hello there friends, how was your weekend? hopefully mine is still happening and i am having a very nice time! i will not be here for a week but i have scheduled a few posts to keep you company. i hope you do not mind me not being here for real! as i know you love pretty things just like i do… that is why i am keeping you company, to share those beautiful things. today… i shall have the honor to bring you… perhaps the most multifaceted artist i have ever invited over this place. her name is christine lindstrom, but maybe this name does not ring a bell… and what about {mai autumn}?
i wrote christine asking her if she would like to be a guest here and i was thrilled to see that she had accepted. she was gentle enough to answer a few of my questions about her work… basically how it all started… and what does it mean for her! she is so talented and makes me want to do so many other things, other than photography. makes me believe that i can… so let’s get to know a bit more about {mai autumn}.
how did it start? i’d say it probably started when i was very, very little and couldn’t get enough of making things any time of day! i specifically remember the first huge set of crayons (64 or so) i received as a gift from my parents. there were so many colors and it just felt like the possibilities were endless! i still feel this way whenever i get any new material in my hands. it’s just so exciting doing what i do every day! if you want to hear the adult-like version of that story, it was something more like… i graduated college with my degree in art, didn’t know what to do, and that’s about when i found etsy. the rest is kind of history!
what does the name mean? i’ve seen different meanings for the name mai, but the one that stuck with me was spring or may (since i was born in may and it is my absolute favorite month!). and autumn is just literally the season. therefore, the name, to me, is my two favorite times of year. i like to think of it as a balance.
what do you feel about your work? i am always trying to capture some sort of girlhood memory when i sit down to make a painting, drawing or other lovely thing. i try to include vintage inspired motifs as well, because i have such strong memories of my grandmother’s home, and to me, that’s my childhood. i sometimes feel like i have somewhat of an old soul, yet, at the same time, the heart of a little girl.
where do you seek inspiration? i find so much inspiration in nature, and could flip through botanical or animal books for ages. i also really love movies and fiction. the worlds that exist in film or literature amaze me. they are so complex and it always reminds me what the human imagination is capable of.
did you already know how to do what you do, or did you go through a learning process to some of your work? i actually didn’t learn anything about watercolor or illustration in all my years in art classes through high school or college. one day, i just sat down with a new set of paints and a huge sheet of paper. i had no idea how the whole thing would turn out, and i ended up painting one of my most popular paintings (august – the hummingbird). i’ve begun to think that my lack of training has allowed me to explore with no rules. other mediums tend to escape me sometimes because of my worrying that i’m not using something correctly (due to memories from classwork, believe it or not!)
what are your challenges and fears? i am constantly worrying that i’ll either run out of ideas or that my work will no longer be popular. deep down, my biggest fear is that i won’t be able to continue making my art and being independent. i’m a pretty introverted person, so i absolutely love being able to be by myself all day, and this is really one of the only professions that allows me to have that. other than that, i also fear that i won’t be able to turn all of my ideas into a reality because i just have so many! if you read my {blog} you’ll notice that i come up with a new plan or scheme just about once a month. and just about all of them are way too big to accomplish in a month!
now this is my kind of girl! i also suffer from too many ideas… too little time… and sometimes, i fail on putting those ideas into action. a common guilt, i know! but now that i read christine’s words… i might give myself another chance and start doing a lot more than i have been doing lately. are you curious to know more about these monthly plans by christine? here is her {blog}… and now that we are sharing, you can also pop a visit into her shop on {etsy} & {website}.
images: mai autumn (click on each image for further details)
Traveling Mama says
I absolutely adore Christine and her beautiful work! It has brought me so much joy to have her work in my home and I regularly drop hints to my husband about buying an original!