Conversation With A New Zealand Artist

There are a great deal of artist who I like and admire for their body of work, influences and who they themselves admire about other artist.  I love that in the world of the internet I can meet artist from around the world.  I met Suzanne Carter via facebook I found that we have many things in common; we are mums, we love our father in heaven and all the beauty he has created for us to enjoy and interpret in our painting and we both are self-taught.  She has been kind enough to allow me to ask her a few questions about her life in New Zealand and her art. I don't now if this is too long for a blog, but I didn't want to cut or edit anything out because I so enjoyed everything Suzanne had to say.  I hope you enjoy it as well.

Mag: Hi Suzanne, I have read your beautifully written bio and I found we have a lot in common. We are mums, self-taught artist who love God and are influenced by his creation that surrounds us.  I wanted to start by asking how did you become interested in art, what were your influences and whose works from the Old Masters do you find kinship with?

Suzanne:  Hey Maggie, I guess I have loved Art from an early age.  I was born into a creative family and both of my sisters are incredibly talented in their respective fields but I never painted at all until about 10 years ago.  The desire to create came out of my relationship with God and just grew from there; it is an overflow of Loving God.  I am inspired by so many different artists and genres I love both Da Vinci and Michelangelo but I also like some of the early Renaissance painters such as Fra Giovanni de Fiesole, (c.1400-55).

I also love Colin McCahon a New Zealand painter from this century who reflected the relationship between artist, poet and prophet and C.F. Goldie (1870-1947) Whose work with Maori is remarkable.  My faith greatly influences what I create, I'm drawn to nature, color just the pure beauty that is out there.  When I look at creation, the diversity and complexity, the colour and the artistry of all that God has made it causes me to marvel and my art is an overflow of worshiping this amazing Creator God.

Mag: I appreciate the self-taught artist we are like the underdog.  There are a few in the art trained world who don't believe our work as self-taught artist is relevant, but yet most thought provoking, heart inspiring works usually come from those who are self-taught.  What are your thoughts on this misconception?

Suzanne:  I guess there are many advantages and privileges to having being trained, but I haven't had access to this.  I appreciate the wealth of knowledge and talent of artists around me and I am always gleaning and seeking to learn and improve.  In some ways being 'self-taught' has given me great flexibility to find my own style and voice.

Mag: You are a stay at home mum of 6 and are home schooling, I admire that so much. How do you find the time to create?  

Suzanne:  My greatest joy in life after my relationship with God is being able to be home with my children, to spend time with them.  They have taught me so many valuable lessons and I count myself incredibly privileged to teach them and to share their learning journey.  This does mean that there is limited time for art and I usually find myself on the kitchen floor late at night when everyone else is in bed.  Art is very  spontaneous for me and I will grab time when the opportunity presents itself, usually I just go with the flow.

Mag: Do you have plans in the future to create art on a full time basis?  Suzanne:  I guess we live in seasons,which eventually pass, the only constant we have is change. The season that I am in right now is very busy and focused on children, as my free time increases I am looking forward to having more time to create art.

Mag: You live in New Zealand what is life like there and have you ever traveled to the US?  

Suzanne: Yes, I live 'Down Under' in New Zealand, home to 4 million people and 40 million sheep.  Seriously it is an amazing place to live.  We are an Island, well actually 2 main Islands surrounded by water.  We have no real nasties not like Australia, just a flightless bird called the kiwi fro which we get our name and a giant weta.  Kiwi's are very laid back, we have a 'number 8 wire' mentality which means we can make something out of nothing or usually find a solution to a problem and we are fanatical about rugby!  I have never traveled to the US, although I have made some great friends there, maybe one day!

Mag:  As a self-taught artist what bit of advise would you give someone attempting to pick up the paint brush and palette for the first time who wants to explore this wonderful world of art?

Suzanne:  My greatest hindrance in the beginning was comparing myself to people around me who had more talent and ability and instead of celebrating where they were at and being encouraged I would become discouraged by my lack of ability and want to quit.  I learned an important lesson from the 'parable of the talents' that I might have been given 1 talent in comparison to others, but if I am faithful with what has been given to me, if I use my 1 talent and don't bury it, than I will be given more and my gift will increase.

I was also told by an artist I admired that the LORD can take even the simplest drawing of a child offered to him with a heart of worship and use it to bring Him glory and change the lives of people.

Suzanne, I want to thank you so much for this interview.  I have enjoyed learning more about you and what inspires you to create.  I always look forward to seeing what you have created next.

Below are links where you can view and purchase Suzanne's art.

Follow:  http://www.facebook.com/SuzanneCarterArtist?sk=app_106171216118819

Shop: http://mercyrain.redbubble.com/

Blog: http://suzannecarterartist.blogspot.com/

Going Green Part II

( photo: from www.disneypins.com)

Going Green Part 11

Once I understood medically what needed to be done I proceeded to look at everything else I was doing and started to make changes.   I repainted my home with zero VOC paints several are listed on the resource tab that I have used in my home and on my hand painted furniture pieces.  I switched to a different detergent for washing clothing and I’m currently testing some ingredients and making my own.  I feel I have more control this way of what really is in the product as well as the handcrafted soaps I make which will be on the market this fall.  

