interview: tangerine meg on art, design & life

This interview is part of Tangerine Meg's Bold Interviews with a whole bunch of creatives. Check out her blog for more interviews, including her Q & A with me! 

You’re a graphic designer and artist. How do the two support and oppose one another?

Support: I find art and graphic design are both flavours of visual communication. The theories of colour and composition are employed in both to convey a message clearly. For art it's a personal story being communicated, whereas Graphic Design conveys a brand 'look' and business values and information. And in each it's a good idea to set off rich, fascinating visual areas with plenty of white breathing space!

Oppose: I think they cross pollinate each other. The clarity of communication necessary when doing graphics can be employed with a succinctity of expression when approaching personal artwork. Lately I've been combining cool quotes with my watercolour and lino print images. Circling us back to: art and graphic design lend richness to one other!

How does your life impact your art and your art impact your life? 

Life impacts art completely! 

When I see a pile of juicy mandarins at the Farmers Market, a cat sitting by a lovely curtain or a surprisingly purple flower it beckons me, with its colour, texture or shape. Its essence tugs at mine. We dance. I'm called to make an image – be it phone photo, painting or a quick scrawl to remind myself of the colours later.

Art impacts life: 

1. Making art? The feeling of flow has me in the present, engaged yet calm. Even if just a little painting happens I know I've done what I needed to that day. More than a little art makes a very good day :)
2. Seeing others' art? Seeing others' unique makings brings out curiosity and wonder and leads to a richer, fuller day. The recognition of a human truth in another's artwork, or seeing someone respond to my artwork – personal yet universal - is so heartwarming.

What is your creative process like?  

My creative process can appear sporadic for any given project - I may jump from one task to another when a fresh outlook is needed - but the process throughout the day is of ongoing gathering and weaving. I often start a picture or graphics project with an unstructured muse and scribble session, then take a break for percolation – haha, ironic as I don't drink coffee. Next I'll develop the idea and allow another percolation break. Thirdly, the idea is brought into shape, and finally I draw all the threads together and check for cleanness and completeness. Is this different when it’s something personal compared to something commissioned by a client? The stages might be squeezed closer together if the artwork is  for someone else – I need to be aware of the client or cat owner's time frame and goals. If I'm doing graphic design for myself (like my calendars) or a client one has to wrap up the process by ensuring all the formatting, colours and fonts have been checked and that there are no typos!

What are you most proud of in art and life? 

Art: I'm proud that I'm (still) doing it! I started making paintings years ago (and lessons at age 7). I'm so excited to be working on making art a bigger part of my livelihood. I feel lucky, making pictures is an activity that by its nature requires presence and intuition, a most enjoyable state to touch base with!

Life: (It's a cliché, but...)  My kids. They are awesome adults now. I don't feel I was very intuitive at parenting; and I wasn't sure until the second hit 20 (last year) that I had done a good enough job. Who would have thought that after all that nagging (me) and confusion (also me) they would grow into healthy, creative and lovely young men. (What a relief!) 

Tell us 5 key lessons of adulthood that you’ve come to live by. 

1. Attend to your quality of life. Eat healthy local foods, move your body, make your actions align with your values. If you take care of yourself you'll be able to contribute better, too.
2. You can do a crazy huge project, little by little, in repeated little tasks and sessions. A long bush walk doesn't have to be walked with every step at the same time – in fact it's impossible! The path can only be walked one step at a time.
3. Yoga And Sleep are Magic.
4. Make things – art, knitted items, paper mache, gardens. Read. 
5. Choose the colourful, patterned one!

Hi! I'm Tangerine Meg, delighted to meet you! I'd love you to join me on this curious soulful journey as Bold Life and Art unfold. The best way is to sign up for Tangerine Juice, my monthly-ish eNewsletter. You're heaps welcome to visit my website and download free stuff - there are bright bookmarks and a Reading Girl Bookplate image available this very moment, guaranteed to brighten up any personal library! You can also find me on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram. Let's play!

kate goes to europe: amsterdam

In my last post I revealed that Kym and I had been gallivanting through Europe in April and I promised a report on the places we visited. First stop was Amsterdam, where we stayed for 4 nights. 

Anyone who has been there will know what I mean when I say that Amsterdam is an assault of the senses. Mostly in a good way. Sometimes in a bad way. On occasion, in a nose curling kinda way. 

Assault on sight:

The first thing you’ll notice is there is a lot going on visually. Look down, there’s a mixture of cobblestones to carefully tread (especially if you’re a walking-trip-hazard like myself), with papers and cigarette butts scattered on the ground (Kym and I may have been the only non-smokers in the entire country). Look up and there’s a sky with bustling clouds and so intensely blue that it looks like someone made it all up (in a good way). Look in front of you and there are bikes whizzing past, beaming with the confidence of winning the war of the roads (cars really aren’t the master on Amsterdam streets). Look around you, left to right and there’s a whole lot to see. There is no bullshitting in Amsterdam, no shame. It’s not just in the red light district, with the women standing provocatively in shop windows, or the ‘coffee shops’ which don’t actually sell coffee. The message in every shop window, no matter the type of business it’s representing is the same “This is who I am. I hope you like it, but I don’t really care, and I’m not going to change anything." 

Assault on taste: 

Taste is concentrated in Amsterdam. The cheese is strong, the bread is heavy, the meat is smoked. The serving sizes are bigger than I’ve ever seen (well, until we got to Germany, but more on that in another post). Kym and I made the mistake several times of ordering separate slices of cake, only to discover that every serve is twice that you get in Australia. We duly finished said serves, but still, they became a struggle a few days in. The only thing I found weak was the beer (that said, I’m an Aussie, it's in my blood to say this). 

Assault on smell: 

Amsterdam reeks. When you are in Amsterdam, you will discover what it means to feel overwhelmed with smells. Trash, pastries, weed, beer, coffee, cheese, urine…. It’s all a bit much for a girl who uses soap nuts to clean her clothes. To conclude, Amsterdam reeks. That is all. 

Assault on hearing: 

Just like the smell, Amsterdam is a whole lot of noise. Apparently it’s one of the loudest cities in the world. Or Europe. Or the country. I’m not sure, but our tour guide said something along those lines. I’m assuming it’s the first option. In Amsterdam, there is always something competing for your attention, and sound is no different: sirens, rubbish trucks, crowds, cars, bells, bikes…. 

Assault on touch: 

As I said in the ‘sight’ part of this post, Amsterdam is an incredibly textural city. There’s always something to touch, walk on, scrape, bump into, steer away from. The sun is toasty warm on your face, the wind is chillingly cold. There’s always something crunching or shifting underfoot, like the city is half awake beneath you.

All of this said, I freaking loved the place. It was rad. 

Highlights included 

• Van Gogh Museum (even if his famous sunflower painting was on holiday in the UK)
• Anne Frank Museum (you can’t not go to this, even if the line is 1+ hours long)
• City tour with Mark, That Dam Guide (it was by far the best tour we took in all of Europe)
• Cobra Museum of Modern Art (if you like modern art, this place has some seriously cool stuff)
• Winkel (the best apple pie in Amsterdam, not to mention, my entire life)
• Noordermarkt (conveniently, right next to Winkel)