Name: Linda MisaNickname: none that I am aware of!
Snail-Mail Address: 938 Pateena Rd, Longford, Tasmania 7301, AUST
Location/Business: Longford
Website: www.picturetrail.com/linda38
www.tact-ilse.blogspot.com
Patterns Type/Style Available: elves, fairies, angels, mermaids, woodland series, on-line doll classes
Books Published: in 5oo handmade dolls
Please tell us a little about yourself. Wife, mother, artist in any given order on any given day! Born in NZ with 4 brothers and a creative mother and a teacher father. Moved to Australia in 1985 and studied clothing design and beauty therapy in Sydney. Met and married my NZ husband. Traveled to Europe and spent a year traveling around before settling in Tasmania and having 3 children.
How long have you loved art and have been creating? Since I was a small child - got my first sewing machine at age 7.
What started you off? Watching my mother started my journey and having my daughter moved me into the direction of doll making.
What is your favorite creation? My children LOL! Followd by my doll called "for my children" which is made with lots of recycled items.
What is your favorite type/style to design/make? I love to create characters that evoke a sense of "knowing" when you look at them. I like to work from a theme or a word that has meaning to me.
What is your favorite media to work with? Why? Paperclay would be one of my favorite mediums. It is so forgiving to use, easy on the hands and very versatile. Sculpting a face is an exciting part of the creative process for me. I see the creation come alive in my mind and it helps me decide what colours and shapes I need to use in the rest of the doll.
Do you have a background in art? I guess I would answer that by saying my life has always included art and craft. Formally I have attended many study courses and really enjoy learning new things but I feel that most of my learning has come from reading, watching, lots of practicing and the desire to learn more and get better with each thing I create.
Do you teach classes/workshops or do Trunk Shows? Where?
On-line workshops are my main focus at the moment. I have classes with http://www.dollstreetdreamers.com/
www.classheaven.com
www.fabricaddictions.com
I am also available to travel to teach workshops!!!!
Who is your favorite designer? There are many I admire greatly including my friend Susie McMahon and Akira Blount.
Do you have a favorite pattern? Not really, but I love great hands and toes on a pattern.
What artists/people/places inspire you or where do you get your
inspiration? Inspiration is all around me - I live in a beautiful place with magic natural beauty. I draw a lot from nature - flowers, trees, leaves - colour, form texture. I just look in the garden or at my children and I am inspired. I guess I also use the power of words to evoke an image in my head. The desire to create is so strong with me that I can find inspiration in most things. Needless to say my head holds more ideas than I will ever be able to recreate!
Where is your favorite place to work/design/draw? In my beautiful studio - with lots of windows looking out across the gardens and countryside.
What was the first piece you ever sold? As a child I used to make various things that I sold in craft shops to make pocket money. I learnt how to make what was called a Chinese lantern out of plastic drinking straws. You split the straw and fold it up into this odd shaped "bead" that is then stitched together to form a 3D star shape. Sold quite a few of them too !
Do you name your creations? If yes, how do you come up with
the names? Yes I do name the dolls. Name usually comes from some image/idea I had when I started creating the doll. Or sometimes it is from a person who is special to me.
Do you have a favorite tool and/or product? My sewing machine.
You are a great believer in recycling. Can you tell us about some of the strangest things you have successfully recycled?Absolutely, I encourage it in all my classes and patterns. Often it is the start of a design - some odd object that I have kept because I knew it would make an interesting look. For my Children is all about recycling. She is made over a broken lamp base, has a hat made out of a computer monitor internal part, clothing made from scraps of fabric felted together on the needlefelting machine. An old watch, tea strainer, marbles, electrical wire, shells. Around her base are the words " gathering up bits of the world and putting them in an order so that my children can understand." She represents my role as a mother - encouraging my children to recycle, to make sense of this world.
What is your most favorite part of creating? The process, the "doing". If I get a good end result - that is the bonus!
What is your least favorite part of creating? Cleaning up afterwards!
What's your secret for overcoming a creative block? Go into the world and look - inspiration is all around - the sounds, the colours, the smells of life. Have a coffee in town and watch all the faces passing by. I just love faces. No matter what face you sculpt - there would always be someone who looks like it!
What is your best art tip? Practice, do it again and again. Enjoy the journey, impart some of your soul into each thing you make and be grateful that you can.
What advice would you give a beginning artist? If you want to be good at something - you have to do it over and over again. Love the art of creating and learning and the journey will be a totally enjoyable one and that love will shine through in the art you create.
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