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ARTELLAGRAM 12-10-08:
"In the Studio"
An Interview with Artist Anne Davies
(This interview is continued from the December 10 2008 Artellagram...)
Artella: Do you plan ahead when you're creating, or does your art unfold more spontaneously?
Anne: I usually like to have a theme to work around for example, kaleidoscopic colours, movement and dance, self-portrait, surface journeys, etc. However, I then just like to start, perhaps with some sketches, then going into two- or three-dimensional pieces. The thing I like most about creating is that you can compare it to a journey; you have a destination and a starting point, but along the way you can turn off and suddenly find yourself going in a direction you hadn't anticipated.
I remember as a child I used to watch the artist/TV celebrity Rolf Harris' programmes broadcast by the BBC. He would paint on an enormous canvas and the brush seemed to glide over the surface creating the most wonderful spontaneous images. He always used to say if you respond to "accidental happenings" in your work you will always produce things that are fresh and uninhibited. Rolf is still painting and presenting programmes today -- and he has retained that freshness; that's what I try to aim for in my own work.
Artella: Do you find that creating art helps you deal better with challenges in life? Does art play a healing or helpful role in your life?
Anne: I live to create and I create to live. So yes, I absolutely agree that art helps me to be a stronger and happier person who can deal better with life's challenges. What I really love most about my creative life is that no two days are ever the same and as that great saying goes "variety is the spice of life". I think that being able to get away from repetition and living a more spontaneous life is the key to bringing joy and healing to your soul; and it's contagious too, making the world a better place for those around you.
Through my work with families and sick children I see at first hand how play and creativity can bring hope and happiness to even the most desperate of situations. I love the following quote by the artist, Picasso: "Art washes from the soul the dust of everyday life."
Artella: What is the weirdest art material you have ever used?
Anne: I really love discovering new materials. A few months ago I visited a craft exhibition here in the UK and went with a friend to a stand where an artist was demonstrating with Friendly Plastic®. He heated it and then combed it to make marbled effects, twisted it into spirals, moulded it onto a mask, and sunk objects into its surface -- totally weird, and wonderful.
I've been fascinated with Friendly Plastic® ever since. It has a sort of wild quality; being very uncontrollable when at its hottest, becoming slowly more pliable as it cools down. To date I've created mainly jewellery pieces with this medium and if I don't like the finished piece, I can simply heat it up again and start over. I also love the way the different colours of the plastic blend on melting and I even used a photograph of an effect I created as a background image for my Blog. I'm looking forward to discovering more weird materials in the future.
Artella: Do you actually buy much of other folk's art, or just use it for inspiration?
Anne: Yes, I like to buy the work of other artists and crafts folk, and would buy even more if I had a larger income!
The other day I bought a small watercolour by a local artist. She had painted a village in the Cotswolds, near to where my sister lives. I thought it would be an ideal gift to give to her, as she is shortly to celebrate a special birthday. That is the main reason I buy paintings or hand-made items; to give as presents.
It's true, though, that you do in turn get inspired by the way someone else uses colour, texture, pattern, etc. In turn, friends and family have also given me some beautiful objects. For instance, a hand-painted dish from Orkney and a painted slate from North Wales. Both items are displayed in my home and I walk past them every day and see something new in them each time.
Artella: What do you do to promote your art? What tips can you give to an artist who is trying to get her work seen by more people?
Anne: In recent years the Internet has been a key tool that I have used to promote my work. My published articles end with an author's biography and links to my Website, so readers can see visually the type of work I create, find out a little bit about my background and even download some products. I also have links on my Website to my writing portfolio, so site visitors can read samples of other articles that I have had published. I would definitely say that having a Web presence is a must for any artist/designer in the 21st century.
Joining an artists' community is another way to get your work known, discover new ideas, and meet fellow artists. Of course the wonderful online community of artists, writers, and creative spirits found in Artella has been, for me, a truly enriching experience, combined with helping me to develop a more business-centred approach to my creative work. It's a good idea too, to liaise with local artists and I have several creative friends with whom I am able to share ideas and even sell together at local fairs.
Try to think "outside the box" and come up with fun and unusual ways to get noticed. A few months ago a girl who liked the felt bag I was holding stopped me in the street:
"Did you make this?" she asked.
"Yes," I replied. "If you want something similar, I can make you one."
"Do you have a business card?"
After much searching, I managed to find a card. I hadn't thought about carrying business cards, so after this encounter I always try to do so. The moral of this story is be prepared for anything and get your business head on!
Artella: Looking at your life, and your artwork, five years from now, do you think there will be significant changes and what might they be?
Anne: First of all, if I look back over the past five years I can see huge changes in both my life and the work I create. Instead of being a curriculum-based teacher, I now write my own learning resources and have the freedom to adapt my teaching skills to enhance the lives of families with problems, as opposed to simply getting young people to achieve educational targets. Also, as a self-employed person I can develop my professional skills through attending creative workshops and seminars.
How I wish I could travel forward in time and tell you what my life and work will be like in the next five years! All I can say is that I hope there will be changes and the most exciting thing about living a creative life is to be open to the unexpected -- travelling new and unplanned pathways. One thing I dearly hope to achieve is to continue my work with families and publish books that support life-long learning, particularly with regard to play and creativity. I would also love to be involved at some level in policy-making for bodies such as Play England and the Campaign for Family Learning.
See Anne's wonderful products, including a brand new set of CD covers and a new holiday card, in The Shoppes of Artella, here.
 Want more artist interviews from Artella?
Take a look at our eBooks Artist Profiles Assembled and Artist Profiles Assembled, Vol 2, and look at the "Ask the Artist" column every single day in The Artella Daily Muse, our daily online creativity newspaper.
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