Designer Q & A: Maya de Groot

[Madi]

If you haven't checked it out yet, Maya de Groot,
has a wonderful spotlight going on this week and a lot of new products. You can read all about it in the Designer Spotlight thread​

Now, we have the chance to get to know Maya a little better.​

She is ready to answer some of the questions you have for her! :blabla:
Ask away, and Maya:whoo: will pop in periodically to tell us about herself!​

 

[dwsewbiz]

I know you love to travel, Maya, and I know you've been lots of places. What was your favorite place you've traveled to, and where are you going next??

 

[Adryane]

If you could design a building anywhere in the world what would it be and where?

 

[madigirl]

I know you love to travel, Maya, and I know you've been lots of places. What was your favorite place you've traveled to, and where are you going next??

YEs I absolutely LOVE to travel! One of my favourites is definately going to Los Angeles. We went there for two weeks to visit my aunt & uncle and we did a road trip to Calico Ghost Town, The Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, Yosemite, San Francisco and back to LA. But I also love going to the United Kingdom, London especially. Last time was when my mom and I went there to meet up with Ona (& her sister), Selena, Sue and Audrey. It's bee too long.

I think my next trip will be to Berlin (again, 3rd time this year). Have been there 2 times for university this year and now we are organising a study trip there and as a boardmember of the study association I have to go, not that I mind

 

[madigirl]

If you could design a building anywhere in the world what would it be and where?

OOooh, difficult question! Uhm, the States, Dubai, Australia?? Anywhere is okay! And I think it would be fun to design some sort of pubic building, maybe a museum? But dwellings are great aswell, maybe something on the water; a floating builidng or a traveling pavilion?

 

[dwsewbiz]

How much time does it take to put a kit together. I know it's hard to count design time, but once you know what you are going to do, is it hours, days?

So wonderful that you are finding the time to still design!

 

[madigirl]

How much time does it take to put a kit together. I know it's hard to count design time, but once you know what you are going to do, is it hours, days?

So wonderful that you are finding the time to still design!

OOoh, that's difficult to say. And it really depends on inspiration aswell. Sometimes it's hours, but sometimes it's even weeks/months before something is finished. But I mostly work on multiple things at the same time and whe painting/drawing it takes time to do that first, next is scanning and extracting.

 

[zwyck]

Where do you find your inspiration?

 

[clarabear]

Great questions so far. Once you are done with your studies where do you plan to end up? Will you stay near home or do you have big plans to live in a big city or something someplace else?

 

[faerywings]

How has your design style changed over the years?

 

[scrap-genie]

With your wonderful art journal styles, I wonder if you create non-digital art journals.

 

[madigirl]

Where do you find your inspiration?

OOh literally EVERYWHERE! magazines, pinterest, songs, movies, architecture... just anything. But I really like using pinterest for saving all the ideas, cause an image may give me one idea now but another idea some other time. Oooh and instagram, also a great place for inspiration

 

[madigirl]

Great questions so far. Once you are done with your studies where do you plan to end up? Will you stay near home or do you have big plans to live in a big city or something someplace else?

Oooh I have no idea yet. I love Amersfoort (where my parents live), but I also love Delft (where I study). Both are quite old cities with historic centres with canals, so maybe that's something I need ? But I can imagine myself living somewhere else as well, maybe The Hague, maybe even abroad (London or Berlin?)...just don't see myself living in Amsterdam. But I think it will depend on where I can find a job

 

[madigirl]

How has your design style changed over the years?

Ooh yes, my style has changed! When I first started with designing, Kitty was a real inspiration to me. I tried making products in that kind of style, I even tried to do some more clean style products like Liz has, because I love scrapping with it. BUt designing in those styles just didn't make me happy. So in the beginning I had a mix of styles, but I soon realised the vintage/artsy kind of style was what I wanted to do. And now it has even shifted more to zentangling, drawing, painting, art journaling and mixed media.

 

[madigirl]

With your wonderful art journal styles, I wonder if you create non-digital art journals.

YES! I love to art journal in real life as well. Still the same problem as I have with digital art journaling, I CAN'T journal I almost always take a song as inspiration and use the lyrics as "journaling"

I first started art journaling when I took SherrieJDs class 25 days of Christmas, have done this twice. I also joined Tangie's Gypsie Journal class, but never really started (i have this old music book with painted backgrounds). And I have this journal I started at the beginning of this year, but stopped working in it a couple of months later. I just don't have to time to get all the stuff out and really create a page. I did prepare a new art journal. I took an old book and gesso-ed all the pages, because I want to create a 52 weeks of being 22 art journal... curious to see if I can manage that. WIll be back with some pictures

 

[madigirl]

here are some pictures of my art journal pages

 

[scrap-genie]

Maya, love those art journal pages! Certainly some familiar images there.

I also have trouble keeping up a journal, especially the writing part. Hope you keep it up when you're a working architect.