Saturday, 1 June 2019

Q&A with Vicki

Hi, it's Becca here. I've been looking back at the past Traverse blog posts and realised that besides my intro post in June 2018, there has been no post introducing any of the other members! We have a new member to the group and it seemed a really good opportunity to firstly introduce Vicki but also to do a post on every member of the group! So over the next few months, I will post a Question and Answer session with one of Traverse's members.

Vicki

Vicki  joined Traverse earlier this year and despite the short time between joining the group and our first exhibition of 2019, she worked really hard to ensure she could exhibit with us. But let's find out a bit more..

Can you tell us about you? 

I’m Vicki. I'm trying to navigate through life’s complications whilst dipping into my accumulation of years worth of materials to make things. 

How did you get into textiles? 
  
As a child during the 1970’s, I attended what was quite a progressive primary school, where creativity was vastly important. We learned to sew - hand and machine, worked with clay, and looked at an array of creative practices. My home life also had an emphasis on making, traditional skills and thinking outside of the box in terms of gender roles.  

I have a BA(hons) in Art and Design.




What are your creative influences? 

Ooooo, where to start! Quite frequently anatomy features as starting point for any work I’m making, disease and mortality. Cliché to say Frida Kahlo but a definite influence there, but honestly, it’s a large sphere of influence including a variety of media. 

Bioscience, technology, nature and history. 




What inspires your work? 

I'm inspired by death quite a lot…

Decay




What are your favourite techniques to use?

I love stitch, the repetition, the rhythm, the history around different techniques. 
However, I do bore quite easily so I tend to have a few things on the go at once. Many unfinished paintings and small scale sculptures lurk around my work space.




How did find your creative style? 

Accidentally! 

Describe your style in 4 words 

Lazy
Haphazard
Intuitive 
Organic

How do you start a new project? 

Usually when I’m in a creative fug or bored with what I’m working on, I’ll find something else to do and experiment a bit.

What do you do if you hit a creative block?

1. Take some time away from what I’m working on. 
2. Try not to throw it in the bin or cover it in glitter!
3. I love books, so I’ll read or look through reference books for a few sparks.




Thank you Vicki, it has been great to find out more about you and your work!  Our next Q&A post will be with Bernice.

Becca