28 August 2011

Creative Interviews : Tushtush

Israel is my next port of call and Tali aka tushtush who's a freelance illustrator living in Tel-Aviv with her boyfriend. Tali illustrates for magazines and children's books and loves working in many techniques, taking pictures and dancing.  A great big thank you Tali for taking the time to answer these and allowing me to include your work.  And here are her answers:-

What’s your town or country like for supporting creative people
I feel like there's an art community here in Israel, but there's little support for young artists. There's little to no place here for emerging artists, and that's why I'm so grateful to Etsy for giving me the place to showcase my art to a global and receptive audience.
Describe yourself in five words
Independent, productive, friendly, joyful, creative.
Give me the names of 3 objects or things you dislike most and why
Goodbyes. Dark days (so most winter time). Cold (I'm a summer and heat kind of person).
Tell me about something you've achieved
My BA degree from the Bezalel Academy of Art & Design is one of my greatest achievements.

What’s your ideal working day
A sunny day, with no time limits on my schedule (no schedule, really).
Who influences you creatively
I have illustrators that I greatly admire (like Kveta Pacovska). Creative and talented people in general are a great source of inspiration! You always want to make something hanging around people who also have a creative energy.
Are you usually late, early or right on time
I'm a punctual person. Most times I'm even a bit earlier than the appointed time and I have to wait for the person I'm meeting.

Do you like to shop  Very much, of course!:)
Where in the world would you go for inspiration
Europe is very attractive to me, with all the history and beautiful art. I'd travel Europe if I could. I went a few times already and really enjoyed those experiences.
What piece of work are you most proud of
I don't have a specific one that I prefer over the rest, but I do like some over others.
What would you like to develop further or learn to do
I feel like I am still only at the beginning of my potential, and I want to gain more experience, learn more techniques, more artists... As an illustrator especially I don't feel confident enough. I know I can do better.

Who do you think I should interview next
Naomi Shiek - thetimeisnow.etsy.com She's my good friend and I found Etsy through her. I value her work greatly and think she's an excellent artist. She works in the papercutting technique.
Romantic Fashion Papercut - Naomi Shiek
Tali's Links -

tushtush.etsy.com
tosya.etsy.com

27 August 2011

Sorting out my Etsy shops

Nature
Circles
Japan Stream
Psychedelia
I was letting my Etsy shops empty as I tried to work out what was best for me - Etsy doesn't like you having more than one shop and I can see why.  I managed to get 'red road design' as my shop name and have uploaded my wee pocket mirrors. Each design was taken from my original vintage textile art - the original 'Japan Stream' was sold just a few months ago.  So now I need to sort out all the paper work and let everyone know what I've done.

Etsy Treasury

Post Holiday Etsy Treasuries

6 August 2011

Creative Interviews : RitaReverie

Slovakian born Mira aka RitaReverie is now a UK based mixed media designer - a bit of a day-dreamer, fascinated - among other amazing things - by colours, touch, archaic language and imagined "biographic" stories of old books. She moved to London recently, to an exciting neighbourhood full of vintage shops and markets! Living literaly next to "the source" she realises NOW is the time for merging her big passions: recycling, art and old books and her original aim was to educate or spur people's imagination.  So a huge thank you to Mira for answering these questions and wish her all the best for her creative future - wherever it may lead her!

Give me the names of 3 objects or things you dislike most and why
Hard question! Usually I try to think about things I like as I feel that life is too short for filling it up with thoughts about things that I dislike. But one thing came to my mind immediately: moving homes. Uaaaaa..... just the idea of packing boxes with all my belongings really annoys me. Within the last 5 years I've lived in 4 cities/countries - Bratislava, Dublin, Barcelona and London!! And I think one more local move is coming. In a way I am getting used to these big change (there is an old saying in Slovakia: "man can get used even to a gallows-tree" haha), but I'd love to find a permanent home (with a big studio ...where I could do much larger paintings)
Tell me about something you've achieved
Last few years I feel that my biggest achievement was the realisation of the importance of art for my happiness, fulfillment and my life as such. After that quitting a stable job, moving to another country, enrolling art college, working hard in the office just to pay the bills and sweating in the studios to pass the terms was really demanding ...but easy! I think once we know what is really important for us, or perhaps what we live for, we will find some secret energy sources and ways to reach our goals. Well, I'm on my way still... but it's lot of fun!!! Another achievement which energizes me in my work is when I learn that I made somebody laugh with my creations.
What’s your ideal working day.
A day when I can lose the track of time and fully focus on the creation. Once there is no time pressure ideas come to my mind, paintings (or photographs, drawings, digital graphics) start appearing and one is inspired with the other.
Who influences you creatively.
Maybe this is a bit weird to say ...even in the art college we had to "get creatively inspired by 2 - 4 chosen artists" for most of the projects we were working on... but most of all I like to be inspired only by myself. My own thoughts, ideas, jokes, problems, aesthetic feelings, doubts, impressions I get of people, situations and places... I like doing things differently to anybody else. I know this is probably not possible, as they say everything has already been done before. But I still try not to get influenced. I love to look at what other artists and people do, but I make my stuff my way :)
Do you work with the music on/off - what's your routine
When thinking - music off. When playing without thinking or making things which have already been thought through - music on. My routine also is eating a lot before I start working. It's funny: I prepare my paints ...and suddenly feel hungry as a wolf, so I have to go and eat first! (pity that acrylics dry so fast!) It's actually a good survival mechanism, because once I paint I forget to take breaks so at least I haven't died of starvation at my palette yet.

Do you like to shop
Yes!!! And I feel guilty about it somehow... perhaps because I am so often on the move and know how hard it is to get rid of my lovely things, but even harder to pack them all and transport them!

Where would you go in the world for inspiration
To my head and my heart.
What would you like to develop further or learn to do
I would like to develop the ability to work in large scale, learn to loosen up more with the paint, even be more abstract perhaps. And experiment with more materials.
Who do you think I should interview next
my lovely customer Cat who seems to be a true artist at heart, is funny, and makes amazing ceramics
CatCeramics
RitaReverie's Links -

Folksy

Facebook


5 August 2011

Crowdfunder Clay.Coven Ceramics

Just a few more days to go to achieve their dream of bringing the creativity of clay to the local community. And as my lovely friend Tash sa...