Destination Creativity Blog Hop

We have a winner, woo hoo!!!! Contest is over, thanks so much for entering :)

Have you heard that Ricë has a new book? You all know who I'm talking about, right?  Ricë Freeman-Zachery, writer extraordinaire! Maybe you saw her hilarious video book promo? Maybe you heard people talking about the book at a recent retreat? Maybe you have already pre-ordered a copy? Or perhaps you wanna WIN a copy? More on that in a minute.

Ricë's new book, Destination Creativity: The Life-Altering Journey of the Art Retreat is all about Art Retreats. She and Earl (her hubby, aka The EGE or the Photographer) spent a year touring the country and attending Art Retreats, interviewing artists and kind of documenting 'the scene.' I ran into them several times, first was Artfest 2010. Naturally I had heard of Ricë, I mean she is a celebrity in my world. So I was more than a wee bit star struck. And yeah, I acted ignorant like I do when I get nervous and don't know what to say. But thank goodness I got to know them better. Cause they are such fun folks!! 

Since Ricë spends so much time interviewing artists, I thought it was high time someone turned the tables and asked her some questions. So how about a little back story.....some of the nitty gritty, never been told details, revealed right here, right now (oh my goodness, I feel like a tabloid writer). Because I dare to ask the questions, tee, hee, hee........and share the answers. Read on for my interview with Ricë.

1. You have such a strong sense of personal style and make/alter/dye many of your clothes. As a 'fashion chameleon' I am curious as to when and how your style developed?

Thanks, Mary Beth! I’ve been obsessed with my clothes as far back as I can remember. My mother and I would go shopping for my school clothes, but not in clothing stores; we’d go to the fabric store and pick out fabric and patterns. But not just A Pattern. Nope. My mother would get one pattern for the bodice, and one for the skirt, and another for the sleeves. I would describe what I wanted, and she would bring it to life. She indulged me totally. My favorite outfit in grade school was an orange corduroy jumper worn over an orange-and-white striped long-sleeved t-shirt with orange fish-net tights, burnt orange patent leather shoes, with an orange plaid poncho my mother made and finished with a rabbit fur collar from an old coat. I ADORED this outfit and would have worn it every single day if I could have gotten away with it. I started altering my own clothes when I was in high school, embellishing my jeans and swapping out the buttons on my workshirts every night. I was inspired by Native Funk and Flash and just kept on going.

2. Prolific is your middle name! How do you find your writing inspiration and do you ever face the blank page syndrome. If so, how do you handle those moments?

Mostly I work on assignment, and those have deadlines, and I’m really good with deadlines. So I don’t have a lot of trouble getting started. I’m *kind of* (snort) anal-retentive about it. But if I have something huge to do--a book, for instance--I get started by setting my own deadlines and working back from those, picking a day to start and telling myself, “OK. Today you need to write just the first sentence, and then you can stop.” Since I really love to write more than just about anything, once I get the first sentence, I want to keep going. I love the process of writing; it’s just that, like most people, I dread getting started on something huge. By telling myself I can take baby steps, I’m off and running. It’s kind of pathetic when you use reverse psychology on yourself, isn’t it?

3. Ok, so who did the driving, you or Earl or do you take turns? What do you do in the car - listen to music, books, work on hand sewing, etc?

Earl drove every. Single. Inch. Of the entire trip. I didn’t even back the car out of the parking space at the hotels. We have music on the iPhone going through the speakers, and I sew whenever I’m not navigating. I love road trips where I can get a ton of stitching done--that’s why I love going to Dallas or Houston--it’s far enough that I can get a lot done, but we’ve done it so many times I don’t have to navigate at all. The truck could drive itself.

4.What's up with all the animals in your car? 

Those are Car Toys. The SUV is so big and empty, we thought it needed some toys. Some are ones friends made for us, and some are those you buy at Kohl’s for $5 and the money is donated to some good cause. You need toys, you know?

5. When did you start with the tattoos and are they your own design? Are you still adding more tattoos?

Until I was 45, I had brown hair that was below my waist--I could sit on it--one set of holes in my earlobes, and not even the slightest interest in tattoos. I’d never even thought of getting one. Then I started going through menopause, and, man, did my life change. By the time I figured out what was going on, I had a couple tattoos, very little hair, and a bunch more holes in my ears. Better than joining the circus or having an affair, for sure. I haven’t gotten any tattoos in several years--I had the whole melanoma thing with checkups for two years, and I kind of got out of the habit. 

6. Your favorite road food? Snacks you keep in the car?

We’re not really snackers. [of course they aren't, this is MB talking, because they have amazing friggin' bodies and, well, how did I think they maintained them, duh, stupid question on my part .] We’re pretty disciplined about what and when we eat, but when we travel, we do make some allowances. Earl gets ice cream every now and then, and I will sometimes eat Cheetos, which is pretty much like eating deep fried salt with a shovelful of fat. Sure, I feel guilty for abusing my arteries. Also bloated. And thirsty. But, oooooh, the crunchiness! 

7. I know (for sure) that you love to hit used clothing stores, can you reveal your favorites around the country?

Ha! You know the answer to that one: My Sister’s Closet (all four fabulous locations!) in Phoenix, introduced to us by Jeanie Thorn. Here in Midland, I love BJ’s (yeah, the name always makes me snort, too, especially since the sign for the shop features just the name and a huge pair of lips. For years I thought it was a naughty lingerie shop, which is totally laughable if you know Midland, Texas (they’d have the sheriff shut it down in a heartbeat)). I’d love it if people would take me to their favorites when we travel, but Jeanie is one of the few who’s willing to share. Most people keep their sources pretty secret, you know?

Would you like a chance to win a copy of Rice's book? Oh I know you would! Please leave me a comment below and you will be entered for the book drawing. 
If you want to go ahead and order the book now, you can hit the link below. 
Be sure to check out the other stops on the Blog Hop!  

Thursday, October 6th: Carla Sonheim 
Friday, October 7th: Lisa Myers Bulmash 
Saturday, October 8th: Melissa Manley 
Sunday, October 9th: Deryn Mentock 
Monday, October 10th: Jen Cushman
Tuesday, October 11th: Jill Berry
 And don't forget to visit Ricë's blog here.