A Creative Mint Interview

Hello Friends! I'm sure by now, you have seen and heard about the notable, Leslie Shewring! Her creative talents are featured bi-monthly on decor8.  She also has produced work for Creature Comforts, an interview on Simply Hue and has her own incredibly fabulous blog, A Creative Mint. 

Today Leslie shares her thoughts on creativity and raising children.  How does she do it all? Read on....

Heather: What inspired you to quit your job and devote your time to your children? 

Leslie: My job was very intense with travel and it was very deadline driven. I couldn't see a way to continue that work pace and raise my daughter.  When she was born everything work related came to a halt which was due to my conscious choice. I was fortunate enough to be able to make that choice because my husband could support us.  I must add that for me waiting to have kids till I was a little older made the decision easier for me. I felt like I had done many things for myself like getting my degrees, lots of traveling and lots of experiences alone. 

Heather: How did you bring back the creative into your life after becoming a stay at home mom?

Leslie: Being creative is not really something I can turn off even though I was not going to work everyday.  Even if I am not doing a specific "creative " project like a product concept or an interior proposal, it comes out in other ways.  For example, I would get really into my little garden or rearranging furniture or helping friends with their homes or cooking or doing collage with my kids.  It is kind of funny, I am a bit obsessive, I always like to have many projects on the go.  I like to think we all have the potential to live creative lives even if we are stay at home moms or people working in "non-creative" jobs.  Little daily choices of how we spend our time makes for a creative life. 

Heather: What has led to your recent series of ethereal, light drenched photography? Have you always been a photographer?

Leslie: Oh my, I do not think of myself as a photographer! I took a couple of black and white classes during architecture school and really enjoyed them. I learned my way around a dark room and how to use the manual settings on my old camera. I took many photos at that time and had a lot of fun, but once school finished I pretty much stopped. I just started with digital photography this year and am kind of addicted! As for the way I photograph, I really like light drenched anything!  It may have been growing up in the predominately cloudy Pacific Northwest that has led to my love of bright light! 

Heather: Where do you find inspiration? 

Leslie: This is a hard question as I get inspired constantly.  Some things that come to mind are travel, when I go somewhere new I see things differently. I become more aware of the details around me.  I love books. I am still into printed pages and have quite a collection of cookbooks that I love to stare at! It is always inspiring and humbling to see what other people are up to in the design field, whether it is a little shop with interesting products and art or great interior design and architecture. I am in constant awe of many designers and artists. 

Heather: Coming from such a varied background in architecture, interior and product design, do you have a preferred medium?

Leslie: I love studying architecture and my architect friends are some of the brainiest people I know but I do not think I am very good at it! I think I am better at smaller design projects that are faster paced.  I think I bore easily, this is why product development was a good fit for me.  I could work on a few projects at one time and it was quick, there were always new products to do and different retailers to work with.  I love styling for my photographs for my blog too.  It is really fun to get lost in the different colors each week.

Heather: Do you have any goals or future plans for your art?

Leslie: I do not have any specific goals right now, I just really enjoy the color stories I am working on right now and I like producing different crafts/artwork for each one.

Thank you Leslie!

Comments

[Cindy]

I really enjoy Leslie's work, it was nice to hear about it in her words. Thanks for posting this great interview!

[alli michelle]

Her work is so beautiful and I'm glad she's a part of Decor8 now, too. Great interview!

[Mowie @ Mowielicious]

Lovely interview! So nice to find out more about the process behind Leslie's lovely creations =)

[Rachel Follett]

I have to say this woman is too amazing for words. Her photographs are so absolutely divine and so inspiring. Thank you for sharing her with us. :)

BTW: I am doing a giveaway on my Lovely Clusters blog and we are giving away a cami dress from Plum Pretty Sugar!
http://lovelyclusters.blogspot.com/2009/08/giveaway-from-plum-pretty-sugar.html

[leslie]

Thank you for the nice comments and thank you Heather for having me here for an interview!

[Lindsey @ a GreatFull day]

Seriously beautiful photos...and a wonderful interview. I'm off to check out her site.

{ Lindsey }
http://greatfullday.blogspot.com

[Heather]

Thank you all for your comments. And thank you leslie for sharing a piece of yourself with us here today!! It was joy!!

[Melissa de la Fuente]

So wonderful to learn more about Leslie, I think she has a magical touch and I am such a fan! Thank you for this!
xo
Melis

[Caitlin]

Wonderful interview! Such great questions Heather! It was really nice to see a different side of Leslie, and learn about the mother, blogger, and creator aspects of her life!

[Lana]

Such a lovely, inspiring interview! I'm a huge fan of Leslie's styling and photography, it's always gorgeous. Thanks Heather!

ps Chinarmuse unfortunately doesn't have an online shop :(

[fresh365]

Wonderful interview! Such thoughful questions!

[Leyla]

Great Interview! I love Leslie's work and her blog is totally fabulous! Thanks for sharing! =)

[Diane]

Thank you for the great interview. Leslie's work is very inspiring!

[vicki (simply hue)]

Beautifully put together interview! It was fun getting to know Leslie and her photos are mouthwatering. Thanks, Heather. :)

[Julieann]

This is fantastic! I love seeing 2 BYW girls together. Leslie is so inspiring and takes the most refreshing photos. What a great interview

[luvinthemommyhood]

Loved the interview! I couldn't help adding this to our link luv roundup today. come by for a peek:
http://www.luvinthemommyhood.com/2009/09/link-luv-roundup_09.html
Thanks for the inspiration!

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