Michael Alesich ♥ *Having met you on my last trip to Melbourne you not only blew me away …
Michael Alesich ♥ Having met you on my last trip to Melbourne you not only blew me away with your warm friendly personality Michael, but your skills as an artist, photographer, writer and model are to die for….in particular your notebook sketches Could you tell us where in the hell those brilliant creations come from? My inspiration is drawn from the walls and images I dreamed about while at Primary School just an instance before being dragged from my desk for daydreaming. Never one to pass up on an opportunity I still sit in business meetings idly listening in for my name mentioned in a report while working out whether a giraffe can have a lighthouse instead of a head. Is there an artist you aspire to or feel influenced by? While I do pour over artwork by many artists to inspire me I have been inspired the most by M.C. Escher As a graphic artist who tried to change peoples view on perspective I’m entranced by the level of detail in all his work, from the stupendous Metamorphosis series to the singular Tower of Babel I find something intriguing in the way he saw such worlds and the way he presented them. A country you would most like to visit and why? I would love to visit so many places but my one overriding destination is Japan. As one of the biggest design centres in the world, it is one of the best places to photograph, to draw and to take in such a different culture to the one I’m used every day. Besides which, they have so many inventive gadgets that I’ll almost be insane the instant after I land at the airport. I have a mango in one hand and a coffee in the other….I’m offering you one of them…which would you choose and why? The coffee is my choice, regardless of what was held in the other hand. I am a coffee addict of a high degree though I have managed to lower the level of caffeine in my blood by limiting myself to only 2 cups of coffee a day. Even then I still twitch uncontrollably at my desk while typing. I’m thinking about adding whiskey too them now to really offset the caffeine. Relaxation time for you consists of….? The nicest relaxing time I can think of is to lie on the couch leaning against Lucky with a sketch book, a novel, a cup of tea, a bowl of kalamata olives, some music playing in the background and the dog trying to convince me to pat him. But relaxation normally is sitting at a coffee shop, sketch book in hand and camera at my foot, choosing whether to be really unhealthy and have an Omelet or just go with the healthy pancake, cream and berries. Your thoughts on the Australian Economy at the present time and the soon to be released Stimulus Package? I think that the Australian economy is in for a rough ride. I don’t think it will be a seamless transition to get to the next safe point for the government but I think that if our real estate market can level out and survive the rest of the economy should follow. The stimulus package may help, but I don’t know whether it’s more of a morale boosting method than an economic method. I can’t help but think that this will, in the future, be one of those defining moments in history that comedians can use for masses of content for a stand-up routine. If you ran an art community such as redbubble how would you do it? Humour is essential. If the world is in such a state that no-one can make a joke about it there are more serious problems than just below the surface. / I think I’d want the galleries and viewing platforms to be the main focus. I’d look at having the images so large on the screen, to truly appreciate what it is you are looking at. The writing, while seeming to be a peripheral I also think is such a big part of an artistic community and should be promoted as such. Maybe providing wine to all the writers meet’s to ensure the community keep being ‘creative’. The most predominant colour in your life? Well black is not officially a colour so I can’t say black but the most predominant colour would be blue. Years back I was either wearing blue, or black in all of my attire. Now I have a few more colours such as grey and blue-gray. A trait you dig most about yourself? I like the fact that I can create images almost perfectly in my head. This enables me to work out how scenes will look in my head, from lighting to sketches to wire sculptures. It also means that I have a vivid imagination for conspiracy theories too. The name of a song you remember from your childhood? Yesterday by the Beatles. It was the first song I knew that I could play badly on the guitar. It wasn’t till years later that I realised it was about heartbreak. Thankfully I have now forgotten how to play it. Michael you are a bloody legend, next time I’m ever stuck for a color to wear…I’m going grey blue gray. Brilliant! Thank you ;) x
Rhana Griffin ♥ Rhana, I’m about to pop your cherry…how do you feel about that? ...
