| ...... |
For me this reinforced the message you were trying to make - the messages run "shine SHINE Shine, be giving, LOVE yourself, love OTHERS, dance your way through LIFE, you are beautiful, be joyous, you are LOVED, sing your SONG, your heart is free, be glad, trust, HOPE, live, LOVE, BELIEVE, shine your light". You have made a call to do those things but your image to me portrays that it may not be an easy path to take. To follow on from this your overall introductory words in your profile resonate light heartedness, a call to imagine and to daydream but you follow this path clearly with dedicated consistent hard work. So this leads to my next question.
| ...... |
Do you think the style you have developed, although on the surface in subject and illustrative style is rather cutesy, has inside the steel core of your own hard work? To put it bluntly, do you think it is your own determination, sometimes even belligerence and a little bit of pain I see in your characters?
How did you know? Only one other person has ever stated this, and they (and you) are very correct in your analysis. It is true, yes, that even though they are cutesy, they are all delivering a message that is a very personal one indeed, from the core of who I am. I am very much 'related' to each and every girl, and in my own way, I am committed to trying to communicate my own thoughts and feelings about life, through their eyes, I am trying hard to make a connection and to raise a reaction from the viewer. I like when people can see through or beyond the cuteness, to some deep core strength, to understand me really. In many ways, the drawings reflect my own feelings, I try to fill them with important ideals, imploring people to take time to relax, regain their strength when weary, to try to be kind to themselves and to one another. I try to share through the girls, my own insights about life and living. No one's life is a breeze or full of ease, everyone struggles with something, some things, illness, strife, heartache, difficulties which are often very much of an unknown nature to even their closest friends. I try to reach out through my girls, to give people a sense of strength, to make myself known, to revive someone who has lost their strength, because I myself relate to struggles and have empathy for others who are struggling.
You see pain in my characters, I'm sure that it's there, and belligerence, and a 'don't mess with me' attitude, despite the cuteness, there is a toughness there. I see it in myself and try to imbue my characters with it, I'm slightly conscious that that's what I'm doing, and I'm really surprised though, when that subtlety is actually realised by someone else, as I thought it was so mild as to be overlooked, yet, for those who look hard enough, it is clearly visible. One person, even felt sort of afraid of one of my characters, which did shock me to the core....there is one character, her name is Hidden Treasure, and that is definitely what I wanted to portray, so that no one would hurt her and think that because she was a gentle creature, she was fair game. Suffice to say, I've had enough heartache and bullying/harassment in my life and my walk, to want to reach out to others through the eyes of my girls, and say to them, I care. I care what you're going through. I care enough to draw this picture in the hope that someone will know that someone else out there can empathise and care about what another person is going through. I'd hope that each time someone views one of my works, and sees that determination, that they will be strengthened, that no matter what has befallen them, they are able to overcome.
Thank you Karin, I do understand that once you share your images with others, that person is at at full liberty to see what they like in it and interpret at will. I also know however that as a viewer of art we often also enjoy grappling with what is going on with the artist and try and place that piece as near as possible to where they are emotionally and what was going on with them when they made the effort to create. I'm not sure if this is a hint at voyeurism and it may be why we for some reason have an added thrill when an amazing film is based on a true story. Logically it shouldn't be the case, a story is a story and can teach us enough without it being based on a true life but it doesn't in reality pan out that way. As humans perhaps we naturally seek that connection to other peoples lives.
Thank you for sharing Hidden Treasure and the messages you wish to share, I have took the liberty of printing out the poem that runs behind Hidden Treasure. Thank you also for confirming that if I come across Isabella and Tiny it would probably not be very clever to try and snatch Tiny away, it's good to know my instincts are sound!
Golden eggs are not always easy to find
Sometimes they lay hidden in the pockets of our seams
Sometimes we have to look beyond the obvious to see
the beauty in others~ traits of kindness, compassion, nurture and
gentleness are not always obvious at first glance and
what one may perceive as a fault or weakness
may actually be a great strength.
Karin Taylor
UPDATE : You can now read part 3 of the interview.
| ...... |
I do have more questions for you Karin and I'll return to the next one in my next post.
In the meantime for those of you who don't know Karin's work I'd encourage you set aside a little enjoyment time to check out her artwork. If you find a favourite feel free to leave a comment here or if you are flying by and you are one of the people that Karin has encouraged and helped on the way to developing your own work through her great attitude or through her book or creative exercises then do give us a wave! I know I have some good questions for Karin in my next few posts and it would be great if you got involved and shared that journey with us.
If you already checked out Karin's artwork as a result of yesterday's post then have you took a look at her book?- it's full of yummy creative goodness!
No comments:
Post a Comment
It's always a pleasure to receive feedback it would be great if you left a comment on the content of this post or just to say "Hi!". Look forward to hearing from you. Kay.