A few weeks ago I took part in a
Voting on
Lindas Blog.
The price for the winner was this
Interview. Its now online. Yeah!
Karo of Glasmagie won your votes with her Hummingbird earrings, which were sold. Check out these handmade glass blown
Glass Frog Earrings
Here is our interview:
Linda: Tell us a bit about yourself: Karo: My full name is Karoline Wagner, but I dont like that "e" at the end of it spoken. It sounds too official and distant. I like "Karo" best, so that's what my friends call me.
I live in a very little village, called "Bermbach", in the middle of the Thuringian Forest in the middle of Germany. And we do not eat kraut everyday or wear leather pants, (thats more the bavarian style haha :-)) and even there it is not common everyday. We do such things for tourists and to show our kids, how our ancestors lived. That is an very imortant part of my culture I think, then every little village in Germany has its own traditions, own idioms and own recipes. If we are agreeing in one thing, than it is not to be uniform at all.
Funny glass mini elephants
I live and work here but I am very often on the move through all parts of Germany and some parts of Europe from market to market to show how glassblowing works to people and sell my art. I give tutorials too, even for little kids.
Linda: What inspires you? Karo: Nearly everything, a picture, a phrase, a song, strong feelings, or very often poems. My inspiration seems to be some kind of artesian well. If I really need a good idea and find nothing good in my head, I visit a do-it-yourself-store. I dont know how it works, but after half an hour, my head nearly exlodes with ideas.
What is your favorite thing to do with your creativity? Making people happy. There is nothing better in the whole world then smiling at each other and feeling insanely content.
What are the web addresses people can find you?
Blog:
http://www.magic-glassart.blogspot.com/
Etsy
http://www.etsy.com/shop/Glasmagie
My Gallery
http://www.glasmagie-karo.de/ - not finished yet, but galleries are never complete, I think
Twitter
http://twitter.com/Glasmagie
What is your favorite color combination? I love all the colors of the ocean, but I can fall for others as well.
Why should people buy handmade? It's one way to ensure fair trade, human rights and environmental protection to let no multinational concern decide over you, what to wear, what to eat, how much you earn for your work and where and how you will live. Its a kind of freedom and independency. If we ever gave this away with our skills, we will not only loose a heritage but very much more.
Any tips on selling handmade items? *laughs* I´m trying very hard at the moment with so much help from others, its breathtakingly awesome. "Walking With The Wind" was a forum thread on etsy and this is how it feels for me right now. So no, no wisdom from me at this time about selling and earning money. But I found help and friendship here and so I recommend to get connected. We all together like the sea.
Apart from creating things, what do you do? I cannot separate this very good part from the other aspects of my life. Its always a part of every thing I do, how I do things. I love to work in the garden, I love to read, most of all fantasy and fiction books until my eyes burn hours after midnight. I have a wonderful partner to have little fights with and breakfasts in bed, while watching Dr. House. And I have very good friends. I write little poems when my head is stuffed up with sorrows and concern. I love to wander in the forests with my dog and listen to how the wind plays in the trees. I love to sleep and to dream.
What have been the most valuable lessons learned from other artists? That we are all different and that's the one thing that makes us all equal. We are all strong and beautiful and unique until someone tries to degrade us to standardized beings. Then we break and only learning to be unique again can save us. One way to achieve this is art.
