today I want to introduce you to my wonderful friend Lissa, who is a fabulous artist and a fantastic, smart and incredibly great person. If you have not met her yet, you should totally check out her blog postcards from the rain.
A while ago Lissa asked me if I would be willing to answer some questions for a series on her blog called "Get to know your fellow bloggers" and of course I felt very honored that she asked me. And because I loved her questions so much I asked her if she would be willing to answer the same questions for my blog (which was of course pretty lazy of me because Lissa came up with all the good questions but I thought it makes more sense to answer the same questions and not different ones). So you can find my answers and Lissa's brilliant work on her blog.
But here are her questions and answers:
About your blog:
01/ How many blogs do you have that are currently active?
One - postcards from the rain - although it's another new blog.
02/ What is your blog about? Do you have a tag line?
This and that and some art and photographs and some fiction. But lately, I've been posting mostly artwork. There's no tag line but if I was to have one, it would be this: art + life + other stuff.
03/ Is your blog a reflection of you or just a place for your creative/personal outlet?
It's both but I rarely post about personal stuff and there is the occasional things of interest.
04/ How did you come up with the name for your blog?
I had a previously blog titled 'postcards from the clouds' and thought why not use 'rain'? These days, I usually like the word 'rain' somewhere in my blog title.
05/ Do you have a blogroll or a reading list of your favorite blogs? If not, then what blogs do you like reading?
Yes, I have a blogroll that I update a lot. It's here: http://postcardsfromtherain.blogspot.com/p/favorites.html
06/ What category or categories do you think your blogs falls under?
I would not like to categorize my blog because whatever I post might change but I guess it would an art blog if I have to choose.
07/ Do you have a blogging schedule or do you post any time you like?
No schedule, I just post whenever I have something or when I feel there is too much time in between posts. It would certainly be easier to have a schedule but then again, I could not really stick to a schedule. I have a habit of straying from schedules because it feels like work.
08/ Do you use a blog template (brought or free from the net) or do you design your own blog?
Once in a while, I would use someone's design but mostly I just do it myself because I'm fickle and I know I'm hard to please, so it's easier to do it myself.
09/ List 3 things that you always have on your blog.
(1) A introduction page which I titled, 'hello', (2) a blogroll page because I like reading blogs directly and (3) a footer with a little story about a fish which I doubt people reads but I like having it there.
10/ What advice did you wish someone had given to you when you first started blogging?
There are so many things that I wished that someone had told me about but I guess one advice would be this: It is better to blog for yourself as the reader than to try to please a whole lot of readers that could easily forget about you after one visit.
About you:
01/ Do you have a nickname or nicknames? If you have more than one, do you have a preference?
I really do not have a nickname although I did want to be call 'rain girl' at one time but not any more.
02/ List 7 words to describe you.
stubborn, quiet, unruly, seriously unserious, bookish, neat-freak, and stubborn because I really am stubborn
03/ If you do not have to worry about time or money, what is your favorite way to spend your day?
Drawing/finishing an art piece while watching tv shows/movies and maybe in between some other activities that invovle moving about (as I sit in my chair far too much) while eating something very tasty or very bad for me.
04/ What are some of your favorite hobbies that people might not know about?
Collecting postcards - they are mini artworks to me. Plus organize and reorganize my belongings which is probably not a hobby but I do it a lot, I guess it's more like a bad habit.
05/ What is the one book that you love that you would recommend to just about everybody?
I've been answering with Postcards from a dead girl by Kirk Farber but Gathering the water by Robert Edric is another favorite that I completely love and it's vastly different from Postcards... and certainly has a more serious tone. I love this passage:
"Starting anew, I began to discern the light and the landmarks of the possible future. There was a time in between, of cause — a period of confusion in which life went on and I acted out my part within it — but it was never starting anew, never a rebirth, merely a succession of lesser endings, during which I severed my ties one after another — my family, my work, my connection to Helen's family, to her sister, to my colleagues, and finally upon reaching the shapeless centre of that darkness, my hopes and expectations for the future."
06/ Do you have a favorite item or items that you often use and would not wish to live without?
My laptop is one thing and maybe artworks to hang or stick to the wall or just to have around. I don't necessary can't live without art but I like having them around. What good is a room without art?
07/ List 7 of your favorite things.
(1) blue pens - especially those decorative ones with various patterns but mostly those that are blue but not necessary with blue ink
(2) Dr. Martens boots - they are more comfortable than sneakers
(3) badminton - haven't play in a long while but I still like to but sadly, there's no one to play with
(4) Ruffles potato chips cheddar & sour cream flavor and Doritos - I love to eat them but I try to limit myself
(5) egg drop soup - I haven't had them in a while because I can only get them in restaurants and I don't eat out much
(6) umbrellas - because they go with rain and comes in various colors and shapes
(7) books with beautiful covers - I know I'm picky but I really cannot stand it if a book cover is ugly, I don't care how great the book is but if the cover is awful, I would wait until there's a good version or at least get the one that is the least ugly.
08/ When are you most creative/productive? The morning, the afternoon or night or just about any time?
When I have too much to do, it's when I'm most productive. It seems having a lot of free time makes me not want to do things. But I do find I am most productive midday, that is, after lunch is eaten and I no longer have an excuse not to do some work.
09/ Tell us something that you want people to know that they do not already know or simply something you wish they know.
I recently read this Erica Jong quote and it really does reflect me or at least a part of me:
"I went for years not finishing anything. Because, of course, when you finish something you can be judged."
10/ Draw, write, photograph or use any form of communication something that represents you in some way.
I drew the contents of my bag - things I carry now and then but of course not all together at once because they wouldn't fit and if they did fit, I would be walking around slightly slanted because of the weight. The contents are: an umbrella, a couple of pens, journal notebook, wallet, phone, mints, eyeglasses, camera and camera memory cards, keys with swiss gadget & knitted heart, tissue, lip balm, and a book, usually the one I'm reading at the moment. The leaves and flower I don't actually carry but I once collected leaves and stuff them into my bag. I still have some of the leaves, they are dried of causes but they still have the same shape.
Lissa, thank you so much for sharing your answers (ans questions) and of course your beautiful artwork! I am a huge fan!
Thanks for reading! Have a great weekend!
