•••••••THE INTERVIEW•••••••••••••
Erica: Please begin by telling everyone a little about yourself and what your Etsy shop is about.
Rebecca: I’m Rebecca. I homeschool my two daughters—Mara, age 11, and Daisy, age 7. We started homeschooling in the middle of Mara’s kindergarten year. We had experienced a cross-country move, and really wanted to form a community around our family, not make our family fit into a new community. Homeschooling provided us the tools to be together and then reach out for community.
As for what I do on Etsy, I am a doll-maker. I have been making Waldorf style dolls since my eldest was 18 months old. I was heavily influenced in my crafting by our educational choices. Had I never heard of Waldorf education or Rudolf Steiner, I would probably not be an artisan today.
Erica: That is interesting that for you, your craft and decision to homeschool are so closely intertwined there.
Erica: I found your Etsy shop when I was searching specifically for homeschooling Etsians who might include art/crafting in their curriculum, or have a strong focus on the arts in their family. Could you tell everyone a bit about your school and family background?
Rebecca: I was a military brat. My mom was a public school teacher, and my dad served in the Air Force for 23 years. I came up through the public schools in the States and, when we lived overseas, the Department of Defense Dependent Schools (DoDDS). One of my goals as a child was to be a teacher in the DoDDS schools. I wanted to live overseas for free and take long summer vacations in Europe. I never realized my classroom would be a classroom of two!
When my husband and I had children, we gravitated towards the attachment parenting (AP) style of parenting. We truly felt called to be parents to *be there* for our children, not to turn them over to someone else (daycare, preschool, etc.). I think one of the reasons we struggled when we moved from CA to VA in 2002 and put Mara in school was that we were not only geographically uprooted, but philosophically as well. We had never done preschool or anything like that, so we felt lost in the shuffle in the school system.
We found Waldorf education when our eldest was 2 years old. Mara and I attended a parent/child program at the Waldorf School in Orange County, CA. I immediately fell in love with Waldorf’s holistic education approach, the emphasis on arts and music as integral parts of the curriculum, the idea of allowing a child to be a child and not pushing them into academics before the age of 7. One of the key ideas in the Waldorf philosophy is natural toys in early childhood. The playthings in a Waldorf environment are open-ended toys such as tree blocks (blocks still shaped like the sticks from which they are carved), silk scarves, and natural dolls made from cotton and wool with minimal facial features. Through these ideas (and several kind teachers at the Waldorf School) I was inspired to try my hand at dollmaking.
Erica: Do you feel that being homeschooling your children has allowed you and them to pursue your creative interests more than if they had been attending a brick and mortar school?Rebeca: I definitely feel that being home gives me a chance to share my crafting with my children and to make arts a definite part of their lives. My eldest daughter has made several items for our Etsy shop, and she has her own interests in weaving, dyeing, and wool crafts that I can nurture here at home.
Erica: Do you make a conscious effort to make art or crafts a part of your curriculum?
Rebecca: The Waldorf philosophy is based on learning through artistic expression. Drawing, modeling with beeswax, and creating meaningful handcrafts are part of the curriculum. For instance, my first grader is learning to knit this year; my eldest is learning to sew her own clothes. All of this is standard in the Waldorf curriculum. Waldorf stresses holistic education by educating “head, heart, hands”—making things with your hands is a huge part of what we do.
Erica: What materials do you use for your toys and dolls? Why were you drawn to those materials?
Rebecca: I use primarily natural materials. My dolls are made from cotton interlock and wool stuffing. My needle-felted creations are created from wool and wire. The idea of using natural materials appeals to me not only from the Waldorf perspective, but because I really like using materials that are renewable and not damaging to the earth. Wool will always be here as long as there are sheep; polyfil is an oil derivative (as are all plastics).
I also just like the way my dolls smell! After a child has been cuddling them, the wool holds onto a bit of the child’s body heat and just starts to smell like the child—that sweet, innocent smell unique to little ones.
Erica: How did you make your way onto Etsy?
