Well, you guys really seemed to love the debut post for When They Were Kids, my new feature where I ask yours (and my) favorite indie artists/designers/crafters to share what they were like as kids. I’m glad because I am having a lot of fun with this one and I think so are the artists I’ve invited to participate.
I’m sure you all know who Elsita (or Elsa) Mora is…she is a super talented artist who seems to be able to produce beautiful work in an infinite number of mediums. She illustrates, is a paper cutting artist, creates jewelry, sculpts, paints and more. I’ve interviewed Elsita before here and she is a contributing artist in the Feed Your Soul Project as well. You can see more of Elsita’s work in her Etsy Shop, on her Blog, her Papercutting Blog and you can also see more ‘now’ pics of her on her style blog.
Elsita grew up in Cuba and I thought it would be really interesting to learn about what her childhood was like, so on to the interview.
1. What types of games did you play as a kid?
– The type of games that you play when you’re really poor and have no toys at all 🙂 Like making little dolls out of mud or mango pits. Jumping from a chair to the branch of a tree, chasing small animals down the street and things like that.
2. Share a special treat you used to enjoy.
– Spending time by myself inside a huge concrete tube that I discovered near our home. I loved the cold air over there (Cuba is so hot!) and I also loved the echo, echo, echo… of my voice.
3. Were you a good student in school or a little rebel?
– I was both. Pretty good academically but rebel when I thought that something was wrong and needed to be changed. I had very strong ideas about right and wrong but sometimes I was just wrong 🙂
4. Were you an artsy-craftsy kid? if so, what types of things did you enjoy?
– Absolutely artsy-craftsy. I loved to create my own clothes because we had no money to buy the ones already made. I started doing this at a pretty young age, my Mom taught me. With my two hands I created almost everything that I owned back then. I didn’t have that much but I loved what I had.
5. What have you learned as an adult that you wish you knew as a kid?
– That being a kid is the most wonderful thing in the world. And that your parents love you very much, no matter what.
6. Share one of the best things about your childhood.
– Dreaming, literally, I daydreamed all the time. And these dreams became so real in my mind, like a parallel life. I dreamed about having my own room, about my older sister being healthy (she is schizophrenic) about having lots of paper and color pencils so I could draw as much as I wanted. I dreamed about traveling out of Cuba on a big airplane, I dreamed about my Mom looking beautiful and happy (she had such a hard life raising 4 children on her own). Dreaming was the best thing that I ever did during my childhood because it saved my life and it also taught me that with a little bit of imagination life could be a lot nicer 🙂
7. What did you want to be when you grew up?
– In this order:
An Artist
A Nurse
A Teacher
A Lawyer A Psychologist
A Writer
A Cosmonaut
A Journalist
8. What are you up to now?
– I am still daydreaming 🙂 as much as I did when I was a little girl 🙂
She’s pretty awesome both then and now 🙂
Fabulous photos and the goes for theinterview idea too.
what a wonderful interview. nice to meet elsa mora!
She is quite the charmer!
Oh, I just adore her! She is just lovely, inside and out.
Elsa is sunlight and a gift to all who encounter her.
Wonderful interview. My 2yo came up and asked if the picture of you was “mommy?” I said, no, that’s Elsa. Then she saw the grown up picture of you and asks, “mommy?” I said, no, that’s Elsa.
“Elsa,” she says.
Little story, related to nothing. But she does love to paint, so maybe I should start saving evidence of what the artist was like as a young child.
Elsita brings delight and inspiration wherever she goes and I can’t say enough about how talented and generous a soul she is. I look forward to her posts every day. She is prolific, profound, light, wise, funny, beautiful (inside and out) and the list could go on…
Elsita is truly one of a kind. It would seem enough that she is such a gifted artist, but I have never known anyone to be as positive, generous, and content as she is. She is an amazing person in every way.
I first was introduced to this artist by Margaret Roach, from awaytogarden.com. She is so talented and every time I read a little more about her I just smile.
Thank you
Thank you for highlighting Elsita!
Elsita’s blog shows what a creative and talented artist she is but also reveals her generous and warm heart. I have found many of her posts to be moving and inspiring.
This interview concept is great–I look forward to following the blog.
Every interview that I read with Elsita makes me more impressed with her. Thanks for asking such great questions!
An amazing interview of one of the most talented creative woman I know. Isn’t she adorable, then and now.
These photo’s of Elsita are just gorgeous! – just like her work : )
What a great slant on the normal artist interview! I look forward to reading more! It’s great to hear about the past that informed the current person. I find that so many creative people have been into creating since they were kids.