Name :: Tiel Seivl-Keevers
Lives :: Brisbane, Australia
Proper Job :: Currently an Artist
Ideal Job :: A successful artist
Family :: Husband Nic, son, Ari 8, daugher Milena almost 7
Pets :: And dog, Kranksy 11
Mode of Transport :: Car. But I would love to live somewhere closer to public transport.
Favourite Breakfast :: A cup of weak black tea, toast with jam, sometimes fruit/granola and yoghurt.
Favourite Lunch :: Avocado, Persian fetta, Tabasco and mint leaves on toasted fresh bread. I have a real savoury tooth, not sweet.
Favourite Dinner :: Japanese food…. but not sushi train, the good stuff, with sake or a cool beer.
You will find LOTS more lovely pictures and an interview with Tiel after the jump: All images by Tiel : thank you Tiel!
Tell us a little bit about your house. What do you particularly like about it? Where would we find you, if we were flies on the wall (not that there a flies at your house!) Where do your partner and kids hang out?
We bought about 6 years ago. It’s a Queensland replica style of house. I love the verandahs and floor boards. Also the view to the mountains and the breeze we get in the afternoon. I spend most of my time in my study, but it’s getting a little small for what I do. In winter, I set myself up on the back verandah to paint. Mostly it is a little cold, but the sun is warm enough not to notice.
The kids love being near me. They have an entire playroom downstairs, but have only started to venture down there by themselves to play lego, sit at their craft table and just hang out together. As a family I guess we spend most of our together time in or near the kitchen, or by the pool in summer.
Just this week we bought a new house. A 1960s gem with heaps of space, looking forward to having chooks and a vegie patch and watching the kids play outside more on their bikes and go cart... OH and now we can buy them a trampoline… Can you tell I’m a little excited?!
I really admire the things you make. Paintings on all kinds of surfaces. Prints inspired by nature and the everyday. Amazing slice of life photos. What do you most like to create? Do you like to get the paints out, or work digitally or is it about hands on cutting and pasting or perhaps taking lovely photos? Is it all these things? Or is it something else?!
I’m a real mixed bag of creativity and ideas. My background is in graphics so the use of the computer has always been a strong element for me. I have a great printer and use that sometimes as a basis to then overwork inks and paints in order to create an image. Because I have a degree in fine arts, majoring in printmaking, I really love combining hands on with digital. But lately I’ve been really trying to focus more on painting.
Now that my children are getting more independent and time if freeing up for me, I can concentrate and allow myself the luxury to leave paints around knowing that little fingers won’t be making a big mess… or a bigger mess then I make. For now it’s acrylics and inks mostly, but hope to venture into oils soon.
I love to photograph moments of the day or what it is I’m working on, just simple things that catch my eye. It’s that visual record of my life, even if it is really mundane and same old same old. I think it is all about the ‘just be creative’ sense that I feel is so strong in me. I’ve tested my feet in a few different waters and it is only now that I finally feel like I know what I want to do.
I think when you have kids and there are lots of repetitive and sometimes boring tasks that need to be done to keep a household running, it can be hard to stay inspired or to find the time to make things. How do you tackle that? Are you always brimming with ideas or do you need to have some quiet time to get things happening? Do your kids inspire you creatively?
Oh it has been a huge struggle for me to balance the creative ideas and needs with the parenting demands and goals. I’ve always been someone who visualises images that I’d like to create and I see them at anytime of the night or day they come to me. Because family life has taken priority at times, I think I’ve probably lost many of those visualisations. But then, I have felt that since becoming a mum I’ve been able to think more freely than when I was working and teaching in the design in industry.
In the early days, my kids inspired me greatly is far as the type of things I was creating. They were my target audience! Now they inspire me to just be more successful as an artist in a professional manner, not just a mum who sells something from a market stall {that everyone else is making} for a year and then moves on to the next thing. I’m really determined to prove to them that choosing to be an artist is hard work and not a career choice to be taken lightly without understanding all the business and marketing aspects that require real skill.
What are the highlights of your creative life, so far?
I don’t really know. I feel like I’m still waiting for a big highlight to come. I’m glad I started making personalised ABCme art for children, although I’m very happy to now end that side of my career. I’m glad I’ve been able to design some textiles for companies, including Sprout Design in Adelaide and produce illustrations for other companies on an international level. The highlight I guess, is that I am artistic and creative and I can pick up many different techniques and tools and use them for different outcomes. People tell me that all the time, and it kind of embarrasses me a little, but having these abilities is a highlight. I can’t imagine what it would be like not to create.
What books are you reading at the moment? What would you recommend to us?
I’m reading a number of things. I often have several things on the go at once, and I often get ¾ of the way through a book and never finish it….I have the same approach with my art and sewing sometimes.
I’m half way through, Beatrice and Virgil by Yann Martel because I loved the first book, The Life of Pi. Also The Countesses of Castello by Milena Agus. And reading for the second time, The Principles of Uncertainty by Maria Kalman. I’m about to start The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. I’ve started reading poetry of late too, including the works of Pablo Neruda. But I love design books, art books, craft books….and constantly have my head in the pages of these feeding more ideas into my head.
Who do you love? Who are the creatives that get you excited about art and design?
It’s forever changing. And by that I mean I can adore someone’s work this week and be onto something else next week. In the last 6-12 months I’ve been loving artists like Rosetta Santucci, Becky Blair, Mami Yamanaka, Marian Bijlenga, Julie Paterson and Terry Winters to name a few.
Do you like to listen to music? What are you liking?
Yes, music based on my mood too. But I often listen to talk back ABC local radio through my computer because it’s the only way I get to know what’s going on in the world. I don’t read papers, or watch much TV. And then before I know it, the COUNTRY HOUR is streaming and I’m listening to that bit when they do the cattle report…well that’s when I wake up and turn on some music to work to. Right now, Angus and Julia Stone, The Cat Empire, The Frames, Mama Kin, and this summer I’ve been loving the sounds of some Cuban jazz classics.
I am guessing you have found your place amongst this crafty community. What are your thoughts on the growth of the creative community online? How do you think it's changed over the last 4 or 5 years (if indeed it has!)
I started blogging in 2006 and have to say that it has been a wonderful way to connect to other people who have similar interests. I’ve even met bloggers both here in Australia and in Europe and have become great friends with a few that I now enjoy spending my time with when I can. I often wonder what I would be doing if it weren’t for the internet.
Sometimes I think it becomes a little too controlling of my life and I find myself sucked into the digital vortex where my brain gets an overload of information that I don’t know how to process. The art and craft community have certainly had a positive influence on me and I hope I’ve been able to contribute to that in a way.
I do some days feel like it is all so saturated and there is a lot of bad stuff out there that just wrecks it. There is a lot more copyright infringement going on both on a small and large scale and that is sad (especially when you’ve been the one who has been copied!!!!) But having access to all this amazingly creative stuff and people is really special and it really is a beautiful thing. To connect with someone in Toronto or Amsterdam and on the same day someone from 3 suburbs away….we live in amazing times.
Name 5 people you would invite to your dream dinner party ::
I’ll go all artistic and say, Pablo Neruda, Benita Otte, Frida Khalo, Lucienne Day and maybe someone to actually do the cooking, maybe Tetsuya Wakuda.
Share 5 links you love ::
Pinterest : I’m having so much fun on this.
Bookhou blog : Simple, elegant, comforting.
Make it Easy : great styling and photography. Avery happy place to visit.
Otchi Potchi : I’ve been a fan of Paula’s work since I first started blogging and she is an amazingly graceful and talented lady who I would dearly love to meet one day.
Book By Its Cover : Full of inspiring books and people.
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