It is an honor to share with you today an interview and giveaway that is inspired by a place very close to my heart - the ocean! I hope you enjoy as much as I do, this wonderful interview and inspiring giveaway with mother, artist, blogger, and Etsian Maribeth Pomerantz!
Through this interview Maribeth will share some of the inspiration behind her art! From this incredible giveaway one of you will be gifted with one of Maribeth's intricately crocheted-covered stones!
[Photo Credits ~ Maribeth]
I would like to give a very warm introduction to Maribeth! In her words...
"I am a mother, a wife, and a keeper of our home in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts. I am a midwife by training. I worked for 7 years before deciding to stay at home and care for my family full-time. I have been amazed by the life that has opened to me by making this decision. The days are full and there are many opportunities for my creativity to flourish. I try to live mindfully, and life with children is certainly a deep practice."
Maribeth: "Most all of my trips to the ocean are with my family. Because we live a number of hours from the coast, we spend a lot of time driving to get there. We always drive directly to a beach and run down to the water's edge to get our feet wet. No matter that we repeat this ritual year after year, it is always a happy moment."
Gardenmama: When you visit the ocean what feeling passes over you?
Maribeth: "Honestly, looking out over the vast expanse of the ocean brings me a sense of relief and perspective. I am able to move my attention away from all of the chatter going on in my head and recognize that the world is much bigger than myself and that my problems much smaller than I make them out to be."
Gardenmama: What inspiration do you take from being at the ocean that translates into your ocean-inspired art?
Maribeth: "My home is in a narrow, rural valley surrounded by mountains. When I am at the ocean I discover new colors, new light, and many strange and wonderful creatures in the water and on the shore. Inspiration comes from the unfamiliar and unexpected."
Maribeth: "I came to make the net pattern somewhat inadvertently. A blog friend emailed me after I posted a few crochet-covered stones that reminded her of netting. The idea of the netting was profound for her because a friend of hers comes from a family of fishermen who live on the Gulf coast. She commissioned me to make a covered stone that she could send to her friend as a gesture of comfort. I was so honored to be a part of that."
Gardenmama: How long does creating a crochet covered stone take you to complete?
Maribeth: "Most of the stones I have made take a number of hours to complete. I might work on the larger, more complicated designs over a few evenings. I may finish a more simple design in an evening. I find that the evening is the best time for me to sit and crochet. It is quieter and the activity and disruptions of the daytime have passed. Covering a stone with crochet takes quite a bit of improvisation. The design must fit the nature of the stone. I sometimes find myself unraveling small sections to readjust the size and configuration of a design. I made my first covered stones from a pattern that the lovely Margie of Resurrection Fern published in Crochet Today Magazine last year. I was so smitten by the whole process that I started to design my own patterns. Making the stones is probably one of my favorite activities right now."
Gardenmama: What message can we gather today through your ocean-inspired creations Maribeth?
Maribeth: "I began my crafted tribute to the sea following the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico this past Spring. I think most all of us felt helpless as the oil poured forth into the ocean. I began to design and sew creatures from the sea as a way to make real to me the impact that the oil spill was having on the life of the Gulf. If we can see the beauty in what is being destroyed, perhaps we can make choices to better protect the natural world going forward. And it is certainly not just about aesthetics. The beauty is what catches our attention; coming to know the interdependence we have with all life is at the crux of the matter."
Gardenmama: Would you share with us a description of the covered stone that will be given away through this post?
Maribeth: "This crochet-covered stone is designed after the beautiful and strange sea anemone. Anemones are found at all depths of the ocean, and are quite clever in the ways they create symbiotic relationships with other sea creatures. I found the stone itself last month on Ryder Beach in Truro, which is a tiny town on the outer Cape Cod of Massachusetts. I try to visit this beach every summer; it is one of my favorites to comb for stones and other ocean detritus."
Gardenmama: Thank you for sharing your work here today through photos, words and this incredible giveaway!
Maribeth: "Thank you so much for inviting me to share with you here on your lovely blog, Gardenmama."
For a chance to win this incredibly beautiful and meaningful stone, I will open up the giveaway for you to leave one comment per day until Monday, August 16 at 9:00 EST.With the help of the random number generator, I will announce the winner the very same evening at 9:30 EST.
Remember, you are allowed one comment per day until the giveaway is closed on Monday!
