Interview with the artist - Sydney from Day of the Extinction at Sweet Bananaberry

Today I have a special artist interview on my blog. My guest is Sydney, and Sydney not only has big goals, but also a big heart and a dream.
I met Sydney through her grandmother Darcy who is very proud of her as she should be.
I hope this was enough to make you curious what this is all about. Please take a few moments to read the interview and do keep in mind that all the replies are in Sydney's own words. I didn't change anything at all.

Hi Sydney! I'm glad to have you as a guest on my blog today. Tell us a little about who you are.

My name is Sydney Hutchinson i’m in the 3rd grade . I live in Massachusetts and I Love Animals. I love animals, even the human kind.

And I am really surprised that in such little time I’m being interviewed already. It is such an honor that you are interested in me.

Well, it doesn't happen every day that I meet someone so young who is so determined about a project and I felt I needed to do my little part to spread the word.

Fact is you've started a special project, tell us about it.

I’m very interested in wildlife so I read all about it but the more I learn about whats happening out there in the world the more terrified I become. So thats why I feel the urge do something about it. So I started my own new company to raise money to help the animals I care about.

My Company is called Day of the Extinction.

Grevy Zebra cabochon

What gave you the idea for this project in the first place and how did you pick the name for your company? It definitely does catch attention, it did catch mine.

Well the way got the idea, actually the question before this one tells you where I got the idea. And I had raised some money before, by selling bracelets I made at the shows my grandmother sells her work at.

This time.. I was at my grandmothers house while she was making supplies for jewelry designers and she was making Day of the Dead Sugar skulls and I started thinking I should start making these too of the animals I love.

I came up with the name myself. The name was easy because it is sort of like the Day of the Dead and the animals I love are about to become extinct. SO I mixed them.

How do you choose the animals for the artwork and what's your favorite animal?

I went online and looked at lists of critically endangered animals and I wrote them down on a piece of paper and thats how my list started. I have a very big list!

My favorite Animal is a.......SNOW LEOPARD!!!!!!! I don’t really have a reason to like them I just do. They make me feel warm and safe inside so then I knew they HAD TOO be my favorite animal.

Snow Leopard cabochon

I understand that. Snow leopards are really beautiful.

So is there someone who is helping you with Day of the Extinction?

The people who are helping are my grandmother Darcy Rosner and her friend Debbie Michaud.

AND my Grandfather helps.

How are your pieces made?

Debbie, My Grandmothers friend and I make the pictures together, She does the line drawings of the animals I ask her to and I do all the coloring and deciding about how they look.

She draws the lines. I color and when I like it I am ready to roll. I use special markers, inks and colored pencils to color everything just right. Then I use a special printer to print the pictures onto hard plastic. Then When the printer ink is dry....I put a glaze on them and bake them so the glaze melts.

Then I am ready to turn it into jewelry supplies or jewelry and sell them.

I know you already sold some of the cabochons and also hear you already have expanding plans, what are they?

I would like to make all these designs into Jewelry. Earrings and Necklaces and maybe pins too. But I also have a tons of other plans. I want to do cards and book marks, and coffee cups and tea-sets and dishes and tee shirts and everything I can think of that people might want to buy. The more I make The more Animals I can save.

Then I want to have these for sale in every zoo and museum and caring places that I can think of.

The more I sell the more money I can send to the animals!

White Rhino cabochon

I can share only a few of the pictures here, so where can we find you online if we want to see more?

In My Grandmothers Etsy shop Sweet Bananaberry until I get the zoos to sell and until I can get my own website.

And on Facebook at Day of the Extinction.

Blue Whale necklace

Now that we've heard about your company and the story behind it, do you have another message for the world out there?

Yes I do. I want the world to stop killing animals so that they can make rugs out of them. I want people to stop killing animals to hang them on their walls. It is totally gross and disgusting and irrational. So I have made a new Motto for myself. My motto is the more i make the more I save. My art will save animals. That is pretty cool.

People need to help these animals and I am going to do my best to make every person understand how harsh they are being to our world.

If the animals become extinct we will never see them again. It will be all over.

And if it is all over and there are no more animals then how would we live? All the animals are in some way all connected too the plant life and we need plants to breath and if can’t breath life will be OVER for GOOD! So this is the last thing I have to say.....PLEASE STOP AND MAKE A DIFFERENCE TO EARTH BECAUSE YOU CAN BE AMAZING!!!!

You ask people to suggest other species for your product line. Well, I love tigers. Will you make a round or oval cabochon with a tiger on it for me?

I already I started a tiger and I started ovals and round shapes that keep not working out well but the first Tiger will be JUST FOR YOU!!!!

Actually there are already some oval and round shapes available now and there are not only cabs for jewelry artists, but also ready to wear pieces.

African Elephant earrings

If a nine year old girl like Sydney is aware of the consequences for the planet if we don't care for the animals, why are still so many people out there who don't? Who - as she so aptly said - turn them into trophies or "medicine"?
We can certainly learn something from you here, Sydney.
I, for one, am impressed by your will to make a difference and I wish you all the best for your special and ambitious project and hope to hear more about it soon.

People, you know what you'll have to do now. Head over to Day of the Extinction on Etsy and Facebook and check it out for yourself!