Artist Highlight: obellanaturals

Today's interview is with Betsy who creates all sorts of beautiful things over at obellanaturals on Etsy. This is one of those shops that makes me wish that my computer had a smell function. Betsy's creative spirit infuses her life and Etsy shop. It's been a pleasure getting to know her albeit virtually and I am pleased to feature her as a highlighted artist today. By the way, if you can't get enough of obellanaturals, check out the bloggity-blog and flickry-flick for more scrumptious details.

1. Tell us about yourself. What are your two best characteristics?
Mentor. Guider. [mama] Soulmate. Best friend. [wife] Musician. Creator. Lover of the arts. Sister. Daughter. Aunt. Dreamer. Thinker. Lover of all things beautiful. 25 years old.

I live by the ocean [palm beach, florida] but dream of the mountains.
My two best characteristics that keep me going would have to be passion and tolerance.

2. What do you do outside of Etsy-ing?
I've got lots of loves - first and foremost - my family. I've been happily married for two years to my amazing soulmate and we have an incredible little girl who is 10 months old, Isabella, who my shop is lovingly named after. It was because of my want to use only natural products for her where my shop was first inspired. I'm also very close to my parents and siblings, as well as my husbands family and we love to get together and go to the state park around us or just hang out and do a dinner together. I also try to stay politically active and am concerned with free markets and sound money.

I mostly love to spend time in the mountains in the west - which is pretty far from where I am [Florida] I try to get out as often as I can to camp, hike, see small towns, pick flowers, collect rocks, splash around in rivers. While I'm not out camping in the west, I'll visit the beach here or get my favorite lunch [subs and cupcakes] and eat them at the park.

I'm classically trained on the flute, and love to do gigs, teach and learn new styles of music. I also enjoy playing piano, violin and whatever else catches my ear. Music is very much a part of my creative being and was my first love. My husband plays guitar and bass guitar and we love to sing and play a good Pink Floyd song together while our little one plays at our feet and dances along.

Anything that involves things with naturalness - the way things used to be made. We started our own organic garden, I like to use natural body care products and find fresh produce. I'm really interested in alternative building materials, especially with cob, and my husband and I are in the beginning planning stages of a future cob house. I also try to paint and sew - neither of which I'm good at but I like to try anyhow!
3. What inspires you? What gets those creative juices flowing?
Music, textures, rustic colors, old glass jars, nature, mountains, cool weather.
I love stumbling upon new patterns to knit, it really gets me inspired to create new, stylish but functional things to wear. As far as soap goes, nature really does inspire me and makes me search out the benefits of natural products on the skin and neat things to color my soaps [like blueberry fibers!] I've also got my collection of [earthwear] that I'm beginning to build up that is based on the idea of creating beautiful, natural art to wear out of items found in the earth.

4. What is your favorite quote or motto?
“Everything that is really great and inspiring is created by the individual who can labor in freedom.” - Albert Einstein

5. What's your favorite writer, musician/band, and artist?
It ranges from classical to bluegrass, rock to symphonic. Bach and Haydn, 30 seconds to Mars, Pink floyd, Deathcab for Cutie, Switchfoot, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Howard Shore, Lucia Micarelli.

As far as writers go, my favorites lately are Tolkien, Ron Paul, Stephenie Meyer, Philippa Gregory.

My favorite painter is Claude Monet.
My favorite clothing artist is Gaia Conceptions on etsy:
www.gaiaconceptions.etsy.com
6. What is your favorite part of being a handmade seller?
I love being able to create things with my hands and things that useful to other people. I don't sell anything I wouldn't buy myself and I enjoy being able to provide a natural, handmade alternative to mass-produced storebought items.