Sunday 14 April 2013

Maker of the Week - Rosy Tydeman

Rosy Tydeman is a textile artist who captures the surprises and reminders of everyday extraordinariness and the delight of being alive.

At what age did you know you wanted to become an artist / maker? 

I have been making things since I was a little girl (I even cut up my father's pyjamas when I was 3 because they had a lovely paisley pattern!! ) My training has been sporadic around giving birth to three children - but in brief I have been a shoemaker, gauntlet maker for theatres, as well as a textile artist.


Is being a designer your only job?
I also work in a designer clothes shop - the colours and glamour inspire me!

If you could be anything else what would you be?

A jazz singer - a really sexy husky one singing in smoky bars wearing dark red velvet dresses

One favourite living artist / designer?

Heston Blumenthal - yes I think he IS an artist! - I love the way he pushes his materials to impossible lengths and how he refuses to stop until he's really got the results he was dreaming of.

One favourite historical artist / designer?

Well it has to be Frieda Kahlo for her integrity, intimacy with her audience, her strength and defiant attitude to all that happened to her. And because she was an incredible painter... but there are so many more I wanted to choose.


Who / what has had most influence on your work? Being in love, walking on wild cliffs with seagulls, having a family, strong colours, Chagall, Gauguin, Klimt, Russell Hoban and lots of creative friends

What is the most interesting / fun job you have had?

Being a textile artist is the most exciting job ever! But equal to that is being a mother!


What is your most prized item of art / design / craft? I LOVE my small collection of art work by local Devon and Cornwall artists and by my own children - things made by people I know are highly precious to me - and I'm lucky to know some pretty talented people!

What item of design / craft do you covet most?

Ooooh at the moment I'd like to own a big flower painting by an artist in Cornwall called Penny Macbeth - I saw it in an exhibition in Falmouth and fell immediately in love! There is also a wonderful lady living near me called Sylvette Davide/Lydia Corbett whose works always enthral me - she was Picasso's muse in her late teens/early twenties and he made about 40 pieces about her I believe. She's an amazing lady and her art work is wonderful.

 Last book / film that blew your mind?
Life of Pi - wow!

What are you listening to?

Gypsy music - mainly eastern European

How many hours do you waste on the internet each day?

At least one! But I'm quite disciplined about it because I don't like it much - it's SO useful though and I especially love Skyping my six-month-old grand-daughter who's in Australia for two months - then it comes into its own as a wonderful invention!!

If you could live anywhere, where would it be and why?

Mexico or Africa for the colours and the light

Where and what is your studio?

My studio is in a fantastic centre for disabled adults - it is a place that enriches their lives with art, music, animals and beautiful grounds and a café called Hannah's at Seale Hayne in Devon.



Three words that describe your feeling of doing your work?
Excited, contented & in-my-own-little-world (does that count as one word?)

Chips or mash?

Chips









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