"Books are immortal sons deifying their sires." -Plato

I found Lisa's amazing book themed creations when I was looking for decor for Harper's room, which is literature themed. I feel in love and dreamed of a whole house made of books, furniture built from throwaways so you could read a few lines while you were waiting for company and silverware with beautiful poetry pounded into the metal so you could taste the words when you ate spaghetti. Yes, what a world that would be. Her work is a mix of whimsy, beauty, and all things unconventional. And lucky for you she's giving away a copy of her book so you can learn how to give your house a literary twist.

1.What’s your story?
I am a painter, sculptor, photographer, designer, instructor and author. I enjoy everything that I do, even when it might get a little difficult, when there might be a tough problem to figure out. I also love to sew, both on a sewing machine and handwork such as embroidery. I also published a book this year called "The Repurposed Library" which was an incredible project!

2. When, how and why did you decide to make what you make?
Shophouse, my etsy store, opened for business in August 2008. I had begun to make my Bookmobiles and other altered book pieces, and knowing the etsy community it seemed like a perfect place to launch this new work into the world.

I am also a fine artist and sell my paintings and sculptures through galleries and consultants as well as directly out of my studio. In fact I have an exhibit currently up in Los Angeles, called Open Book, that runs till 21 November.

3. What inspires you?
Everything around me inspires me and you never know when where it will happen. Color relationships in both the natural world and manmade. Sounds, from music to voices, things that are said. And definitely the written word. Books and printed matter always fuel my process.This is of course all channeled through my own lens of what I find valuable, intriguing, beautiful, etc.

4. Other than Etsy, where else on the web can we find you?
I do have a website which includes my blog as well as all of the work that I do.
locchipinti.com And a simple google search of my name brings up things that I didn't even know about!

5: What is your creative process?
It is very important to have an emotional connection with anything you are setting out to make and to have a relationship with the materials themselves. That's kind of it in a nutshell!

6: If you had to pick only 5 books to read for the rest of your life, what would you pick?
Impossible to answer. There are too many books in the world to limit myself, and I find that different books carry different weights depending upon where I am in my life.

7: Who would you like to switch places with for a day?
No one. I love my life!

8: What is the weirdest question you have ever been asked and what was your answer?
See question #7.

To win a signed copy of Lisa's book The Repurposed Library, be and follower and comment here with your favorite book of all time along with your email address. The giveaway ends on Sunday November 7th at 11:59 PST. The winner will be chosen Monday November 8th.

For extra entries you can...
1:Follow me on Twitter.
2:Follow DTA on Facebook.
3:Blog about the giveaway.
4: Tweet about the giveaway and link to the tweet.
Make sure to leave a separate comment for each extra entry.