Interview with Barbara of "My Craft Experience" Etsy Shop

I found an extraordinary Etsy shop and an equally extraordinary shop owner, Barbara Baldin, who describes herself as an "Italian thirty-something mum, girlfriend and art & craft lover". She's also an amazing, multi-talented artist and very nice lady. I'm delighted to share this interview with her! Her shop can be found at www.barbarix.etsy.com

Tell us a little bit about yourself personally:

I live in the south of Spain , very close to Gibraltair, in that part of Europe where the Mediterranean Sea merges with the Atlantic Ocean and the culture is a mixture of Arab and Mediterranean.

I have been living away from Italy since 1994, travelling to different places and working as a underwater videographer. I love the sea, in the summer and in the winter and I cannot imagine myself living far away from it.

I came to Spain in 2001 for a need of settling down, I chose Spain because after many years of sunny places, flip flops and sarongs I could not go back to my busy ,stressful, cold, demanding home town. Andalucia was a good compromise as people here still remember to have a siesta in the afternoon...


Why Art and Crafts?

Well, my mum is an artist and since i was small I have always been surrounded by oil paintings and all kinds of craft activities, so I think I developed a special love for all hand made things. I have been painting and crafting all my life.

I worked as a illustrator for a magazine and I have been doing various commissioned wall paintings. Since in Spain ,I studied at the jewelry school and I am into goldsmithing.
I have a multipurpose studio and a shop where I develop, create and sell my artworks.

Apart from creating things, what do you do?

I take care of my one year old little boy Giacomo and my partner Reinhold, I go walking on the beach at sunset, I cook Thai food ( yummi I love Thai) and I try to keep my blog up to date squeezing my internet time between working in the studio in the morning, cooking, changing nappies and cleaning the house.

I would love to go diving sometimes....






What first made you want to become an artist?

I dont know if I really consider myself an artist. I suppose that this is the right word in english but it sounds really big to me cause I consider artists Michelangelo and Leonardo. I am a "little" artist, i create things and here in my shop in Spain people like them and buy them. I hope that also my Etsy shop will catch up...


Please describe your creative process how, when, materials, etc.

Well, I dont know if I have a method. Most of the times I follow my instinct and the inspiration of the moment.

I develop a piece on the run, without knowing how it is going to end up.I start with an idea and sometimes I end up creating something completely different from my original idea because during the evolution of the piece other ideas and things interfere. I go through very productive times and completely flat periods of no inspiration.

I like to recycle and give a second life to things. I like to glue old found objects to my artwoks, like old buttons, ribbons, papers, keys, ets. It makes the artwork tridimensional and lends a texture. I do it on my canvas, but also when I work on a frame, a mirror, a box or a simple hairclip.

For my jewelery I like to use sterling silver, copper, brass and semiprecious gemstones.



What handmade possession do you most cherish?

Some oil paintings that my mum made many years ago inspired by Paul Gauguin and are now in the living room. The scrap album that I made for Giacomo for his first six months and the first ring I made at the jewellery school.


Name your top five books, movies, songs/musical groups:

BOOKS:
The Count of Montecristo- Alexandre Dumas
The Lord of the Rings-JRR Tolkien
Oceanomare- Alessandro Baricco
Silk- Alessandro Baricco
Historia de una gaviota e del gato que le enseno a volar - Luis Sepulveda

MOVIES:
Out of Africa
Pane e tulipani
En busca de la felicidad
Amelie
Chocolade





MUSIC:
Viva la vida - Coldplay

Redemption Song - Bob Marley

Titanic - Francesco De Gregori

Cold - Annie Lennox

Pokito a poko - Chambao

How do you promote your work?

I try to write in my blog as much as possible, Facebook, and mouth to mouth advertising

In ten years I'd like to be...

Living somewhere surrounded by a bit of green, growing veggies and fruit with my boyfriend Reini and my child Giacomo.

Surrounded by friends and still doing what I like to do!


BARBARA BALDIN
Find me on
http://mycraftexperience.blogspot.com/