Rhana Griffin ♥ Rhana, I’m about to pop your cherry…how do you feel about that? A little scared, kinda nervous and excited at the same time. Wondering if you will still respect me in the morning. Oh wait! Was that the first question or just one of those rhetorical thingies? Oh yes… you can see I’m a total noob at this whole interview stuff. Whilst we are on the subject of cherries…you have one next to your name. How are you finding your role working within the hallowed halls of redbubble? That’s a cherry? Crap! I hate cherries! Give me a luscious strawberry or mulberry any day of the week ;) Cherries? Patooie! I spit on cherries!! Unless they are in a Cherry Ripe :D Working at Redbubble has to be one of the coolest jobs I have ever had, and it just keeps getting way cooler. Any cooler and I’m going to be at risk of frostbite! / I started off here as a member first, and got totally absorbed in the Redbubble way of life. So to now get paid to be doing what I love? Ha! It doesn’t get much better than that! It’s a personal and emotional investment, which does have it’s pitfalls at times, but the good bits far outweigh the not so good bits. You are also one of our most funniest, lovable characters and a bloody good artist. Who or What has inspired you most on this site? Oh on ya! Way to make a girl blush…. you are biased m’dear xxx / The Who: Mark German, Mel Brackstone, Billyboy, Rose Moxon, Stuart Chapman, LisaG, Paul Vanzella, Teer Wayde, Disenchanted, Kcranmer, Paul Tupman, Michael Alesich, Andrew Bosman, Lumineux, Geoff Coleman, Naomi Frost, Jess, Pilgrim, Julie Langford, Deb Parkin Jacky, Richiedean, Juilee Pryor, Heath Holden, David Murphy, Michael Walters and of course, there is this chick that goes by the name of LittleHelen (is she a midget?) ;) But that is just a short list of names that spring to mind immediately. I can’t think of one person who hasn’t inspired me on some level. / The What: People who have been so incredibly giving of their time to answer my “How did you do that?” questions. Watching people grow as artists, and finding the confidence to put themselves out there. A trait you find frustrating about yourself? I am a shite housekeeper. And I mean total and utter trodden-in-and-scraped-along-the-floor-still-warm-cat-type shite. I seriously wish I had just a little of the type A personality inside me. But I don’t. I’d much rather be playing with my kids, out shooting, creating, or just be being plain lazy and totally slothing than doing housework. The good thing is, my boys have had to become (by necessity) pretty self sufficient so I think their future wives (or life partners) will eventually thank me for my shite housekeeping :) Sex or Chocolate? Yes please! And if I can have both at the same time that’s even bettererer! In one hand I have a pair of Manolo Blahnik shoes….in the other a 12” Dildo…I’m offering you one of them….which would you choose and why? This one is a no brainer. The shoes for sure. Hubby would never let me spend that amount of money on (drooools) a pair of kick arse shoes. On the other hand he offers me free use of his penis any old time I like (insert cheeky grin here) What was the last thing you bought purely for yourself? My Canon 40D… and my macro lens… and my extender tube… and my nifty fifty lens… and a copy of “The Lost Boys” on DVD. Keiffer Sutherland and vampires… it doesn’t get much better than that. A place you seek comfort? Inside my mind. Escapism is a wonderful thing. I read… a lot. And my guilty pleasure is watching movies (with a prefence for sci-fi and the paranormal) or Dr Who in the afternoons before the boys get home from school. I can totally immerse myself in a book or a movie and get lost in make believe. That comforts me almost as much as a block of Cadbury’s Dairy Milk Chocolate. The name of a song you remember from your childhood? I remember them all!!! I am told that I enjoyed my music even while in the womb, however my first recollection of the one love that was to last a lifetime was a special trip into The Entertainment Centre with my Mum and my favourite Uncle. I was three. / The band they took me to see was ABBA. To the sounds of Waterloo, SOS and Mamma Mia I shook my groove thang like there was no tomorrow! Alas there was not enough room for my pretty pirouettes in my seat so I moved to the aisle, not far from mum, but far enough away from everyone else so as not to be a nuisance. Gazing up at my idols onstage, feeling the happiest I could remember in my short little life I thought my heart would explode when Agnetha caught my eye, pointed to me and beckoned with her finger for me to join her on stage. / This is the point where I would love to say that I ran into the arms of my hero and became the darling of the moment. Alas I