Susan Rodio will be my featured guest in the Creative Soul Circle Q&A Group for the month of June, 2011. Sign up is here and it's free to participate (for women only).

1. What aspect of creating your art or craft do you find the most enjoyable?

My favourite aspect of creating an artwork is coming up with the idea, the initial drawing onto canvas and then at the end the finishing touches and final details. 2. What originally got you started creating your art or craft?

I was always interested in drawing and initially copying what I saw, trying to replicate images in books and what I saw in reality to paper. I realized quite young that I had a good eye for that, so I kept going with it. I started drawing when I was around age five. I would sit and draw for hours, spending more time indoors than my siblings.

3. Who has inspired you the most creatively, and why?

I honestly can not say that one person has inspired me with my art because inspiration comes from so many different sources for me. But the person who allows me to keep the flow of creativity happening is my partner Anthony, for he fully supports me and my creativity which allows me to feel that I can do it without feeling judged. 4. How did you decide what medium to work in?

I actually really love oil paints even though I work in acrylics, I decided on acrylics as my studio space was quite small and I didn't feel that I had the luxury to indulge in oils as I find them a lot messier to use and then clean up after. The beauty of acrylics is that they dry very fast which helps a lot when layering paint which I do a lot of in my work.

5. What message, if any, do you want to convey with your art or craft?

I aim to convey something other than the ordinary or mundane experience of life, I want to convey a passionate and inspired connection to realms other than the physical realm that we engage in day to day.

6. If you had to choose a fruit or vegetable to describe yourself, what would you choose and why?

Hmm that is a hard question, maybe an avocado, slightly tough on the outside but soft and mushy on the inside. 7. If you had to choose one other medium in which to display your creativity, what would that be and why?

I would say oils because they are my first love as far as art mediums are concerned and they convey luminosity and light and shadow much more beautifully than acrylics in my experience. 8. What advice do you have for others who are just starting to develop creatively?

I would say enjoy it and study other artists and art history too, as I think there is a lot to be learned from the work and lives of many brilliant artists from the past.

9. What role does spirituality play in your creative life, if any?

It plays a huge part for me. I could not imagine living my life without feeling or being aware of a connection to something other than the material sphere of life. My connection to the spiritual realms comes through my art.  Through my artwork I take time to connect to spirit and to see what needs to come through. It is through my connection to something on a higher plane that comes through most of the time to inspire me.

Susan's Bio Website Etsy Shop Blog

I am a traditional painter from Australia. My paintings are inspired by many things especially Nature, Spirit, Folklore, Symbolism, Dreams, Astrology & Mythology. My works are painted by hand with high quality acrylic paint and are on either stretched canvas or canvas panel.

Most of my works include images of Fairies, Mermaids, Goddesses, Angels, Magic and Nature. These images come directly from the heart and soul and art for me is a need to express through my creativity beauty, magic, connectedness and feminine power and mystery.