duty service as a beta testing team.  Staff holds our hands, and even take pictures of our babies sometimes
 
What kind of models do you make?

I love architectural and fantasy forms.  This is where my focus is usually.  I think I am still stuck in the "virtual", because I love making objects that allow people to escape into an environment.  I made a Treasure Box with drawers for a Shapeways contest.  I love this little thing.  It has a maze and a tower on top.  You can actually walk through it with your eyes and imagine what it would be like to live in a tower hidden in a maze.  And all of this is on top of a functional jewelry box that has it's own special secrets.  These secrets allow you to explore the box as you would a place.
 
Tell us about your models.  Why a gazebo?
 
Yes, the first item I created for Shapeways and printed was a tiny Gazebo.  The gazebo represents a lot.  It's that little bit of classical civilization in the midst of the jungle of a garden.  You build a gazebo anywhere and you've made a place for yourself, the human, in the midst of nature, without impacting it too much.  The walls of a gazebo are open and allow you to interact with nature.  It lets you out, and nature in.  A gazebo is the doorway that allows us back into Eden.
 
As a result, the gazebo has become, in some ways, a symbol of the Land of Whyst, which I have created in other platforms virtually.  Whyst exists in IMVU, Activeworlds, and Blink3D.  Whyst has a certain fan base of folks who love the idea of living virtually in open royal halls and gentle gardens, treating each other and the world with a certain gentil respect as if all living things there are Lords and Ladies.

What inspires you?

Fantasy creatures inspire me.  They too are our link back to nature.  Faeries, elves, fauns, and goblins... they are all nature's spirits.  They are a mix of humanity and nature, and provide us with the knowledge to know that we are not separate from the rest of the natural world.
 
World and historical architecture inspires me.  I love the beautiful onion domes of the east, the columns of the mediteranean, the temples of South America, the gothic beauty of medieval french cathedrals.
 
Tell us about Faery Fest?
 
Faery Fest is a little festival I run in the City where I live.  It's like a medieval or renaissance fair.  We have a village of merchants, musicians constantly performing on stage, theatre, face painting, a beer tavern, knights fighting, games ... I could go on forever.   But instead of having a historical theme, it has a fantasy theme!  So we don't have to stick to history.  And as a result, people can actually meet crazy wonderful creatures in the street like mermaids and ogres!
 
Initially it was a response to the fact that the local renaissance faire decided to close about 5 years ago.  What happened when the fair closed, was that many local craftpeople, merchants, and performers were left without work in the summer.  Faery Fest is just a weekend, so it's one of the many opportunities that have arisen to fill the need.  But Faery Fest has become much more than this.  It has become an inspiration for faery lovers, mystics, families, and artists.  I'm really proud to be a part of it.

Is designing a hobby for you? Your work also? Or more than both?
 
You said it at the end.  It's way more than both.  But it does provide me with a full time living.  A small part of my income is from sales of my clay art and functional pieces.  Most of my income comes from 3D world platforms, where I sell rooms, clothing, furniture and experiences, but every dog has it's day ;)  I'm always looking for new opportunities to make money while I create what I love creating.  And so I'm hoping that Shapeways can become an important part of that.