cannot. I shyly shook my head and climbed back into Mums lap. From that moment on however, music became an intrinsic part of my life and has remained so ever since. The TV was hardly ever on in our house, but the stereo took a hammering. I was raised on a steady diet of Country and Western – back when the Western still belonged there – with a liberal sprinkling of The Who, ELO and Moody Blues. When my stepdad came along when I was 9 he brought along with him an appreciation of greats such as Dire Straits, Pink Floyd, Van Gelis, Paul Simon and Genesis. Woohoo I made it! And it didn’t hurt a bit! Thanks for being gentle Helen ;) / Oh, before I go… I just remembered another thing that frustrates me about myself. / I babble, and on a two Redbull day (like today) whether talking or typing I find it hard to just simply… / Shut. / Up. Thank you Rhana :) What was the song btw? :| The womens as crazy as a goddamn loon’ :| / But thats why we dig her so ;) xxx
fleece ♥ Gee…I have to admit when I first came across fleece I thought he was a lady :| / I…
fleece ♥ Gee…I have to admit when I first came across fleece I thought he was a lady :| / It was the cat that did it. Apologies fleece, but do know…..it didn’t take long before I realized you were male. And then I met you at the writers meet in Melbourne, and yep you are a guy :D / On to the interview… You are one of those people who adds a bit of mystery to redbubble in that you pretty much keep to yourself. You don’t post alot of writing but when you do…man does it pack a punch! Pure brilliance. How does a story come about for you? Usually a seed of an idea just appears out of nowhere, then I’ll build a story around that. The seed could be a line, or a strong visual image, or a small scene, which I’ll jot down a few dot-points about, then mull over it for a few weeks, when i’m lying in bed or in the car. I’ll just exploring different possibilities until I have a “that’s it!” moment. This part is the most fun. So if I can develop the seed of an idea into something cool and interesting, I’ll try develop it into a story. Mostly I’m dissatisfied and will abandon the whole idea in disgust because it’s not as appealing on paper as the vision I had for it. But if I get a gut feel that it’s working I’ll keep coming back to it and chip away at it one scene at a time. It normally takes me several decent sessions, maybe a dozen, spaced over a few months to get a story complete. When I write I have lots of false starts and will change the story constantly as I go, if i get better ideas, or something’s just not working. I generally getting down about 100 words an hour, which is very slow in comparison to other people I think. At the micro level, I’m overly obsessed with the rhythm of words and language, and the way words sound and hang together which each other. I’ll sacrifice precise meaning for a sake of a word with an extra syllable or different intonation. Then I’ll follow the same process for sentences, paragraphs. This part can be hard work and I really have to be in the right frame of mind or I’ll lose heart. I think for a story to have emotional impact, the biggest danger is breaking the rhythm. It can ruin an otherwise good story. It only takes one jarring word or sentence to derail the whole thing. It’s like when a DJ plays a bad song, and suddenly everybody is leaving the dance floor. So an interesting story by itself isn’t enough. It needs to have momentum so people are almost falling into it rather than reading it. I know I’ve still got a lot of growing to do as a writer, I’m not very disciplined, so I have low output, and I’m a terrible proofreader. I like reading but I’m not widely read. I tend to want to re-read books I love over and over again than read something new. In general I have very little regard for the “rules” of good writing. They’re maybe useful to help bad writers become mediocre. I learn the most by looking back at my old work and cringing at all the bits I no longer like. So I’m slowly building a what-not-to-do list by revisiting my own sub-standard back catalogue. Are there any writers you wish to share who have influenced your work over the years? I’m a big fan of Chuck Palahniuk. I think Amy Hempel’s short stories are amazing, and I think both these people have probably influenced my writing to some degree. I love authors that do their own things well, even though I wouldn’t necessarily have the skills and/or inclination to emulate them. I like Arthur C. Clarke’s imagination. I love the way Arundhati Roy uses language. I think Steinbeck is a great storyteller. Sometimes I’ll just find a cheap book in a throw-away pile and it will really appeal to me. The most recent example I can see in my bookcase right now is Christopher Wilkin’s “The