Monday 24 May 2010

Interview with...Myself!!

Before I begin, here's a few photos from yesterday. The weather was just glorious so we camped out in the garden all day! Sos came home before lunch- she has radar when it comes to food...it was lovely to see the girls catching up with each other...Do you like our Summer Kitchen? Wonderful murals on the walls, huh?!
Widow Twankey's Laundry- Sos arrived home with three loads for the machine...typical!
And after such a lovely day I decided to make a new Treasury: Lazy Hazy Summer Dayz!
And now to the business of the day, for which you have waited with bated breath:
Interview with a (Quilting ) Vampire!
Heckety: So then, Heckety, what has inspired you as an artist?
Heckety: I was sewing, crafting and creating long before I ever thought to consider myself an artist, and even now it does seem a little high-faloutin and grandiose to call what I make ‘Art’.
I think I would be more inclined to call it attractive and useful thrifting! A bit like myself, really, attractive and useful, that is...

Heckety: Hmmmm. Matter of opinion. What is the first thing you remember making?
Heckety: Dolls and dolls’ clothes! I used to use Mom’s dress-making scraps to make fashion clothes for my ‘Disco dolls’ (anyone remember them?!), and then I progressed to soft furnishings, with furniture made from cereal boxes! I had nearly a whole house made at one point which drove Mom nuts as it lived on the bedroom floor and I went ballistic if my baby brother got at it whilst I was at school!
Later I began making rag dolls- I was convinced that there was a perfect doll waiting to be created, I still am convinced, and I still haven’t achieved it! Dee’s Annie comes very close though…

Heckety: Are there artists (famous or not) that have influenced your work?
Heckety: I can’t think of any particular artist but I think there are two main influences which have played their part:
Firstly Mom took me to a Quilt Exhibition in London when I was 11 or 12. I was making very rudimentary patchwork by then as a way of using the afore-mentioned dress scraps. I can’t recall where the Exhibition was held but I remember the beauty and richness and history of the Quilts.
Secondly, our parents have always taken us to places of interest:- museums, Art Galleries, Castles, chateaux, caves, beautiful scenery, Carnac, Brittany to see the national costumes, London for State Occasions, the Tower of London, stately homes, Craft shows, flower shows, Gardens of every sort, steam trains, Windsor, the State Apartments in Dublin Castle, Chester Beattie Library, potteries, weavers, artist’s workshops…even if something wasn’t planned, if we drove past, we stopped.
In retrospect I see that we were VERY privileged because even though everything was done on a budget we were given access to an enormous range of experiences and information. (Including the time my sister got stuck in the loo in a French restaurant and with my execrable school French I had to find a waiter and explain (in French ) that my little sister was stuck in the toilet and could he help?)
I firmly believe that EVERYTHING is grist to the mill in our lives: if we look with an open mind and active imagination then everything is ‘input’. As a result I am lucky enough to have a vast pool of experiences and visual memories upon which to draw when I am creating.

Heckety: Are there people in your life that have inspired you or your artwork?
Heckety: My parents encouraged us as children to try out things which interested us- for me it was music, crafts and sewing. Without that I doubt I would have ever started down this road, none of my friends followed an even remotely similar path. As regards the actual skills, I've learned everything out of books!
Heckety: I guess you like books so! Is there a moment in your life when you knew you were supposed to be an artist?
Heckety: Definately not! It was always a hobby, something to do in the evenings, or school holidays, or on Maternity leave…it was only when my health took a downward turn in about ’98 that I began sewing to earn. Since then I have tried on three occasions to return to full-time teaching and each time I’ve been beaten back by poor health. I recall some time ago a doctor asking anxiously would I be bored or unhappy since I could no longer hold down a job and I replied that I was never bored in my life, which is absolutely true! He was most surprised!
Despite all that it is no hardship to me to be turning my sewing into a business…or attempting to do so! I love sewing and creating, knitting and using all the various skills I have acquired to create useful things. I like having the freedom to live in an ethical and ecologically sound way. I like being able to choose the content of my days. And I like not being tied to the rat-race.

Heckety: And that's all for today folks- tomorrow we'll be back with the second half!

12 comments:

Heart2Heart said...

How amazing to have a kitchen/dining day outside. The weather looks amazing. We got an unexpected rain storm last night and woke up to cold and windy conditions today.

Loved your interview. Now I know what inspires you!

Love and Hugs ~ Kat

ladydi said...

I do love your outdoor dining room and kitchen! The fact that it even comes with a chef makes it perfect.

I enjoyed your interview very much. You've had an enormous variety of fascinating experiences! I, on the other hand, am the most boring person you've ever met, but I like it that way! I'm never bored either; I learned long ago that you never leave home without a book or a project in case you have to wait.

Andrea said...

I have an urgent prayer request at arise 2 write.
andrea

Jane's Art said...

I LOVE this!!!!!!!! What a great interview! Can't wait for more...
And looks like you are becoming Treasury Queen :) THANKS!!

Amanda said...

I've loved the weather we've had over the last few days, but I do need to retreat into the dark and cool from time to time, it just gets too hot for me after a while. I tend to scuttle from shade patch to shade patch - perhaps it's me that's the vampire after all! Loved the interview, what a great way to tell us more about yourself and how you work.

Griselda Pugh said...

What a lovely way to spend the week-end and what a view from your dining room/kitchen!

How did you find yourself as an interviewee? Were you very demanding, insisting on special imported bottled water etc??

It's a great idea for a post - very interesting interview and while poor health can be a grind, I love the way that you have turned that into something positive, a freedom that can be enjoyed :)

Robin said...

What a stunning location and view your kitchen has.

Great interview, I love your voice, I could just picture your sister stuck in the loo!

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Jingle said...

This is awesome!!! What a great idea! Thanks for sharing Heckety with us! LOL!

collettakay said...

Thanks so much to you and your "guest" for the interview. Very enlightening. I can't wait to read more.

Susan R. Mills said...

Great interview! Thanks for sharing so much about yourself. I love that outdoor kitchen, by the way.

Griselda Pugh said...

I tried to post again earlier but clearly made a hash of it!!

Thanks for your visit to my site today and I had no idea that my comment facility (?) was set to no reply :( I have tried to fix it and hopefully am now more approachable.

I visited your treasury and really covet some of the items - the colours in the wool had me stroking the monitor. Thanks for including my picture, I really appreciate it :)

Corner Gardener Sue said...

Hi Heckety,
I enjoyed reading about your day and your interview with yourself. Not only are you creative with fabric and such, you are also creative with words.

You told me you found some columbines when weeding. Isn't it fun to find things? I'm about to go weed my herb garden. I'd love to find some basil seedlings in there. At least, there should be some summer savory coming up.

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