Mom to Mom: Carrol Caldwell

I had the good fortune of crossing paths with a creative mama who recently made my life a bit easier. You see, I love painting quotes on walls. On the bedroom wall of my former NYC flat, I painted a quote by Colette, "It is beyond dispute that I can fly in dreams".


And I once manifested a major quote painting fiesta at this OB/GYN's office in upstate NY. It was a rewarding, yet arduous task even with my old Astroscope opaque projector and a crew.

So you can imagine my curiosity when I stumbled upon Wall Words. I contacted them regarding a custom quote for above our fireplace.
















The product reminded me very much of the Letraset press-type rub on lettering that I used in art school back in the 80's. However, Wall Words are pre-spaced. No measuring! No aligning! And here's the kicker...it took me less than FIVE minutes to put up. Less than FIVE MINUTES and just in time for our solstice celebration!!! Seriously, my husband timed it. The quote would normally have taken me an entire afternoon to align, draw and paint above our fireplace.

So I decided to chat with Carrol, the mama-inventor of Wall Words about motherhood and the launch of her business. Dare I mention that she is also giving away two ready-made quotes? Simply leave a comment at the end of this post (specify which quote you would like) and I will use a random generator to pick the winners on Thursday.

• Every time a child is born... the world lights up with new possibilities
• Life is not measured by the breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away

*Carrol is also giving a generous 25% discount to Mother Rising readers until January 31, 2009. Click here to receive a discount code for 25% off your order.

It is my pleasure to introduce to you...


Mom: Carrol Caldwell
Mom to: Adam (37); Suzy (35)
Grandma to: Mira (1 mo)
Where: California
Site: Wall Words


1. In what ways has becoming a mother changed you?

It made me think outside of myself and put others before me.

2. What is one tip you would like to share about mothering?

Mothering doesn’t stop when their 18. In fact, I think that’s when they need you most because their facing so many choices and they need your input.

3. What is your creative outlet/medium?

I raise love birds, paralets and finches. Also I enjoy painting murals.

4. How do you orchestrate motherhood and your creative passion?

I found it hard to have time for my artwork when the kids were small, but as they grew I could include them and teach them. Today my daughter is a graphic designer and my son is a musician and sells fine wine. They are both creative and understand that they have to love what they do in order to live a happy life.

5. What inspired you to launch your business, Wall Words?

I'm a graphic designer and I hand painted signs as part of my job. I used to enjoy hand-lettering quotations on the walls of my home. I had found a wonderful old print from the 1800's of a half submerged mermaid hugging a lad who was standing on some rocks in the ocean. I thought it would be fun to have the print across from the commode and then have this poem start in the corner and run around the bathroom.

"A mermaid found a swimming lad and took him for her own. Pressed her body to his body, laughed; and plunging down, forgot in cruel happiness that even lovers drown." - Yeats

One using the facilities would see the print, then start reading the poem and (hopefully) chuckle. But painting this long quotation by Yeats in my bathroom while tottering on a stepladder was agonizingly slow. In 8 months I had only painted 5 words. I decided there had to be a better way, so designed the text on my computer and had vinyl letters made by a display company. It took me 20 minutes to install. It was quick and easy to apply, and people thought it was hand painted.

6. What grounds you, moves you, fills your well?

I like to come up with new and creative ways of putting art on walls. I also love when customers send us photos of what they created with our products. We've received so many wonderful photos that we started “Photo of the Week” so that we could inspire others with our customer's creations. In addition, we award a $30 gift certificate for the best “Photo of the Week”.

I would also like to say that I have a wonderful staff who helps me with the creative process and helps to manifest the creative vision of my customers. I couldn’t do this without them. Then there’s my husband whom, while making a kit car, does ALL the cooking in our home. I get home late most nights and he has a glass of wine waiting for me on the counter and dinner is ready. You have to love a man like that!

*Most Alive Monday will resume next week.