Rebecca: A friend of mine suggested that I try Etsy after we exhibited at a craft show together. I had never heard of Etsy, but I was game for it. I am so glad she suggested it, and I’d love to give her a plug—Ginger at The Alchemist’s Star referred me here. She makes awesome chain maille jewelry that she sells here on Etsy as well (www.TheAlchemistsStar.etsy.com)
Erica: I was homeschooled (or "unschooled") from elementary through highschool. I know that many different things can be a learning experience. Do you feel this is true of Etsy? How so? Did it make you look at your art in a different way? Rebecca: Coming onto Etsy really made me value my art. I had been making dolls for years and selling them to friends and family (or just giving them away as gifts). When I started my Etsy shop in October, I really had to think about what my dolls were worth! In the past, I had been selling them for about $10 over the cost of materials, and not really charging anything for my time and my individual crafting skills. Since I’ve been on Etsy I have raised my prices three times, and my dolls are still selling.
I have also begun to see myself as an artist since being on Etsy. There are so many people on Etsy who sell so many beautiful things, and I see them all as artists. If Etsy is a collection of all of these wonderful artists, well, doesn’t that make me an artist, too? That was really a revelation for me.
Erica: You've told us about how your were inspired to begin making dolls and toys. Where do you find the inspiration to continue? Rebecca: Of course, having children is such an inspiration. I knew I wanted my children to have the highest quality toys made from natural materials. So, I made them for them or bought them from trusted sources—something that Etsy really helps with now! After I had filled my children’s rooms (and friends’ children’s rooms!) with dolls, it made me think that every child deserved to have these beautiful toys. That’s what really keeps me going—knowing that every doll I make is going to a child who will love it, hug it, and have a family heirloom for life. That a child who is gifted one of my dolls is getting a glimpse of what a truly beautiful toy can be. And maybe, just maybe, the mom or dad (or grandma, uncle, friend, etc.) giving that toy may also be inspired to use his or her hands to create a lovely toy.
Erica: What is your personal favorite creation? why? Rebecca: I love the traditional Waldorf 16” doll. This is a limbed stuffed doll with arms out as if awaiting a hug. I love this style of doll because it is great for any child. My 11-year-old still plays with hers.
If you want to know which is my absolute favorite doll I’ve ever made, well, it’s two dolls. The first time I made the 16” doll was for Mara’s 2nd birthday. Two friends of mine and I went in on a doll-making kit. The kit had supplies for 6 dolls, so we each made two. I made Mara a fair-skinned doll with short red pigtails and an Asian boy dll with black spiky hair. We named them Amber and Miso (Mara loves Japanese food, and miso soup is a favorite, hence Miso). Those two dolls took me months to finish, working on them whenever I could find a few spare minutes. They are my favorite dolls, and I look forward to the day when I get to tell my grandchildren about these dolls!
Erica: Do you have any goals for your craft? Another level you'd like to reach either as an artist or in selling your work? Rebecca: Even though I have been making and selling dolls for 10 years, I feel like this is the first time I have really worked on my craft as a business. I would like to continue working to make custom dolls, as well as creating things in my shop whenever I get inspired. I have recently started working on a line of Goddess-inspired needle-felted dolls, and I would like to expand this as a way to honor the divine feminine.
Erica: Do you anticipate your children becoming more involved with your business and Etsy shop?
Rebecca: My children are very interested in learning to make dolls. I have already had several requests from both of them—Mommy, can you teach me to make those kind of dolls? We needle-felt together and they really love working on creations with me and then helping me sell them on Etsy. I can imagine either (or both) of them having their own crafting business someday!
Erica: Are there any last thoughts or information that you would like to share before we conclude this week's post? Rebecca: One of my favorite things to tell people is how ironic it is that I fell in love with an arts-based form of education. I failed art class when I was in 11th grade because I told the teacher (and this is the honest and true quote verbatim off of my report card): “Art is stupid and I am never going to use it.” And where do I find myself? Teaching my children how to draw, paint, model, knit, crochet, cross stitch and create handcrafts. Life is certainly amazing.
Erica: Rebecca, Thank you so much for taking the time to participate in this blog!
4 comments:
Thanks so much for featuring me! What a great experience :)
What a wonderful interview, thanks so much for sharing!
What a interesting and informative interview, I enjoyed it!! We are unschooling our children while I work on my creations at home as well and so much of what was said here rings true.
thanks for sharing!!
www.juliepersons.etsy.com
http://www.xanga.com/juliepersons
great interview! It's so wonderful to hear from other mam's who are staying home to create and learn with their children. I too am a homeschooling mother, but to make htings complicated, I'm a SINGLE homeschooling stay-at-home-while-working mother. It's quite difficult to fulfill so many roles at once, but our children are SO VERY worth it!
Post a Comment