Radio Edit: HAZEL NICHOLLS

Την Βρετανίδα Hazel Nicholls και την όμορφη δουλειά της, την γνώρισα και την «ανακάλυψα» τυχαία, προσπαθώντας να κανονίσω μια συνέντευξη με έναν άλλο αγαπημένο μου καλλιτέχνη, τον Rob Ryan (http://rob-ryan.blogspot.com/). Τελικά από τον Rob συνέντευξη δεν πήρα, αλλά με την Hazel ανταλλάξαμε τόσα διασκεδαστικά emails, που εκτός από τις δημιουργίες της με κέρδισε κι η ίδια με την τόση ευγένεια της.It’s nice to be nice που λέει και η ίδια. Για το τι ακριβώς δημιουργεί θα το διαβάσετε παρακάτω και επισκέπτοντας το blog της.

How do you describe your work and what inspires you to create?

My work is text and image based, I like playing on words and try to incorporate humour into the things I do. I think it's important to believe in what you do, but you don't have to take yourself too seriously.

I want to send messages to people and I want to make them happy. I feel really fortunate to be able to make a living out of my work but for me it's not about the money, it's about the feeling I get knowing someone wants to own something i've made, that they share my idea and want to live with it on their wall.

What do you find the most playful and exciting in the process?

I really love screenprinting, every time I pull the squeegee over the silkscreen and see the ink appear on the paper I am filled with a sense of delight, I don't think i'll ever lose that feeling.

What makes you choose the current media and execution approach for your work? Is there any other media would you like to challenge yourself with?

I like to be hands on with my work and although I do use a computer, everything originates from a drawing. These drawings then become hand sewn pieces of work, but because they're so time consuming I produce some of them as screenprints as it's a great way to produce multiples.

But at the same time because all my printing is done by hand, human error does occur and this can sometime lead to little mistakes which make each print unique.

I would love to find a way of combining screenprinting & embroidery.

Who in the field catches your attention the most recently? Who would you like to collaborate with and why?

I really love Emily Sutton's screenprints & the fabric design she made for St Judes, the colours she uses are just brilliant!

If I could work with anyone in the world then i'd choose Stefan Sagmeister, he's been a bit of a hero of mine since college.

What’s your top five favorite music bands? Any new music you would suggest?

I love so many different musicians & groups that it's impossible for me to pick just 5!

It all really depends what mood i'm in.

I love Johnny Cash, Lee Hazlewood, Badly Drawn Boy, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Wild Beasts, Grinderman, Bruce Springsteen, I could go on forever!

80's cheesy tunes are my favourite for dancing badly to.

But my most played album at the minute is 'The English Riviera' by Metronomy, it's so upbeat and even though supping an ice cold beer in the summer sun seems like a distant memory now, each time I hear 'The Look' i'm transformed to the top of a double decker bus where me and my best friend are singing along (me badly) like we're teenagers again.

Look out for a band called 'Other Lives' they're awesome - especially their song 'For 12' They've been around for ages but i'm not that cool and have only just heard of them!

Do you remember when and how you started messing with art in the first place? What would you like to be if not an artist?

I can't remember when it started, it's always been there and i've always loved making things. When I was at school I really wanted to be a Marine Biologist but when I realised i'd have to drop art in order to study triple science I just couldn't do it and my future started to map out in a different direction before my eyes, nothing was ever intentionally planned but I think the choices I made so many years ago and the people I've met along the way have all led me here.

It seems to me that in the last couple of years, d.i.y. techniques have become very popular. You think is just a fashion tendency or it is that people are becoming more aware of how many things they can make themselves and be creative at the same time?

I think the creation of online marketplaces like 'Etsy' & 'Folksy' have definitely encouraged something that may have started out as a fashion tendency to become a more grounded approach to making money from what may have previously been regarded as a hobby.

There also seems to have been a real influx of publications on craft. People are learning how to make their creations into a business.

You often use proverbs and phrases in your prints. Anything that stands out as a motto for you?

"It's Nice To Be Nice"

My mum always told me I should treat people the way i'd like to be treated, it's such a simple idea but so many people don't seem to follow it. Wouldn't the world be much better if they did!

What are you up to at this time? Any new project we should know about?

At the moment I am working with a fantastic accessories company called NV London Calcutta, we're going to make a wonderful bag together which should be out in time for Christmas. I'm also making some illustrations for a magazine called 'Lost in London'

Please close your eyes and draft the first image in your mind.

I tried to draw an english breakfast...