Interview with an artist, take II

 

Alice Savage

Recently I spoke with Alice Savage, an inspiring artist living in Italy with her cat Romeo. I asked her about her artistic inspiration, deepest secrets and how she fills her time.

Here are her answers..

How do you describe your working space? What inspiring things do you surround yourself with?

“I draw mostly from my studio, that is actually the living room adapted to my needs! I had to accept the existence of the furniture which was already there so I have one wall and a window in front of my desk, another desk for my pc and one for my drawings.

The wall features my little art collection and a lot of foxes, flowers and birds pictures for inspiration.

The desk is often in a state of .. creative chaos”

I indulge my creative side with French literature and old English poetry; what is your reading inspiration and do you find it helps you create artistically?

“I have been a bookworm since I first learnt to read! I have an intense relationship with the works of Amais Nin, Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton, I also share the love of these French authors (Baudelaire) with you – I love poetry in general.

I like to be a sponge and find inspiration in many different places. Reading books, listening to music (I pay a lot of attention to lyrics) . I also like to find quotes on the internet – it will sound silly but I find a lot of new authors that way!

How do you cope with a lack of inspiration?

“I love to watch details. There is a whole new world in the details.

I rarely am “not inspired”, my art is my journal and I often just draw what comes natural. I love to take photos of the nature around my house and get lost in the macros.

I'd say life and emotions inspire me but not on a 'sentimental' level. I draw and doodle every day and I just keep that window open and look at all the things that fly in.”

Some of your drawings can be quite moving, how do you dig out the darker side of your subject?

“Coming from ten years of depression and panic attacks, it never took me much effort to find the dark side. I was in such darkness, for a while, I couldn't bare to create; I couldn't face the despair that filled me. The soul surgery that always happens with creation.

Living in that condition forced me to change, it's hard to explain but somewhat like what I said before about the details; if you're ready to be honest, naked and raw with your art then you start to notice things, little things, most people don't. It's something I see in the art that touches me.

I started to draw again when I realised it was my last chance to survive and stay relatively sane; it saved me.

When you're not busy creating, what do you do to fill your time?

I draw! Ever since the happy age of three – I just always loved to draw.

Drawing teaches me new things everyday, it is the best meditation for me.

I love.. cats, foxes and bears. I love fountain pens and rings. I love to have nail polish on (how fancy!).

When not working, or drawing, I spend my days knitting and tatting lace, they both calm me. I like to read, even though I don't have much time, and I like to sleep and play with my kitty Romeo, who likes to purr-purr on his human!”

Above image: Commission piece by Alice Savage for my sister as a Christmas gift.

Lemon Freckles talks blogger!

This week my dear sister kindly agreed to give me some pointers for new bloggers! Her blog is very sweet - full of quirky fashion, recipe tips and outings with her fiance. I hope you find these pointers useful and do give her blog a visit from time to time: Lemon Freckles.

How would you describe your blog?
I guess the genre of my blog is ‘Personal’, I mostly blog about my life and little adventures. I like sharing things I love on the blog as well, even if its just sharing something beautiful I have just found on Etsy or an iPhone App I just can’t get enough of.

What is your key to a successful blog?
Honestly, I have no idea, it depends on what you count as successful. Looking at some of my favourite blogs I would say it is because they are blogging about something they love, something they have a passion about, which comes across in their blog and tends to make me want to read more. I think blogging is like anything creative really, you just have to have a go, make mistakes, have fun, be brave and don’t worry about what other people think. When I first started blogging I was so worried about what my friends, family and strangers may think that it affected what I blogged about, I think I wanted to maintain an air of ‘cool’ but the reality is I’m not a ‘cool’ person in real life, so it was like I was pretending to be something I’m not. When I finally started to relax I enjoyed it a lot more, I’m still finding my feet in blogging, I’m pretty much a newbie but the more I go on the more I enjoy it.

How do you network?
Networking is such a funny thing, in the blogging community I think it is more about finding like minded people, finding other bloggers you can connect with over shared interests. I think there are so many ways you can connect with other bloggers but the best way I have found is just by reading other blogs, commenting, leaving positive comments on fellow bloggers posts. Blogging is such a personal thing, no matter what the subject, so I think any blogger loves to be encouraged and I love encouraging people, so it works well for me. Also Instagram has had an absolutely massive impact in the blogging community, I’ve found so many amazing blogs just through instagram alone. I’ve not come across many bloggers that don’t use it to share just that little bit more of their life and it’s a absolutely beautiful way to connect and encourage people again.

Who is your market audience?
Me. I write for myself and I hope that inspires others. I have things I love doing, like sewing, bargain hunting, vintage festivals, drinking too much tea and I expect that will bring in a certain type of person to the blog but I don’t have a particular genre of person in mind when I blog.

What tips do you have for new bloggers?
Have a go! Don’t be afraid to write about what you love and have some fun with it. Don’t push yourself to do a post a day on the blog at first or stick to a strict regime of what you are going to blog about, I did this at first and found it put too much pressure on me and took away the fun of blogging. Instead just blog when you feel like it, don’t worry about getting more followers or anything like that, just find your way with blogging first. Join Bloglovin and find lots of inspiring blogs that you love, learn from them and encourage them too!