Meet The BOOMERS!

This week I would like to introduce to you Janine Maves from AltheaP and Talking Dog.

What is/are the name of your shop/s?

AltheaP and TalkingDog on Etsy, AltheaP on gozabo, AltheaPeregrine on the web, AltheaP on Trunkt

What kind of items do you sell?

Paintings on silk and canvas, wearable art, mixed media college. TalkingDog sells hand painted accessories, ACEOs and jewelry

How long have you been engaged in your art/craft?

Always. I’ve always had a crayon in my hand and doodles down the side of the notebook. I didn’t do all that well in high school chemistry, but I did paint a deer and a waterfall on my lab apron.

Do you consider yourself a hobbyist or a professional craftsperson?

Oh, I’m an artiste, lol.

What inspires you?

Beauty above, beauty east and west, beauty all around. Right now I’m haunted by a couple of the paintings on Brett’s latest video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j96iBqZYt_E

Please share with us what a typical day is like in your workshop or studio?

What I mean to do and what I end up doing are rarely related — there is no “typical.” I feel best when I check in with the early morning crowd on Boomers and am in the studio by 8am. Too many times I get lost in chat, email, treasuries, blogs and sit here until my ankles start to swell.

What keeps you company while you’re working on a project?

A lot of silence. Sometimes Gabrielle Roth and the Mirrors, sometimes Richard Thompson, sometimes I sing back-up for Aretha. I go through periods of listening to books on tape, but tend to space out a lot and realize I have no idea what’s going on.

What is your favorite 'task' related to your art/craft?

Stretching out a new piece of silk, gathering collage items, pulling out the paints . . . I love the possibilities in a new project.

What is your least favorite 'task' related to your art/craft?

Finding things that are “lost” somewhere in the studio. I get furious with myself. I’m a former neatnik and am astonished at the disorganization around me.

What are some of the venues you use to promote your shop/ware? (Do you blog?)

I’m afraid to do too much promotion on the forum, ‘cause I know Pat will throw things at me. I blog sporadically, post to Flickr, Squidoo, Indiepublic sporadically. I used to spend an awful lot of time on treasuries, but when I find I’m not in any, I get bummed out. I was a pink-collar worker for 30 years and now that I’m free, I resent spending so much time on the computer.

To which teams do you belong? Do you use other sites? Which ones? (etc.)

Too many teams. I’ve just joined the interior design team and am a little overwhelmed by the amount of email involved. Trunkt just started an Etsy team, so I’m in that. I had to quit my local team, ‘cause I didn’t pay it enough attention. I was excited about Gallery United when it started up, hoping it would do some actual marketing. My Freethinkers team collects dues and does some marketing and is filled with some really smart women. Boomers is my home, however, and I love chatting and laughing with all those women “of a certain age” (and Mike and Eric, of course).

I just became a member of Worldwide Women Artists Online and the Silk Painters’ Yahoo group and try to check in with them every couple of days. I’m still finding my way online, trying to figure out what’s best for me but, obviously, I’m spread a little thin.

Tell us about a funny, strange or unusual situation you found yourself in related to your craft.

Sitting in the hospital with a friend, another of her friends whom I’d never met came to visit. I introduced myself and she said, “Oh! The silk painter! I didn’t know you two knew each other.” I felt validated.

Tell us something about you that we wouldn’t necessarily know about you by talking to you in the forums.

I once sat next to Jane Goodall at a pot luck in Asheboro, NC, and across from Salman Rushdie on a ferry trip from Elephanta Island to Mumbai.

What’s your favorite book and why, favorite movie and why, favorite kind of music?

Oh dear, this is all passionate stuff that changes every few months. I guess I think of Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver as my all-time favorite book, ‘though another dozen just popped into my head as I typed that.

Favorite movies are Contact, Peter Weir’s The Last Wave, and an Indian movie "Such a Long Journey".

Music — is eclectic, but Richard Thompson is always at the top.

Would you care to share any 'words of wisdom' with other aspiring artists or crafters?

Listen to those friends who remind you that you’re doing what you’re supposed to be doing: making art.

Please leave comments on the blog for this versatile artist, she would love to hear from you!