Blog Interview #2 ~ Kim Mailhot, Queen of Arts

Today we are interviewing Kim Mailhot, from the Queen of Arts blog. Thank you Kim for joining us, please tell us a little something about yourself ...
I am a 43 year old mixed media artist and soul searcher. I lived and love in New Hampshire with my husband who is my best friend and our furry children. I make frequent visits back to my hometown of Montreal, Quebec where my wonderful family and most of my fantastic circle of friends still reside.

Tell us about discovering the world of blogs.
I think I first discovered blogs as a result of searching on-line for information about mixed media artists I had read about in books. Many of them had wonderful blogs and of course links to the blogs of other artists. I realized that there was a whole community of artists on line, sharing their stories but also their techniques; offering encouragement and inspiration to one another. I was a lurker for quite a few months on many blogs and then just decided to take the plunge and put my own stuff out there. I have never regretted the decision to join the Blogland fun.

Queen of Arts is a fun blog name. How did you arrive at that name and when was your first post?
I call myself the Queen of Arts [which is] my alias ... she is the artist in me, I guess; kind of proudly fearless in her creating and into all kinds of arty things. Oh, and I also kind of have a thing for crowns, well, tiaras really. I started my blog on March 8, 2008. I'm coming up to my first blogaversary very soon.

Do you remember what you talked about on your very first post?
I wrote about how I felt like a little bird with a big song to sing, and how I hoped to find some birds of a feather to hang out with ~ and boy did I!

Tell us about some of the other "birds" you've met through blogging.
Well, my lovely and talented blog pal, Carolyn from 8 Golden Paws, and I will be heading to the Squam Art Workshop (SAW) in New Hampshire in September. We have established a friendly relationship of supportive and encouraging comments on each other's art adventures through our blogs. Carolyn and I intend to get together and meet face to face at least once before our SAW experience. I have yet to meet anyone from Blogland in the flesh but I have established quite a few email and snail mail friendships; pen pals if you will. I have also participated in art swaps and mail art exchanges with quite a few Blog pals including Mme Dawn, Art of Humungous Proportions, herself!

Back to your blog. Right now, what if your favourite feature on Queen of Arts?
I love my current banner ~ I made it from a page in my art journal. I am also pretty proud of my "Rock my World" project, where I send out my little painted rocks here and there to spread bits of extra love all around the world. I love learning about where they have ended up from the people who have asked for some, or who have received them from me in a few giveaways i have done.

Is there anything on your blog you'd like to change? If so, why?
I will actually be making some changes to my blog for my one year blogaversary. I like change. I also want to try out a three column format because I think there is a lot of space wasted in the two column template. Plus it is time to jazz things up for spring I think. I would like to do more informal tutorials now and again and/or art journal prompts, but really I like the direction it is in right now. I hope it continues to connect me to so many wonderful and inspiring people as it has for the past year.

Do you ever blog when you don't "feel like it"?
No. I have tried to stick to my commitment to blog about three times a week and have been pretty good about that. But when I need a break for a trip or whatever, I just do it! it is a pastime not a job!

Any last remarks to our readers?
I have to say that my Blogland Adventure has brought me a lot of joy and put me in touch with a lot of other good souls that I would never have connected with otherwise. For this I am truly grateful. Love is the answer, dudes and dudettes ~ let's keep spreading it around!


Thank you Kim for your time.

Please check out Kim's blog at
www.queen-of-arts.blogspot.com