Horizontal Instrument”, and I’m sure the next thing I wrote after reading that, I probably borrowed his tone. Do you think redbubble could do more to promote its Writers? I think it’s doing a really good job already. Two years ago I predicted we (the writers) would be marginalised and eventually disappear as Redbubble grew, but thankfully I was proven wrong. :) / Right now there’s a chatty and passionate writing community, and I think Redbubble has shown a really good commitment to maintain support for us – unlike the picture and t-shirt sellers, we’re not really earning them any income directly. Yet they seem to committed to continually improving the usability of the site for writers. I’m not sure why but I’m glad they are. Were you a good student at school? For the most part I was disorganised and unfocused. I probably changed schools too much and at the wrong times which left me a little unsettled. If you were Prime Minister of Australia, what is the first thing you would do? Panic! I have a Big Mac in one hand and a VB in the other…I’m offering you one of them…which would you choose and why? I’d suggest we share both, then go to the pub. Everybody wins :-P The last band or artist you saw live? Probably just some cover band at the pub, can’t remember who. Do you have cats? Unfortunately I can’t have pets where I currently live. I’ve had lots of pets over the years. My Redbubble avatar is an abandoned cat we adopted, named Mogsy. Great cat, weird looking but unique and engaging personality. Deceased now, still missed / :( The name of a song you remember from your childhood? Ha there’s so many. My earliest memories of listening to music are all my sister’s records. The first ones that spring to mind are the Grease Soundrack and that Abba album with the bulbous helicopter on the front. That would be ABBA Arrival fleece, I know that because…...I just do :| / Thank you for a cool interview :D x The Last Asencion of Lexi Catter / Speed / She drowned in a river / One Twenty Anybody interested in participating in a Writers Comp should also take a look at fleeces journal Writing Collaboration # 2: Sensory Deprivation
Holly Ringland ♥ *We stop breathing, when we read your writing Holly. You literally stop …
Holly Ringland ♥ We stop breathing, when we read your writing Holly. You literally stop us dead in our tracks and have us either reaching for a tissue, a Gucci red lipstick or a tight squeeze. How old were you when you began writing and how has being a writer impacted on your life so far? I started writing stories in my head before I had learned how to physically write. There are boxes of cassette tapes, gathering dust in cupboards that wait for rainy days, of me nattering away tales of other worlds and lands. Sometimes mum would humour me and transcribe my dictations but of course this couldn’t be done without me clopping around in her red heels with a wand in my hand. / I see and feel my way through life in words. I remember it’s always been this way. Colours, moments, people, feelings… life is built in my mind out of words. I write because I can’t imagine doing anything else. It’s how I engage with and understand the world. I guess I can’t articulate how it’s impacted my life, because it is my life. But I can say that life has never felt so damn good as in the last five years or so as my immersion in my writing has bloomed and it’s now part of my every day. Redbubble produces some of the best writers I have ever read. Could you pick two of your favorite written pieces and tell us why they move you? RedBubble is a cavern of writing treasure and my collection of ‘favourites’ is genuinely like my own gallery space of words and art that I feast on. Could I pick two of my favourite written pieces and tell you why they move me? Sigh. I’m so sorry Hells Bells for I cannot. I’ve tried. Woeful dismal failure each time, it feels like Sophie’s Choice (possibly an over-exaggeration but you know what I mean). I can however point out two writers that have stolen my heart from the very beginning of my Red Bubble adventure and continue to do so on a regular basis and keep it hostage. Their writing kidnaps my mind and present tense and leads me into alternate lives, worlds, skin and souls to walk through their words feeling the wallpaper of their insides every step of the way: / Bellmusker / PJ Ryan [there’s also LisaG, Yasemin Sumner, Natapee, MsTrace, LittleHelen, Jessica Tremp, Lucky Vegetable, Shadowdancer, Brad McDuff, Lianne, Butchart, Mimi Yoon, Mathew Dalton, Anya, Fleece, Friar Tuck, JC Montgomery, Mtda, Lys…] / Go explore and lose yourself in these caverns, you’ll come away richer than you ever dreamed. Your most favorite place in the whole world and why? My mother’s arms. Unbeatable. Best place in the whole