Today I have the pleasure of sharing with you this interview with Lynn Davy. Lynn is on of the most creatively diverse people I know and everything she makes is delicious! The first of Lynn's work that I ever saw online were her superbly detailed and intricate seed bead designs which incorporate handmade lampwork beads with exquisite seed bead detail.
How did you get started on beadweaving?
When
I was nearly 10, one of mum’s magazines had a free plastic bead loom on
the front. I was intrigued. It took us ages to find a craft shop
selling ‘rocaille beads’ and we could only get four colours – blue,
green, orange and white – but I was instantly hooked. Next birthday I
got a proper loom, more beads and a book on Native American beadwork
that had some patterns for off-loom beadweaving, the stuff you can do
with just needle, thread and beads. I started playing with those
patterns and never really stopped!
What would you like to do/learn/take up in the future to further your process?
I
steered clear of workshops for years because I didn’t want to be
influenced by anyone else. However, I took a class with the legendary US
bead artist Laura McCabe a few years ago that totally changed my view
of workshops and my whole approach to the materials I use. I’d like to
do more classes with really top beadweavers to find out how they do what
they do, not necessarily so I can do the same myself but so that I can
be inspired to think outside the box. I should probably do some
metal/wirework classes too: my wirework skills are basic to say the
least, and grownup metalworking tools frighten me!
How has your crafting and inspiration evolved over time?
In
one way it hasn’t really. I’m basically still that enthralled
ten-year-old playing in the bead box. But as my technical skills have
improved, I’ve been able to tackle more ambitious ideas, and over time
you see fantastic art and landscapes and colours and other people’s
work, and all of that feeds back into the creative process.
I’m now at
the stage of wanting to make things that aren’t just wearable jewellery
but wearable art – pieces with an edge, creations that have ideas behind
them as well as just ‘ooo, look at the pretty colours’.
What is your favourite ever piece of work?
Tricky, I love almost all of the beadwork I’ve ever made and find it very hard to
let
go of any single piece. If I had to pick one, it would be my ‘Memento
Mori’ necklace, a Day of the Dead piece I made for a Beadwork Magazine
challenge years ago. I had the idea, I gathered the materials, I sat
down and made the whole thing in a gloriously messy, one-off session
that had me laughing and cursing by turns. The process of making a piece
of beadwork is rarely as much fun as this was!
Where do you find your inspiration?
Everywhere.
Colours, textures, shapes... they are all around us all the time. I
make the family laugh with my ability to go into raptures over a manky
bit of brick wall or a dead leaf. I do tend to see everything in terms
of beadwork!
I also get a lot of inspiration from the beads
themselves, especially handmade lampwork glass where you can have a
whole universe of colour going on in one focal bead. I do love to take
‘lampies’ and make something that really brings out their special
qualities – I spend a lot of time rootling through my bead stash
comparing colours and textures in the search for the perfect match or
most striking contrast.
Do you craft for your living or is it more of a hobby/passion/obsession?
I’d like to say I do it for a living – I do run my beading as a business –
but so far I’ve had to combine it with other freelance jobs in order to
make a decent income. But it’s also a passion and an obsession so it’s
wonderful to be able to spend time beading and call it ‘work’. Even
though I have to spend far more time photographing, writing, promoting,
packing, researching, traipsing to the post office in the rain... It’s
totally worth it.
What is your greatest crafting success? And your most spectacular failure?
My greatest success has to be my ‘Warrior Rings’ necklace – I had the mad
idea of making chainmaille out of beadwork and the result was gorgeous,
albeit very time-consuming. The piece was selected for the 2010 ‘Bead
Dreams’ contest, which is THE big beadweaving competition, and was
subsequently published in Beadwork Magazine as a project. It’s about to
make another appearance in the gallery pages of a forthcoming book by
Jane Lock. And it turns heads whenever I wear it!
Spectacular
failures... I have those all the time, mostly stuffed into takeaway
containers and hidden away in the depths of the Dark Cupboard of Shame
in my studio. It’s very hard to pick a ‘winner’ but I did once spend
ages making beaded beads with lovely seed beads, drops and triangles and
they were ALL hideous and unusable, including a well-thought-out and
complicated design that took over an hour to put together and after all
that trouble it looks exactly like a turd...
What other crafts do you dabble in/would you like to try?
I dabble in bookbinding, which is ‘instant gratification’ compared with
beadweaving and which also appeals to my inner cheapskate. It’s
brilliant to be able to knock up a notebook or sketch pad just from the
contents of the recycling box and a few hoarded bits and pieces. I have
recently started tinkering with my ancient hand-cranked sewing
machine and am getting to grips with the ins and outs of thread and
fabric. I do a bit of silk painting, it’s very soothing and the colours
are beautiful. And I love messing around with paint or collage or
preferably both at the same time, trying out ideas and making a
wonderful mess into the bargain!
I did a printmaking course ages
ago and would love to do another one... one of these days I should
overcome my fear of the torch and have a go at lampworking... and I’d
like to try some metalwork, another fear to be conquered... oh, and I
used to be able to crochet and would love to be able to knit.
Do you listen to music while you create? What is your favourite track?
Not
usually, I get distracted too easily and prefer to just burble away to
myself. I tend to be thinking as I go along – forward planning is not
one of my strengths – and I need to sort-of focus on that rather than on
the music. Although sometimes I treat myself to a good blast of Mumford
and Sons (but only when the family is out; they’re allergic to banjo
breaks!) – ‘White Blank Page’ is just the best song ever...
Who is your favourite artists or designer?
Bead
artist: Laura McCabe. I would love to be able to make beadwork that is
as beautifully finished and perfect as hers is, but ‘perfect’ just isn’t
my style!
Glass artist: Tania Grey, who was responsible for
introducing me to ‘lampies’ and whose creativity is an inspiration. Her
beads + my beadwork = a dream combination.
Art-in-general artist:
Claude Monet. His eye for colour was incomparable and I love the way
his paintings got bigger and bigger even though there was less and less
in them as time went on!
When not creating/crafting what is your favourite thing to do?
Snuggle
up on the sofa with the family and watch a good movie or something
funny. My family time is a very important part of my day.
Who would you choose to play you in the movie of your life?
Now
that’s a hard one. I don’t think anyone would find it easy to be me; I
know I don’t. But maybe somebody like Julie Walters could give it a
shot?
Monday, June 3, 2013
Interview with Lynn Davy - Nemeton
Labels:
interview with,
lynn davy,
nemeton,
seed beading,
seed beads
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