Staff Appreciation Interview: $Moonbeam13

For Staff Appreciation Day (Oct. 16th) I've done a series of Interviews that will be posted through-out the week. I hope you all enjoy!

Interview with moonbeam13.

1. How did you come up with your deviantART nickname?
        
Moonbeam has been my internet handle for two decades. However, Moonbeam was taken when I joined deviantART so I slapped on my favorite number (13) and there you have it.

2. What is your role on deviantART and what do you enjoy most about it?

         I am the Director of Artist Relations and the best part of my job is finding opportunities for our artists that allow them to make a living doing what they love.  I have to say I also have the most amazing group of people working on my team as well.  The whole experience is just surreal.

3. What drew you to dA in the first place?

         I joined dA because a friend of mine was here and told me I should start posting my photography somewhere, so I did.  A year later I was a gallery director and 6 months after that I was where I am now.. it's been quite a rollercoaster

4. If you had to switch rolls with anyone on deviantART, who would it be and why?

         If I had to switch roles it would certainly be with lolly.   We are two halves of one whole and work so perfectly with eachother I couldn't imagine working with anyone else.

5. Out of all dA's achievements, which do you feel is the most important?
         I think I could name many achievements but it will all boil down to maintaining our sense of community.  Without our community we are nothing and judging by the notes I get daily, we're doing pretty good there.  There is always room for improvement and I think in the coming year we'll really prove to the community that we're committed to them.

6. What is your biggest pet peeve on dA? How about outside of dA?
         My biggest pet peeve will be when people decide to draw comparisons with sites that came after us.  We're an art site with the best community and that inability to spot the obvious differences will always make me crazy.  Outside of dA my biggest pet peeve is similar, people who judge without knowledge of all sides and draw conclusions on minimal facts.

7. What first drew you in to your chosen art form?
My first love of photography came from stealing my grandfathers camera when I was 7.  My grandmother told me that if I continued to eat apple seeds I was going to grow an apple tree inside my stomach, so I pointed the camera down my throat in an attempt to capture my glorious belly tree, but no luck.. I was hypnotized by photography after that.

8. What do you like best about your chosen art form? Is there anything you don't like about it?
I love the ability to capture a moment in time instantly.  Photography is really spectacular in that I can look at a photo I've taken and remember exactly what I was feeling at the time based on how I framed the picture.  It's my own personal emotional scrapbook of life.

9. What are your 3 favorite deviations and why?
- This is one of the last photographs I have of my grandmother smiling before she died and to catch her smiling in any photograph was a challenge.  The key was to make sure she couldn't see me.  This is how I'll always remember her, she was one of my greatest heroes and this photograph captures that for me.


  

One of my greatest fears that I've just come to conquer over the last couple of years.  I actually got vertigo shooting this picture.  The fact that it's a church and I'm a witch has serious significance as well.




Certainly one of my favorites if only for the experience which  you can read about in the comments.  Never a favorite of my watchers but maybe you just had to be there


10. What have you struggled with most in your chosen art form?
Perfectionism. It's a constant struggle to just shoot for me and not worry about what will appeal to others.  

11. What inspires you most and are there any deviations in particular that embody this inspiration?
I'm inspired by people mostly.. My greatest influences are on my team for that exact reason.  I'm drawn to conceptual photography and my hero in that sense is Davenit but I'm also drawn to arachnid15 and MissShyly because everything they shoot comes through with a confidence I haven't found yet and I admire that about them.  It just inspires me to have more faith in myself.


12. What would you consider to be your perfect day

My perfect day would involve a motorcycle, the man I love and my camera.  Picking a random direction and just shooting whatever inspired me.


13. If you had to list 3 things you think everyone should do in their lifetime, what would they be?

Follow your dreams, follow your heart and believe in yourself.  If you can do those three things you're almost guaranteed happiness and tons of adventure


14. As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up and how does it relate to what you're doing now?

I wanted to be a marine biologist, wonder woman. an artist and a police officer.  So two out of four ain't bad right?


15. Describe yourself in 5 words or less.

Devoted, passionate, inspired, artistic, spiritual