Member Interview

Hello and Happy Birthday, Rose of Waterrose!

Please tell us about yourself.  

I grew up in Ohio and at this time of the year I become so homesick...I now live in Arizona. What a dichotomy of environments! I love Arizona too. It is much more relaxed and casual. 

Arizona

But we have our sights set on moving to the Oregon coast at some date in the future. I have two kids that are grown and out on their own, one in Dallas --the scientist and one in Portland --the writer.

How did you come to pursue your art? 

Most of my life I have thought of myself as a quilter. I have shelves of fabric that would attest to that statement. However, about three years ago we were traveling south on the Pacific Coast Highway and what did my eyes spy? A quilt shop. We made a quick turn and went in. I wandered around and came across a bundle of the most beautiful over dyed wool by Marcus Brothers. It was on sale. That bundle sat on my work table for a few months. I didn't know what to do with it. 

Felted wool

I was working on an embroidered quilt square and my thoughts wandered back to the wool and I had an ah ha moment. How could I combine the two? Most people still thought of hand embroidery as a vintage art and I wanted to bring it into the future and make it more usable. I have a ton of hand embroidered pillow cases, so I wanted something that was wearable and that's when I thought about bracelets. I created my first "cuff" and the rest is history.

Wrist cuff Jacobean pomegranate flowers

What inspires you to create a new work? 

Almost everything! I keep a notebook so I can write down ideas because they come pouring in so often. I have pages of ideas that I thought I would have done by now, but I only have so much time and when the muse speaks sometimes I have to act now.

What is a typical day like for you? 

I'm usually up at 6:30. First on the agenda is feeding and playing with the doggies. Then a very light breakfast. We have our own family business so I begin there at my desk. Reading emails, working on accounting, looking over the schedule. Then making customer calls. Once I have most of that work done I can delve into my creative side.

Embroidered felt rings

Around noon, if I'm not still trapped on the computer....you know how those tentacles reach out and won't let you go....I know you do! I get all of my tools and materials out. Open my notebook and see what I want to make next. Sometimes it's very spur of the moment and other times I yield to the time of the year and upcoming holidays. Or, maybe consider what the trends are forecast to be a year from now.

My work table

The studio

I try to grab a bite to eat at some point in the afternoon. And, if it's summer I might jump in the pool for a bit of exercise. I love to swim! Afterwards I'll find a movie or something interesting to watch, or some music and sit down in my favorite place and begin stitching.

Wrist cuff sheet music

Then dinner time comes around, D is home and we prepare dinner and discuss many things.

Back to the computer making treasuries, tweeting, writing a blog post ...while watching some of my favorite shows. Around 10 pm I'm ready to wind everything down and spend an hour reading....while D watches Letterman.

What is your favorite leisure time activity?

There are three things I love to do that work well together. I love off-roading, hunting for treasures and photography. The off-roading takes me to some amazing places to take pictures and odd little towns with treasures. There are moments that I have to remind D that I don't like roller coasters and that he's a little to close to the edge of the road...on my side!

Off-roading

Off-roading in Utah

How did you learn about Etsy Project Embrace?

Well, a little over a year ago the Lovely Peach Tree asked me if I was interested in joining Etsy Project Embrace. I had no clue what it was. We were getting ready to leave on a 10 day off-roading adventure, so I told her I would get back to her. Once back home and settled back in I took a look and knew immediately that I would love this team. I have had several loved ones take on the fight against cancer, in its many different forms, and decided that it felt right to put some of my energy into this team. And, I'm so glad that I did!  

Of your own creations, what is your favorite?

Wow that is a difficult question. One of my favorites is a paper quilt that I made a few years ago. For years I had this idea in my head and saved up beautiful advertisements from magazines to create this quilt. Finally one day I couldn't wait any longer and I started cutting paper. D came home and asked what I was doing. After I told him he laughed saying, you have oodles of fabric and you have to cut up paper to make a quilt....we can't even snuggle in that! I just smiled.

The paper quilt

What is your favorite personal possession? 

I can't pin that one down. But all of them reside in my memories. I would say that my memories are my most cherished possession. Everything that is cherished comes with a special memory or story and without those memories they wouldn't be as cherished. So memories.  

Is there something special you collect?

I have a very nice collection of Godey's Ladies Home Journals from the 1860s. I love looking at them and reading some of the stories. One of them has one of the first stories that Edgar Allan Poe wrote and submitted to the editor. I don't know if it was every published in a single book or book of short stories. But, it is a very cool read. There is a project that I've been working on for many years and relates back to that time period...reading those books puts me in that frame of mind for creating.

Victorian boot free hand embroidery art

Do you have a blog?  Yes: http://waterrosez.blogspot.com

What would you like to achieve in the next ten years or so?

The project that I spoke about earlier. I would like to see it to fruition with hopes of it being wildly successful. But I can't really tell you what it is....

Glass Blowing. I've watched with awe and envy master glass blowers and have such a desire to create glass pieces.

aeiou brooch