Kitty, my sister and the co-founder of Dapple & Grey, has a background in Fine Art and a passion for photography. This beautiful, painterly photo is from Kitty's recent work.
Kitty has recently discovered a love of fabric and sewing and is now a confessed fabric-aholic! I sat down with Kitty and asked her about how her art, photography and newfound love of fabric and sewing work together. I hope you enjoy this Interview with the Artist.
Amber x
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Amber: What does it mean to be an artist? Is there one, universal definition or does every artist have their own interpretation?
Kitty: I think everyone has their own interpretation of what it means to be an artist, probably evidenced by the variety of different styles and techniques and materials that are employed. A person might use paint or sand or plants. This demonstrates it’s a fluid thing; there are no fixed boundaries to how you can be an artist. If it were predefined, everyone would paint the same way or draw the same way.
Amber: When did you first realise you were an artist, or was it a decision?
Kitty: That’s a hard one. I would probably say it’s a combination of both. It’s a process of realisation but also a decision to pursue it. If you are an artist, then you are, but a creative person doesn’t necessarily pursue a traditional fine art career. For me, Pierre Herme (the French pastry chef famous for his macarons), and what he can do with food, can be considered art.
Amber: Are schools too narrow in their definition of art?
Kitty: Yes. If you can’t or don’t draw or paint in the traditional ways, you are on the outer unless, like me, you just do your own thing and ignore all that, but it takes strength to follow your own vision especially when that usually means a failing result. Schools do a disservice if they cannot recognise talent or are not prepared to allow students to pursue what is particular to them. Now, there is a lot to be said for cementing the foundations of the discipline of art. You can’t progress unless you know the basics. There is a real need for a technical basis, but a drawing of a pitcher doesn’t have to look like a pitcher. Some adherence to tradition is valuable, but schools have to be liberal enough to see talent in any form. In all fairness to my school I understand the teachers have limited time and a syllabus to adhere to but there is more than one way to 'skin a cat'. I still don't know if I actually have any talent or if they just gave up. :)
Amber: What is your favourite medium? I know you have just bought a new camera. Is photography your favourite?
Kitty: I would say photography is up there. I have a love/hate relationship with painting. Drawing, I understand the importance of it but it just doesn’t rock my world. Joseph Beuys said 'everyone is an artist' and I think it is only now that I realise what he meant. This notion of fine art is important but no more important than the art that is created everyday. We wont all be famous for a shark in a tank of formaldehyde (Amber: a reference to a controversial work by British artist Damien Hirst) but making dinner for your family or creating a quilt for the birth of the newest addition to your family is not given the respect it deserves. I believe I have seen the light Joseph Beuys offered all those years ago. I feel I need to mention I recently read the suggestion that 'photographers are failed “would-be” artists'! That amused me no end as there may be something to that - if you consider Ansel Adams a failure! The freedom and liberation of the camera pip painting for me.
Amber: When we were little, Mum taught me to sew and I know it just didn't interest you at that time. What changed or what clicked for you that got you interested?
Kitty: It was having my girls. For me it’s about the end result. When my girls started kindy, I needed to make them drawstrings bags to take to kindy, and I wanted to make it nice for them. It’s about doing something for my girls that is a bit different. I can take what they’re about and give them something nice for them. I made a retro owl print bag for one of my girls and a flowery pink bag for my other girl. I wanted something for them that not everyone else would have – I didn’t just want a branded bag. Having said that, just about everything else they own is 'Hello Kitty'! Shame on me! ;)
Amber: So, sewing is a way to give your girls something specific to them?
Kitty: Yes, that’s right.
Amber: When you're choosing fabric, do you consciously engage your artist's eye, or is it a more subconscious process?
Kitty: I would say that the two are linked, but I just allow instinct to drive choice of fabric. You know a while back in a post you talked about challenging yourself by buying fabrics that weren’t “you”? (Amber: see my post here.) I think that’s right. My approach is about response. Something will grab my eye and my immediate reaction to that fabric dictates whether or not it’s a contender for purchase. People have different tastes. Some people really like strong, graphic prints and some people like pretty or country fabrics. Some people could have giant black and white chevrons in their house but that would do my head in! Rejecting a fabric based on “that’s not me” is beneficial in one respect, but I also encourage people to have an instinctual approach to their choices. Don’t reject a fabric just because it doesn’t seem to fit in with what you think you should like.
Amber: Do you choose fabric for a project or do you choose the fabric and let the fabric inform the choice of project?
Kitty: Typically I just choose fabric. With some projects, like the bags for my girls I mentioned before, I did go out and buy fabric specifically for that project. But I usually just buy what I’m attracted to and the application just presents itself later, which probably explains why I have metres of fabrics I haven’t done anything with yet!
Amber: And finally, what's your favourite fabric line at the moment?
Kitty: I have to say that my favourite is Winter Nest by Kristen Doran, a Sydney designer. This is primarily a furnishing range. I also tend to like ranges by Alexander Henry and Robert Kaufman.
Amber: Is there anything you'd like to add?
Kitty: People may think they can't do something because they're not creative or they're just "Joe Average". I don't think "Joe Average" exists. Creativity is everywhere, whether sewing, quilting, photography, painting, food. Creativity is in everyone - it just doesn't come out the same way. People who can change recipes, arrange their homes beautifully, capture the beauty of the everyday ...it's all creative. Everyone has creativity in them; they just need to find their particular thing and let it out. There is not right or wrong - there is only you.
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I hope you enjoyed that interview with Dapple & Grey co-founder (and my sister), Kitty. I think it's time for a nice cup of English Breakfast Tea and a spot of sewing.
Amber x
