaid clothespin dolls that are featured in the booklet, and they were a huge hit over here! these little sea maidens continue to provide hours of playtime enjoyment.

remember these? they're in the book!

N and i looked through the great instructional photos illustrating each super-inventive exercise in pink & green mama’s booklet. N picked one that she wanted to try out today (and she graciously said we can save the other 11 art activities in the book for tomorrow. we’re gonna be busy over here!) this afternoon we experimented with bubble wrap ocean printing!

we followed pink & green mama’s very clear instructions to paint the bubble wrap on the bumpy side with washable acrylic paint. N chose many shades of blues, greens, and purple and decided to apply it in a stripey pattern.

after N painted the bubble wrap, she pressed it onto cardstock. (you can use any paper thick enough to hold up to acrylic paint.) it made the greatest bubbly ocean!

pink & green mama gives detailed instructions for making your own very clever ocean-themed stamps (while recycling!) to press onto the scene; however, this time N preferred to paint the sea creatures herself instead of printmaking. she was inspired by a trip we took to the monterey bay aquarium over the weekend – such beautiful exhibits! i have to share at least one photo with you!

gorgeous sea nettles!

N got down to business, painting away with the acrylics and chatting about all kinds of sea animals she saw at the aquarium. this art lesson booklet is so timely — such an enriching addition to our summer fun!

we were able to make three pages of prints with just one coat of paint in the bubble wrap. each one was a bit lighter than the one before, but that made for great subtle backgrounds for the paintings.

(yep, one of them involves a girl and her dog snorkeling...?)

pink & green mama has done it again – crafty excellence! this activity book is chocked full of oceanic fun like this! i highly recommend it to any parent or teacher out there who makes art with kids ages 3-9. the instructions are clear and concise, the photos are fabulous, each of the 12 activities includes a supply list, and all templates are printable.

GIVEAWAY ENDED JULY 23RD, 2010:

to WIN A FREE COPY of these wonderful art lesson plans, leave a COMMENT HERE by clicking “comments” to the upper left. you’ll have 3 chances to enter the drawing:

1. for your first comment, state your most vivid art memory from your own childhood.
2. “like” paintcutpaste.com on facebook and leave a comment stating that you now “like” us (or that you have liked us all along. aw, thanks!)
3. link to this blog entry on your blog and leave a third comment showing us the link to where you mentioned it.

leave your comments BEFORE MIDNIGHT EST FRIDAY, JULY 23RD. at that time, i will draw the winner based on a random number. please also include your email address in the body of the comments so that pink & green mama can send you a copy of this awesome book when you win! GOOD LUCK TO ALL!

___

patty walsh (#23) is the winner of pink & green mama’s ocean fun art camp lesson plans pdf booklet. CONGRATS, patty! it’s an awesome book – enjoy! her comment was:

My most vivid art memory as a child would have to be when I was about 4. I remember going in to my Mom’s make up and mixing water with eye shadows to make paint. I remember having such a good time, I don’t even think my Mom got mad. It really was a great experience!