world. It’s where I am exactly who I am and am conscious of nothing but love and acceptance. / My father and I were estranged for seventeen years. In the last two, he has returned to my life ferociously with a love and reliability that astounds me. When I’m sitting in the company of both my parents in the same room, it pretty much beats anywhere else I’ve ever been all my life. Have you ever taken dancing lessons? Have I ever taken dancing lessons. Hmph. There are albums of incriminating photos at my mum’s place that you and I can pour and snort over together one day. Yes. I tapped and twirled my way through a lot through my childhood – until I was old enough to recognise that I was not one for being told that I could not laugh or smile in dance classes for it was serious business. / The last dance lesson I had was at the annual Canberra gay bush dance held in a woolshed which was for a night the epicentre of the gay world (the bus from Priscilla was there for god’s sake). Some of Canberra’s most eligible men dressed me up as Daisy Duke, toted me along as their handbag and threw me around the woolshed hall in a frenzy that I later found out was called ‘double-stripping the willow.’ I don’t think I have ever been complimented so much on my lipstick in my life. The Aboriginal word for ‘Butterfly’? I recently wrapped up four years of my life spent in the red dirt of Central Australia. My workplace was Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, I lived in an Aboriginal community where my backyard was Uluru, and my life was desert oak trees, a sprawling starry sky from the beginning of time and sunsets you couldn’t find on a paint palette. I met people who were born story-tellers, who can read the wind and have a pride in their country and their connection to the earth that I only barely scraped the surface in understanding. One of these people was the little Mingkiri (mouse) who used to spend a lot of time where I worked because there was an art gallery nearby where her family was always painting. Mingkiri was cheeky; she loved to laugh and she loved cuddles and she made tourists stop in their tracks and stare at her wild blonde curls, dark chocolate skin and musical giggle. She had perfect timing too. On my busiest days at work, she’d arrive like a cyclone, leaping all over me and stroking my hair. Irritation was out of the question. She often sat on my lap and we played the counting game; the child was under six and was bilingual in English and Pitjantjatjara, her first language. I am, as some of you know, quite the butterfly fiend; I have been since I was a girl and it’s never really worn off. So I have a lot of butterfly jewellery; nose stud, earrings, necklaces, rings. Mingkiri would sit bouncing on my lap and count how many butterflies she could find on me. One day she turned to me with her little finger pointing in my face and said, ‘nyuntu kungka pinta-pinta’ which literally translated in Pitjantjatjara means ‘you girl butterfly.’ It just stuck and sticks still. I have a tattered patchwork quilt in one hand and a cashmere rug in the other…I’m offering you one of them…which would you choose and why? I’m not sure the cashmere rug would even get a look in Hells Bells. Give me the tattered patchwork quilt, full of stories, whispers, warmth and pleas for me to wrap my skin in and inhale the lingering tales, any day. Knowing me, I’d probably pick the tatters apart, unravel them, turn the patchwork squares of fabric over in my hands and wonder who picked them out, who cut them into squares, what music or life was sewn into each stitch. Does the quilt come with a deep glass of vanilla vodka and an old hard cover to read? Because that would be the cherry on top. Can you tempt us with your favorite food? Oh yes! Please do come over for a lazy Sunday feast… should we start with crescent wedges of papaya and freshly squeezed lime juice or black cherry, raspberry and blueberry fruit salad with crushed Moroccan mint from the garden and a sprinkle of brown sugar? Of course, cleanse your palette with a mouthful of brewed coffee and let’s feast on pancakes with maple syrup, crispy bacon and free range poached eggs. Another mouthful of coffee… you can’t possibly be full yet… have a nap in the hammock and let the breeze massage your belly. Lunchtime! Smoked salmon, capers and red onion shavings with cream cheese and baby spinach leaves on crunchy pita bread with a glass of sparkling moscato in the sunshine (I’ll put on the Coltrane) and skewers of avocado, sundried tomato and Danish fetta to have on the side. Finish the bottle, I’ll open another. Go lie out in the backyard with the paper, dinner’s on the way. It’s hot tonight, isn’t it? Hmmm, better crack open a couple of beers while I sautee the prawns. