Who is she…
I was born in a really small town in Vermont, USA, close to Canada. My mother’s a self-taught artist and I grew up in a creative household. There was always some sort of project that I would get involved with like painting, drawing, sculpture and fabric art. I had an idyllic little childhood and also read a lot, which had a big impact on what I’m doing now.
I went to high school in the area and studied art intensely as it was my favourite subject. My parents were politically active and although they weren’t hippies, they were almost hippies. We were always talking about the government in my house – they were very left-leaning and liberal. As a result, I got interested in social history and revolutions, not really politics, though I remember Apartheid being discussed at home when I was quite young.
After high school, I decided at the last minute not to go to art school and went to a liberal arts college (Bates College) in Maine instead. I thought about becoming a teacher and ended up designing my own major. I did anthropology, documentary studies, non-fiction writing, Spanish and went to Bolivia. That changed something in me. Before, a lot of things about the inequalities in the world had just been theoretical. So, to experience a country where there was a huge divide of wealth was totally new to me. It shook me up and disillusioned me to certain aspects of the US.
After that I went back to school then tried out a lot of different things. I worked for a non-profit organisation and did project coordination and office work. I started doing some design for them and crept back into art. Then I cooked for a while. I’ve always loved cooking so I took a job with a friend at a B&B. I dreamt about becoming a world famous chef but my back didn’t agree with me so stopped.
Then I moved between Maine and Vermont. I coordinated an exhibition in Vermont. I took to that job and was exposed to a wealth of ideas, artists, art history and artwork inspired by Martin Luther King Jnr. There was a lot of work by established artists, undiscovered people and self-taught artists, which was inspiring. When that finished, I got a job as a signmaker at a food store. I did everything from making the signs to running out printed letters. It was fun. I got to sit there and write things in big letters all day. After three years, I started getting bored though – there are only so many times you can write ‘Toilet paper for 99 cents’! I felt like I wanted to go back to school to study art and I wanted to travel. I began working full-time and did some design on the side while checking out different scholarships. Then I came across the Rotary Exchange. You could write a proposal then study somewhere for a year.
I wanted to go to Africa again. I’d been to Liberia with a friend before, where we volunteered through her brother, an aid worker. The experience blew me away, to see the poor conditions people were living in and to see how friendly, kind and resilient people were. It caused a huge clash within me – there were people who were rich in family, community and love in the middle of absolute chaos and instability.
Besides going to Africa, I wanted to be an observer and study art. I was trying to combine these two desires when a scholarship in South Africa became available. It seemed the most viable and safest option. Growing up, South Africa was always on the radar. I applied to the University of Stellenbosch to study botanical art. But I ended up being more drawn into stories and narrative – there’s a rich pool for that in South Africa. I ended up staying five years. I met a great group of people and loved living there. Lots of amazing projects came up.
I did a community based outreach programme, working with previously disadvantaged artists to train them and get them working as professional, skilled artists. I did freelance work and made artwork. I got into the small gallery scene and started doing things. I took part in some group shows. A lot of things were happening at once.
In the past two years, I’ve gotten more serious about picture books. I also realised that my artwork is all about text and images. This has all become clear to me over the past year and a half.
I did a residency in Brasil last year, which was a great opportunity for me to create work and just focus. I had my first solo show in October 2009 in South Africa. I produced the sort of work I want to be doing. And right now, I’m in New York City.
New York…
I’ve been here a month and I’m trying to set myself up. I still want to work with books. I’m working on a couple of projects and picture books, trying to get a feel for the gallery scene and investigate the possibility of showing. Ideally, I’d also like to be working for a bigger organisation. I enjoy that. I was teaching and doing programme coordination in Cape Town and Stellenbosch, connected to people and empowerment through the arts. I’d like to work part-time and do my own artwork the rest of the time. I’m looking for that now. It’s not easy but I’ve only been here a month and I’m going to stick with it.
Artist or illustrator…
I’m an illustrator and an artist. There’s a commercial difference. But more than that, illustration is about image and text relationships. That’s what you’re hired for commercially – to interpret text visually, like an article or for a book cover. I call myself both because they’re different contexts in which to work. In my artwork, I can be a lot more experimental. The line between the two definitions is so fine these days. It comes down to where someone sees your work, whether it’s in a book, a magazine or on a gallery wall.
The pros and cons…
The cons are financial ups and downs. There’s an art to finance that I haven’t quite mastered. It’s a bit of a cycle though – sometimes the money’s coming in and sometimes it’s not. I have to adjust to that mentally and emotionally. It’s difficult. Some days I’m better at it than others. I don’t know if it’s possible to feel completely comfortable at any point. I think if you’re not working and producing (like right now, I’m in transition), it’s a little challenging. I have this neurotic energy than runs rampant in my mind. It’s the force I have to work with creatively. If I can harness it and use it in my work, it’s great. if I can’t, it’s like an untrained dog – total terror!
On the flipside, to do something you feel is the thing you’re meant to do is awesome. I also love connecting with people. I’m not a conceptually based artist trying to challenge or ostracise people. Some artists approach art from a very jarring angle. I work differently. Although I try to be critical, I try to reach people and entertain them. That’s why my work is humorous and ridiculous sometimes. I have an offbeat sense of humour. I like creating books so I can make something that people can hold and take with them. I love making people laugh, knowing that I’ve touched them. It’s a great feeling. And if you make some money, that’s very nice too.
Learning…
Having the signmaker/graphic artist position did a lot for me because it provided a positive reception to what I was doing. I also had to work quickly and write the same signs over 6000 times a day. In repetition, you gain confidence. I also had to learn to use different software programmes through that job and went on a few basic short courses. The best teacher is ‘just having to do it’ – when you have a deadline and have to figure ‘it’ out. You learn the things that are relevant to you and in the process you learn other things.
I learnt a lot during my MPhil at Stellenbosch and learnt a lot from reading about artists that I respond to. I followed a path of inquiry by reading about their lives and looking at their work. Learning has been the result of seeing things I’m interested in and finding out how to do them by watching other people or working it out somehow.
Then vs Now…
When I was a kid I was pretty shy. I had some buddies but my favourite things were reading or scribbling away in my bedroom. I would make doll’s clothes and draw. I’d create these different worlds. For example, I had a massive Barbie doll collection and would get completely into ‘Barbie world’. It was all influenced by the stories I was reading.
My parents read to us a lot too so it’s always been about stories. When I have to summarise what I’m doing now, it comes back to stories – entertaining people, with fantasy and imagination.
Encouragement…
I’ve always made things for people and always been drawing. My parents sometimes worry about how I’m going to make a living but they see that I’m stubborn and focused so they’re very supportive. My friends are too.
When I get a little self doubt-ey, my friends give me a kick in the pants, which is pretty comforting. Self doubt is a big obstacle for many people. Having some sort of crew behind you is essential. I don’t think anyone operates in a vacuum. Everyone has something they rely on.
In the pipeline…
I’m taking part in the Art House Co-op Sketchbook Project, which is coming to Brooklyn in Feb. Art House Co-op run exhibitions and cool projects. There are also two picture books from Cape Town that I’ll be working on soon. One is a South African retelling of a classic folk tale, through Jacana. The other one is through a private person who’s commissioned me to work on a book with her.
Then I’ve got a couple of other projects, picture books and hopefully I’m going to be part of a show here called Recession Art. It’s open to young art collectors and people who want to buy affordable art. And I’m going to be making another body of work – collage and mixed media pages similar to the work I did for my show last October where the pages were indexed, mounted and framed. I was working with a lot of recycled paper and old magazines I collected in Brasil. I wanted to stick to old materials like beautiful textured paper. I’ve collected other materials since then like magazines from Norway and old materials I’d like to do something with. I did a stop frame animation for the show too and I’d like to do another one.
Family…
My mum’s side of the family is very creative but no one is a professional artist. My mother did sell her work and do shows sometimes but she didn’t pursue it 100%. More than anything, I was influenced by reading a lot. Artists crept into my psyche.
