Int'l Doula Month - Giveaway #9

Lisa Ferrante is an artist who sells her pieces on Etsy. She has gorgeous prints for sale and has donated "I Loved You Before I Ever Met You II". It will be sent matted and signed and will be 11x14 matted to fit a 16x20 frame. Lisa is a dynamic artist who pulls at my heart strings, both through her works and through our interview. Be sure to check out her blog to get to know her better, otherwise, enjoy getting to know this mama on Mother's Day.

I am a mommy to two magical little girls and a mixed media artist. I am very bad
at the practical but I'm really good at the magical things in life!

I've always loved Art and always dreamed of pursuing it someday. When my first
daughter was born I was blessed with the option to stay home with her and she
became my little muse.I had sort of an explosion of creativity that has evolved
over the years into my paintings. I can't imagine doing anything else!

My daughters definately make my heart skip a beat,h old my breath and
sigh with happiness! Thay are my inspiration, my heart and soul. I would
never be who I am without them. They teach me unconditional love, patience and
strength. They teach me to see the magic in everyday things and to live in this
moment.

If you had to choose one item that you sell, what is your favorite and why:

Thats a really hard question. They all represent a diffrent emotion or time in
my life. If I had to choose it would have to be 'I Loved You Before I Ever Met
You'. My mother passed away when I was 6 so when I was little I would imagine
what kind of mom I would love to have. She would be loving and kind,silly and spontaneous,creative and fun and her favorite thing to do would be to spend time with me. I was not fortunate enough to have her but I was fortunate enough to become her to my little girls. This painting represents that to me.

When you think of a doula, what do you think:

I actually had a doula for my first pregnancy. I was so comforted by the thought
of having someone with me to help make this beautiful experience exactly
that, beautiful. Women supporting women is wonderful in itself and to have
someone you trust to help you through the sometimes scary moments and be
your strenghth is a sacred thing. When I think of a doula i think of
strength and sisterhood.

Consequentially, what do you think of birth practices in the U.S. right now:

I am a little saddened by the birth practices in the U.S. right now. I truly
believe that the birth of a child can be one of the most empowering, beautiful
experiences a woman can go through if treated as a natural proccess that are
bodies where created to do. I feel that the medical community sometimes treats
pregnancy as an illness. We need to be able to trust our bodies and the people
that will help us deliver our babies.

Lisa, thank you for donating such a beautiful and meaningful piece to our giveaway!

RULES FOR ENTERING:

Remember, EACH OF THESE count as one entry. You have to complete the first entry to be able to be able to have the other entries counted. To have them counted as one entry each, they must each be fulfilled with their own, separate, comment. Be sure that your comment contains your email either in the body of the message, or through your profile.

For your initial entry, you must visit her etsy store, then come back and let me know which is your favorite item and why in a comment.

For an additional entry, post a link to this giveaway on your FB OR create your own blog post regarding this giveaway, with a link to this post, then comment with a link back to your blog post/FB post.. Then, copy and paste a link to that in a comment here on my blog.

For an additional entry, visit her blog, then let me know which post you enjoyed and why in a comment here on my blog.

If you took advantage of the Early Bird Entries, you can add any/all of your Early Bird entries to this giveaway by commenting with the words "EB Entry".

Entries will be closed on May 29th, at midnight, and the drawing will occur on May 31st, at noon.
Happy entering and Happy Mother's Day!!!