Today's Profile: Lara LeReveur
Why are you an artist and what drew you to clay?
Why am I an artist? When I was a child there was always something
interesting happening. My mother had her
finger in just about any creative pie you can think of. My father was a
journalist who loved his jazz, he played the saxophone and the clarinet and
wrote stories. One of my earliest
memories is spending hours sitting in the hall cupboard nestled in the clean
towels and linen to dampen the noise of dooby-dooing reed instruments while
carving bars of soap into curls with a the blade of a pencil sharpener that I
had disassembled. I was always fascinated
by how things were constructed and would deconstruct things in an effort to
learn their secrets. I rode my bike around for months with wobbly wheels until
my elder brother took pity on me and put them back on straight and tightened
them up. In hindsight this explains a lot about me. I grew up in a house from a
golden age, full of photo developing equipment, kilns, inappropriately shaped
freestyle macramé, furry cats and a chubby aged Labrador, fabulous metallic
wallpaper from the early 70's and a huge picture of Reg Livermore in drag on
the back of the down stairs loo.
Clay sort of chose me. To my surprise it actually did what I wanted
it to.
How long have you been an artist?
I'm
not sure how long I've been an artist. I
hated art school. Most of the time I'm just a housewife with a taste for the
absurd who draws funny faces on the kids' sandwich wrappers and wears paint and
plaster spotted clothing.
What is your favorite clay?
Definitely
porcelain. It smells divine; it feels
cool and soft; it's familiar. I craved
for it when I was pregnant. After that COPPRclay is my favourite metal clay to
work with, but also PMC Pro is my favorite metal clay for it's strength and
obtaining a beautiful finish. Polymer clay affords you a fantastic array of
colours, but Lex Sorrentino's new Makin's Air Dry polymer draping technique is
really exciting me at the moment.
I can't honestly say that I work in any one medium, or on any one thing so usually it is whatever comes to hand. I did make a pact with myself once to only use what I had in my stash and found some fantastic fabrics that I had forgotten all about.
What are you currently working on?
I've just finished some COPPRclay pieces for our
gallery collectives' annual fashion parade.
I've been converting serving ware into various things and animals using
polymer clay and I'm attempting to publicly identify all the unfinished objects
floating around the place to guilt myself into completing them. I must confess the thought of having
everything finished and nothing waiting for me to do fills me with horror. We have
to do major renovations on the house and sensibly I'm aiming to have a clean
slate before we start. It's a theory...
What inspires your work?
I
find inspiration in people I meet; everyone has a story that makes the
world a little bigger for the telling. I
find inspiration in my environment; we live in the Macedon Ranges, a beautiful
area full of rolling fields and soaring mountains. I find inspiration in my fellow artists at
The Gallery, and in any artwork that is well-executed. It sorts of switches on
an urge to practice until you are able to do something well.
Is there a purpose to your artwork?
There
has been purpose in some of my work which had surprising and hilarious results,
but which painted me in a completely different light to who I am. Being given a commission is great as all the
hard work of explaining it is done for you.
Occasionally I give a response and I have to take time to process what
the question was, which most certainly gives my Uni educated friends the
heebejeebies, but which readers of Douglas Adams will appreciate.
Which of your artwork pieces is your favorite?
I
painted this around ten years ago in the couple of years after moving to
Caulfield. I was home in a strange town
with small kids and lots of nappies, the Canberra fires had just gone through
my home town, I was immersing myself in a lot of surrealist art and we were
rowing wooden lifeboats.
What advice do you have for aspiring artists?
Don't
focus on the artist bit. Match your study time with hands-on practical work. Do
something that relates to your creativity every day, no matter how small the
effort it all adds up and is valuable.
Why do you like to teach?
It
is always a buzz to see something materialize from concept to finished piece,
the process is complicated for some people and straight forward for
others. I also like having a class
because it requires structure. There is a
definite beginning, middle and end. I've spent a lot of time being
self-indulgent because I was lucky enough that I could be, and by gosh I got
sick of myself after a few years!
What would you like people to know about the
upcoming Contemporary Craft Retreat in Canberra?
Um,
it’s much too short and we don't sleep much over the weekend...
It’s
always a blast to catch up with friends and meet new ones. The show and tell sessions are always
interesting as well - I love seeing what other people get up to when the mood
takes them, there is always something new!
Contact: laralereveur@gmail.com
I really enjoy reading about the interesting backgrounds of wonderful artists like Lara. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI should have also mentioned that I have enjoyed reading all of the conversations with all of the amazing artists interviewed so far.
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