Words of wisdom…
Creatively, I had a really good high school art teacher. He encouraged me to work hard, keep at it and work through difficulties. Then at Stellenbosch, my advisor, Keith Dietrich, who was a really good teacher and great person said (when I was having some sort of breakdown) that it’s all about stumbling in the dark. You’re stumbling, crashing and hitting your head. Then you start to see a little light and you start walking towards that light. That’s the creative process, like it or not, that’s what it is. There has to be a struggle. If you’re not struggling, you’re not doing it 100%. I think that’s absolutely true – you have to work through the self doubt and ups and downs.
Inspiration…
I tend to just get silly and go back to my sketchbooks or just sit and write. If you’re feeling uninspired or stuck, you’ve hit a mental wall. I’ve been trying to sidestep that feeling by loosening up and making a huge mess. Or I taking something and looking at it in a completely different way. I like drawing for women24.com because it allows me to do that. I try to take a word or situation and come up with a silly approach to it or make it mean something else. That pulls me out of my misery.
Collections…
I like bizarre little things, paper products and old books. I had to get rid of a great deal of books when I left Cape Town, which was agony. I love textural and quirky handmade objects, which are often ugly to other people.
My sister just gave me a stuffed mouse from the 1950s. He’s got really long legs and a striped suit. I love him. I’m thinking of doing something with him as part of a project.
Favourite things…
I love the New Yorker magazine for the humour and the illustrations. I love design magazines but sometimes they overwhelm me. I read Print magazine and 3x3, the illustration magazine. There are a few illustration sites too like Illustration Mundo and Flavorpill (an arts and culture magazine). I love going for walks too. In the city or in the woods.
Influences…
Books, poets and authors – Lord of the Rings (Tolkien), James Herriott, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Anne Lamott, Thomas Merton, Gustave Flaubert, Truman Capote, Dylan Thomas, Alice Walker, James Baldwin, Mary Oliver, Ursula Hegi – to name a few.
Artists, illustrators and photographers – David Hockney, Maira Kalman, Alice Neel, Egon Schiele, Auguste Rodin, Ben Shahn, Jacob Lawrence, Romare Bearden, Faith Ringgold, Tom Gauld, Ed Gorey, Maurice Sendak, Father Fox’s Pennyrhymes, Mitsumasa Anno, Richard Scarry, William Kentridge, Richard Avedon, Mary Ellen Mark, Robert Mapplethorpe, Georiga O’Keefe, Andy Goldsworthy, Marjane Satrapi – also to name a few.
Film, animation and TV – Monty Python, Wes Anderson films/animation, Jim Jarmusch films, the Muppet Show, Sesame Street, The Wire, The Office, Les Triplettes de Belleville. There are lots more.
Music – Beatles, MIA, Beck, Paul Simon, folk singers of yore (Pete Seeger, Arlo/Woody Guthrie, Joni Mitchell), The Jackson 5, lots of ‘80s music (as that was my youth), funk and more funk, Ani DiFranco, The Be Good Tanyas, some kwaito, Miriam Makeba (grew up hearing her sing with Harry Belafonte). This is also an incomplete list.
Relaxation…
I do yoga and make fun gifts for people like a dolls or drawings. I draw to relax and keep up a visual diary. I love to cook too and go dancing to live music. I exercise occasionally and go for bike rides too.
Back in time…
I would have studied art sooner. I don’t regret what I did though. It just might have been nice to do both. I also wish I was a detective. If I did anything else instead, I’d be a detective.
Dream life…
I dream of living in a Tuscan villa, in something like the house in Stealing Beauty – an artist commune, which is like a constant dinner party. I want that, basically doing what I’m doing now in a more scenic setting, surrounded by friends, good food and wine and a strong sense of community.
Advice…
Figure out why you want to do it. You have to be satisfying some deep personal need because it’s a hard path to follow. You have to really love it to do it. You can make money but that shouldn’t be your driving force. If you can live without doing it, then do something else. If you can’t, then go for it.
Produce work and listen to criticism. Find people who will provide constructive criticism. At some point everyone goes through the shredder but you need some space where you get really good honest feedback. If you get offended or hurt by what people say, you need to find a way around that. Sometimes there’s a greater truth in what people say.