A couple of weeks ago, Gail featured a lovely artist in her segment about block printing. Today, we have got a tasty treat for you. An interview with that lovely artist, Minouette! Enjoy!
"Tell us a bit about yourself and how you got started with your work."
I have been printmaking since I was a child. I had the chance to take courses at the Art Gallery of Ontario, beginning in elementary school, which included instruction in screenprinting, etching, and lino block printing. As I grew older I found that my favorite subjects were art and history on the one hand, and physics and math on the other. I found that I wasn't as interested in trying to find a profession at the intersection of these two, so I made a decision to pursue science. I thought I could continue with art on my own, but if I had made the opposite choice, it would be impossible to pursue science. So I am trained as a physicist (a marine geophysicist), but I spend much of my free time making art. I found that I really need to exercise both sides of my brain, or to express myself artistically, for my own happiness and well-being. I really began to focus on making linoleum block prints about 7 years ago. I enjoy other media as well, but the magic of printmaking is of co
urse that one can produce multiple originals. This was really a way to share my art making. It's much easier to part with art, when one can keep a copy!
"Do you have a favorite artist/designer/photographer?"
This is a tough question! I have many favorites and many sources of inspiration. I like to think of myself as a Renaissance woman. So I have always been very fond of Leonardo da Vinci's approach to life. He was effectively both a great artist as well as being a scientist and engineer. I am fascinated about how his multiple interests informed one another. Depictions of water became studies of turbulance, for instance, which fed back into his painting.
As a printmaker I am prehaps most inpired by Hokusai and his moku hanga (Japanese woodblock) prints. I also love typography and look at a lot of contemporary design work.
"Has there been a certain accomplishment/success that you are most proud of?"
I think one of my most complex and successful prints is my Japanese-style woodblock print 'Little Boat, Big Ocean'. I'm certainly proud of that piece.
http://www.etsy.com/listing/
"What's your favorite place to go to get inspired?"
The internet! I do love this constant source of new visual stimulation and imagery. I'm very interested in the intersection of art and science and blog about some of my favorite finds at magpie&whiskeyjack.
In terms of physical places, I do like to go to a huge nearby park called High Park. It includes everything from some old growth forest, to more cultivated and managed gardens and a small zoo (which is a good place to observe animal anatomy).
"What would you be doing if it wasn't for Minouette?"
Well, when not making art, I would prefer to be on a boat. I do love exploring, and doing marine geophysical fieldwork at sea makes me feel like an explorer. The oceans remain largely unexplored. Though, I think my life would be very unbalanced if I did science without also creating art.
"Where can people learn more about Minouette?"
People can find my etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/
the shop's fanpage: http://www.facebook.com/
my personal blog: http://minouette.blogspot.com/
magpie&whiskeyjack: http://magpieandwhiskeyjack.
my flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/
and my twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/
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