Natasha Interview

Check out her website here


1. If you were a kind of landscape what would you be? 

I would be a seaside. I would be rolling waves of blue-green turning and tumbling into the arms of the awaiting sand. I would be sand dunes with the unlikely growth of tall grasses giggling to a joke shared by the wind. I would be the cool of the sand at sunset and home to the creatures that only come out at night to bask in the beauty of the stars and the moon. I would be the heat that warms without a burn and the seagull that plays hide and seek while looking for food. I would be the dolphin, the shark, and the tropical fish just below the surface of the water like a present still unopened. I am the wave that slides up the sand and tickles toes always calling for you to come and play.

2. What is the last thing that inspired you and got you excited? 

There were a couple of things that happened all at once that inspired me….the book, Poemcrazy by Susan G. Wooldridge inspired me so much that I started to write poems (I haven’t in some time) which inspired my four year old to paint which then inspired me to draw and paint.  They all bled into one another and so much creativity was born I was over the moon with excitement! 

3. What do you think about loneliness? 

I think loneliness is an essential human experience. Learning what it feels like to be lonely and how to change that is an important lesson in self-care. Sometimes we wait for others to come around so we can stop feeling lonely but really do we need to depend on others for that? I think when we are lonely we need to spend a little more time getting to know ourselves. I believe we can be our own best friend and in doing that we are better friends with more empathy and compassion to those around us. Inevitably, if we can love ourselves when we are lonely and do what we need to in order to feel more a part of life, we can love and connect with others exceptionally well. 

4. What are six words that best describe you? 

Playful, gregarious, shy, creative, passionate, explorer! That's me! 

5. Who (person alive or dead) would you like to be marooned on a desert island with? 

Oh that’s so hard. So many folks I’ve thought – wow, I’d love to have a beer with him or her and talk for hours… let me think… aside from a ship builder who I’d challenge to build a ship out of trees and coconuts…maybe the inventor of the Magic Eye art so we could create new magic eye pieces with dyes from plants on the island or Bono to talk politics and sing U2 songs into the night or Julia Alvarez to talk about life or Sandra Cisneros to talk writing and teaching in schools or maybe Dave Matthews so we could drink a beer, talk music and then  I’d want him to sing to me.  See…it’s too hard there are so many people! 

6. What are you putting off doing? 

Finishing my book! I have come to realization that I might be evenly scared of both success and failure. It stopped me in my tracks BUT I will finish.  I will fight the inner demons. I’ve actually started working on it again. 

7. If you were an animal, what would you be? Why? 

I would LOVE to be a dolphin because they are super playful, social creatures who hang out in pods. I dig that kind of “family” or “close friend” atmosphere and I’d like to swim fast and shoot up out of the water to kiss the sky. 

8. What do you wish you had known as a child? 

That one day despite the fact that  people would tell me that tress aren’t rainbow colored and dragons aren’t real, I should continue to believe in magic and the power of imagination because the people who say those things are just scared. I wish someone had told me to remain braver when it came to being who I was because now I’m working to remember.

9. What figure from stories or mythology do you identify with? 

Harold from Harold and the Purple Crayon – As a kid I colored on my walls (and got in SO much trouble) but I believed I could create anything. And Eloise – I’m very determined and sometimes don’t listen the way I probably should. I was wondering recently if I will ever grow up. I think it’s pretty clear from my answers here that I won’t. 

10. What was the biggest challenge setting up your business? 

I think the biggest challenge is managing everything – making sure that I was not only handling the administrative end but the marketing which takes a ton of time and still maintaining my relationships with people by responding to emails or meeting on Skype, I hate being delayed in writing to folks and I always wait for the right time to write where I will have time but I never do. So, finding a balance with all that needs to be maintained and still remaining creative. 

11. What artist inspires you? 

Nature. I think Nature is the MOST incredible artist especially when it comes to sea creatures. Sea creatures like starfish, sea horses and so many more fascinate me. The colors that exist in nature are the most vibrant and gorgeous that I’ve ever seen. 

12. What makes you giggle and feel silly? 

SOOO many things – I have been known to walk down the street alone and break into a fit of giggles which is insanely embarrassing! But so many things strike me as funny…I giggle and laugh ALL the time. When my kids laugh, I crack up. When I hang out with friend, I laugh. I’m really known for my laughter. Life often makes me giggle and feel silly – otherwise it might make me cry. (Ok  I just cracked myself up)