Conversation with Patrice A.

atelier

It's time for a new conversation post in here, i LOVE these posts! 
I always find myself uplifted and inspired by getting a little peek into the lifes of these wonderful creative souls who so kindly answers my questions and takes photos so when can see some glimps from their world...*smiling*....
This time it is the sweet Patrice A. who we are getting to know a little bit better, enjoy!

 V: Can you first tell us a little bit about yourself?

P: I am a daughter, a sister, a wife and a mother of two boys. I am an interior adviser and designer, was an interior design teacher for over 10 years and graduated from the Art Academy. I have a love for drawing, etching and linocut printing.

V: You are an artist working with many different techniques like for example drawing and lino-cut printing. are there any techniques you feel closer too and are there any un-tried ones that you feel like exploring in the future?

P: My first love has always been and will be drawing. Just a pencil and paper, clean lines, with as little as possible tell as much as possible. Besides that I love linocut printing and have started painting again, like the bird portraits on unbleached linen which I combine with beads.

What I would like to learn in the future is weaving, making fabric and print it. And pottery. I have a thing for bowls which fit perfectly in your hands.

But at the moment I am trying to knit my first sock ;^)))

atelier

linocut

V: Can you share some thoughts with us about the topic of creativity? do you think that everybody has creativity in them, is it essential for you?

P: Yes, I think everybody has creativity in them and yes it is essential, important, to me. I am a better person when I create, when my hands are working.

V: Is there a certain time of the day that you find yourself more creative? are there a special "setting" you need to have when you work?

P: I am a morning person, I like the early mornings when it is quiet and you still have a whole day ahead.

Most of the time I work in silence, no music. I like my workroom quiet and tidy. All the things I need around me, our dog Splinter on his blanket and a fresh mint tea.

V: What is beauty for you...where do you find it/see it?

P: I find beauty and inspiration in the things around me, my family, people, our garden, nature, just life itself, life as it is. But also in a museum, dance/ballet, books, movies, magazines, blogs, so many things….

birdportrait

V: And what makes you happy?

P: Many things can make me happy, little things, daily life, kids, the smell of their hair after playing outside all day, the tiny warm body of our dog, sunshine filtered through the leaves, the smell of the woods after rain, coffee with frothed milk and chocolate, meeting and talking to people, reading a book, working in silence, a cello….

V: Do you have any artists that you especially like?

P: Alberto Giacometti, his drawings and paintings, August Rodin, Johannes Vermeer, Fon Klement, KLaas Gubbels, Jasper Krabbé and Gustav Klimt. The designers Hella Jongerius, Piet Hein Eek, design studio and duo Makkink & Bey, Charles and Ray Eames, Theo Jansen and Scandinavian designers. But also Sheila Hicks, Dries van Noten and Mina Perhonen, or the garden designer Piet Oudolf, choreographer Hans van Manen and more…

V: At your blog you mentioned that you have a father that can create anything from tables to a whole house if needed. did he learn you a lot of creative things/crafts while you were growing up and did you two spend much time creating things together?

P: What I learned from my father is that if you want you can make everything. I learned to think practical and be precise. He learned me wood skills like to saw straight. When we were growing up, my father completely rebuilt our house and I helped him a lot. We were and are a good team. And he still likes to make things, like a sideboard or a wall as we did last month at our attic or the small wooden houses.

etching

wooden houses made by patrice's father and the wire house is made by one of her sons

V: Do you have a favorite poem, saying or quote that means something special to you?

P: My favorite quote is: ‘Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass. It’s about dancing in the rain.’ Because I often forget and worry too much about unnecessary things.

V: You once told in a post that you don't use a lot of jewelry but i am curious to know the story behind the silver rings that you are always wearing...they are so pretty : )

P: Ha, my rings. The first one are three rings together, connected. My love gave this one to me when I was pregnant with our first son. The next one is a single ring similar like the three connected ones. I don’t remember why and from whom, but it makes four and we are a family of four: me and the kids (the three) and my Love (one), or three man and one woman ;^))

The third ring, like a pearl rim is a reminder to do things step by step, slowly, every day, bit by bit.

The largest ring on top has an opal. After my grandmother died, years ago, it was specially made for me. She always wore a necklace with an opal. When I graduated from the Art Academy my love gave me a ring in the shape of a crown as a crowning of years of study. It is still one of my favorites but unfortunately to small at the moment.

another favourite quote

collection of rings

V: What are your wishes for this summer?

P: I wish for summery weather, with sunshine and enough wind so we can go sailing every day with our beautiful sailing boat. And i hope to see the sea and paint it.

V: Some future dreams or goals that you are focusing on?

P: Dreams…. Some dreams I have for years, I should just start doing!

V: How do you picture yourself ten years from now?

P: Ten years from now we live in an small farmhouse with a large garden with flowers, vegetables and fruit trees, ecological polyculture. There is a shed which is my workroom, for my interior business, but also for making my linocut print on fabric, a small side business for making aprons and tea towels like I already do now and then. And in ten years time I have started teaching again, art lessons for children, because I miss being a teacher. That would be nice.

patrice in her fairy-tale : )

All photos by Patrice.