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Here were are with a new Tuesday Feature. Today we are featuring the wonderful Etsy shop of 
  Faith Ann Original 
s. All I have to say is WOW! I want to make art like her when I grow up. Itis amazing how she captures the tiny lines and veins in a leaf or the essence and movement of aflower. I have really enjoyed reading about her experience, she has the ability to bring nature andher words to life. Please read more about Faith Ann
How did you get started with Etsy?
 Another artist suggested etsy. We bumped into each other delivering our newest creations to anold world pottery gallery in Cedarburg, WI. In seconds, we both admitted that we were chainedfull-
time to unrewarding desk jobs, leaving precious little time to “do what we do”, naturally
followed by commiserating about having to steal time(and gas money) just to drop off our work after finally, finally, finally finding a reputable IRL shop to consign with. She had heard of anonline phenomenon called etsy, and had read up on how easy and relatively inexpensive it was to
„set up shop‟, but was hesitant. So she asked me to take a look and tell her what I thought.
 2 weeks later, I had selected 2 of my pieces and turned one into my banner and one into myavatar, without having had the faintest clue what either one was, much less how to create them.
Etsy made „setting up shop‟ easy.
 
What inspires you?
 
It‟s hard to think of a corner of my yard, even the somewhat scraggly, used to be vegetablegarden, that doesn‟t inspire
me with graceful growing things. This far north, the growing seasonis competes with winter, and neither one wins. But that makes the anticipation of spring crocus,scilla, snowdrops, and wildflowers all the sweeter. Moments later (or so it seems), tulips,hyacinth, and bleeding heart are up, followed by wave after wave of delicate, nodding shapes andheavenly perfumes, right up to and including the always ridiculously brief explosion of autumncolor. Then months and months of unbearably bare landscape.If I had to pick a favorite, though, any branch of my ginkgo would win for grace and elegance,hands down! Uniquely textured, supple leaves arranged in delightful clusters highlight the treeknown for its longevity.
Where is your hometown? Current location?
 I
‟m a Wisconsin girl, born and raised in Appleton, in the Fox River Valley, and transplanted as a
young adult 100 miles south in Milwaukee.
What do you like about where you live now?
Even though we live in the city proper, I‟ve always appreciated living ac
ross the street from one
of the city‟s many, many parks. With bunches of green space, old fashioned playground
equipment, a wading pool, 2 baseball diamonds, and a hill the kids used for sledding, the park increased our living space for the past 25 years. Nowadays, it gives 4 grandsons room to run andprovides as many leaves as I could ever hope to press into clay, in case I ever run out of flowersand leaves in my own backyard.
 
How did you begin with your art?
 I began with a sheet of what used to be called typing paper and some discarded genericwatercolors. My mother still has that first effort, framed, hanging near oil portraits of my 7brothers and sisters and me.Living where I still live and raising 5 kids to be happy, confident, and kind, involved all the artprojects, birthday cake baking, painting, sewing, knitting, etc, that you can imagine! Allwonderful, every single moment! I was lucky enough to rediscover watercolor, then discoverpottery, and to practice them both for many years.Then almost 5 years ago on Thanksgiving Day, just about at noon and in the bright, coldsunshine, my oldest son was robbed, shot, and killed. About a mile from home.
Months later, when I couldn‟t scream and cry in agony in my family‟s presence any longer, it
returned to
the pottery studio. Clay isn‟t bothered by my tears. It allows me to think, and to
remember, and to make something as beautiful as I possibly can out of it all. And somehow theclay absorbs every tear.
How would you describe your experience with Etsy?
 Let me preface this by saying that my computer experience prior to etsy was what you could callaverage. In my first year of college at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, I dutifullypurchased a stack of narrow, manila colored punchcards, took them to the lower level of themathematics building, stood in line for what seemed like hours, and handed the cards through
what looked like a glass teller‟s window to one of a row of shivering, uncomfortable women
layered with sweaters and fingerless gloves. Unsettled by the icy hand that snatched my bundle
of cards and believing I‟d have little chance to be „in the driver‟s seat,‟ I backed out of line, outof the building, and tested out of math so I‟d never have to return. Since then, I‟ve „interfaced‟
with computers only about as much as my current job required. So if I can do this, anyone whowants to do it, can!
What advice would you give to a Etsy beginner?
 
If you‟re passionate about what you make or do and really want to „get it out there‟, think about
etsy like learning to swim. The more lessons you have under your belt before you wade into the
river, the less likely you are to feel like you‟re being swept away with the current.
 
Don‟t get me wrong, etsy has made all the basics pretty well foolproof, so you won‟t drown.
Even if you slap your descriptions and photos together quickly, the etsy applications andinstructions are so 1-2-
3 that you‟ll have a shop in no time at all. But taking advantage of etsy‟s
staff and their advice on how to light, arrange, or crop your images or how to write your
description (and what not to forget) from your buyer‟s point of view can save you the incredible
amount of time it has taken me to re-photograph and edit every , single listing.
 Not that I‟m done; not by a long shot! I‟
m not at all satisfied and am continually making
adjustments, especially with my photos. But etsy‟s framework keeps me afloat in the meantime.I‟m proof that, using what you have to work with, you can start (even if it‟s a slow start, like
mine)!
Are you more creative in the morning or evening?
 Instead of letting my thoughts race around and around when I wake up before sunrise, I head
 
straight for my backyard if the weather‟s nice, or dash out to the garden for some fresh cuttings
and head inside to my base
ment ( ummmm, errrr, I mean “studio”) to start pounding clay.
Starting the day by starting a new piece, trimming, glazing, or unloading my kiln always tends tomake the rest of the day more satisfying.
What do you do for fun?
 
More of the same. I‟m sure it and maybe other things‟ll become more fun again, someday. Rightnow, though, I‟d say „doing what I do‟ sustains me. It keeps me upright. Like a sustained fall, …
my ceramic and watercolor work is what helps me to continue putting one foot forward afteranother. Without it, grief would surely eat me alive.
Are you on any Etsy teams?
 
I‟ve avoided looking into etsy teams because I‟m certain I would like to be join one! Sound
confused? Since my work is not nearly so clamored after that I can entertain the notion of quitting my day-
 job (notice the small number of sales I‟ve had), I have to take time away frommaking artwork to do anything else, including be part of a team. I‟d hate to benefit from being
part of a team without having enough time to contribute to m
y team, so I‟ve been putting that off.
 
Do you have other sites or blogs? Posts links if you like.
 http://www.facebook.com/people/Faith-Givings/581981491#!/pages/Faith-Ann-Originals/247418049654 is my Facebook site for a good look at my work, old and new, withlinks right back to http://www.etsy.com/shop/FaithAnnOriginals 
on etsy! It‟s a good way to post
upcoming events at the number of local botanical gardens, pottery and gift shops, and galleriesthat show my work (and their links) without cluttering my etsy page.
Pick 3 of your favorite items to be showcased.
 Choosing my three favorite pieces for your readers is difficult, especially since my favorite isusually the piece I just finished. But with the holidays just around the corner, I just designed anumber of ornaments celebrating favorite activities, locales, familiar scenery, flowers andwildlife. A total of 99 of them, to be exact, and far TOO MANY from which to choose a
favorite. So, aside from the „hot out of the kiln‟ ornaments, I‟d like to show you examples of 
both of my construction methods. The first is an example of a sketch, which I hand carve, then
 press into clay using my grandmother‟s rolling pin. The second involves pressing real flowers or leaves into the clay before creating a form, again, using my grandmother‟s rolling pin! For more
on how I do what I do, see my etsy profile!
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