I looked at all the plastic I had in the house and found that the rating system on them indicated they were not safe and which contributes to the thyroid not functioning correctly and adding to estrogen levels in the body.  

I buy more organic based foods whenever possible less canned items more goat’s milk, better ingredients in my cooking.  Because of my allergies and sensitivities I only buy cottons, organic clothing, and linens.  Within a month there was a significant change, less headaches, less skin irritation, but I had to tackle my painting. 

 I was an oil painter and needed to give that up and continued to work with non-toxic acrylic, watercolor paints and have recently ventured into painting with non-toxic water based oils that have come out on the market. 

Going green contributed greatly to the improvement of my health and home.  And very swiftly transitioned the way I created my art and changed all of my business practices to an Eco –Friendly, sustainable company.  I'm now able to create my art without the worry of getting sick like I used to and I'm able to pass this to my clients.

 So what does being green mean to me it means everything.  A new way of living my life, knowing that everything I do not only impacts my planet but also drastically impacts my quality of life. It has also dramatically improved the way I create my art.  I have peace of mind knowing that I can work in a healthy art studio environment and that I can create art in a non-toxic way for my clients, friends and family.  

Going green can be a challenge when you are faced with a health crisis and there is urgency to making these changes, but you can take small steps to making these changes by looking around your home and assessing what needs to be done and break it down into tasks.  I still need to remove all the carpeting in the house a huge expense so in the meantime I get it cleaned regularly until I can make the change to some Eco flooring like cork, bamboo and some other floor options I'm considering.  Changing the paint was top priority and made a drastic improvement in my breathing.

I'm still undergoing changes in my home and when I come across an item that shouldn’t' be in my home I go through my recycling steps as to which bin it should go in and off it goes to be recycled.

I still have my days when pain can get the best of me; summer is not my friend so I plan accordingly everything I need to do in my day, I take my supplements and medication religiously and give myself plenty of TLC and learn to listen to my body.   

Living green is not a fad for me it is a necessity and one that impacts the world I live in.  So what does going Green me to you, how does it impact your life?

(Photo: JPG imagine from goinglikessixty.com)

Going Green Part 1

(Photo Credits: from http://blogs.wvgazette.com)

What does green mean to you?  Is going green, being sustainable, Eco-Friendly overwhelm you or does it annoy you?  Do you feel that the green movement is a fad here today gone tomorrow?  Green, Eco, Sustainable means many different things depending on who you talk to.  Some would say these are buzzwords to get their attention.  Well sadly many people and companies out there are using the so called BUZZ words to get attention, try to sell a product which makes it difficult for Artist like myself and owner of an Eco company try to make customers, clients understand the real impact of what going and being green is all about.
I hope to share and shed some light on what does it really mean to me on a personal and professional level to be green and how it has really impacted my life and everyday living and how the transition was for my business and me? If it has helped me it surely will help others who are and have gone through similar experiences and may not yet have figured it out.
If you have read my about me bio or anything on this blog you will know that I had to transition into a person who is Eco conscious.   To be honest like many out there for the past few years have read, heard, seen everything I thought I needed to know about being green, Eco conscious, and contributor for the good of our planet.  Yeah I picked up and recycled a few bottles here and there, yeah I collected magazines and donated and yeah I felt like I was contributing to my planet and the good of my community.   But it really didn’t change or impact my life at the time until I was struck with an illness.  I really had no clue what green was and how it would change my life.
After an incorrect diagnoses of my condition and taking unnecessary medications for a period of several years my body screamed for help!  My body started to shut down with fatigue, ongoing chronic pain; fevers etc. over the counter medication did not begin to touch my pain level. I was out for the count.  I finally found a Doctor who actually heard me, paid attention to what I was saying; what a shock he didn’t just take my co-pay and wave goodbye!  He quickly realized I was not going anywhere until he heard what Maggie had to say.  I took charge of my care and asked questions and waited for the answer.  After many blood tests checking for lupus and other immune related illness we found out I had a flair up of Epstein Barr Virus (mono) but the virus from the mono stays in your system for life and can be reactivated with stress, a simple cold etc., which attacks your immune system.  This was the trigger for me, the stress that was going on in my life at the time was unbearable and I hit rock bottom from my stress thus causing the Epstein Barr Virus to reactivate and cause havoc with my immune system.  Not a fun ride to be on.
So I now had to tackle this head on and make peace with the fact that it would take at least two years if not longer for the virus to go dormant. During this time I did all that I could for myself to get better.  Weeks, months and two years went by and the virus traveled through my body I started to feel the effects of it.  It attacked my lymph nodes and secondary tonsils called the Palatine Tonsil and here I thought I got rid of my tonsils when I was younger.  So I lost my voice, I was unable to eat and pain was my constant friend and enemy,  thyroid problems, hair loss and weight gain kept me company as well.   I did what I do best  and I googled, researched, talked with other doctors, went for second and third opinions to find first doc was correct so I read books to learn more about what was going on with my body.  What I learned was scary and shocking that so much of what I was eating, wearing, cooking with and decorating with from synthetic fibers, carpeting, all the paints I was using in my house and artwork and other materials were making me sick.  I found myself overwhelmed, angry and confused. To be continued in my next blog entry……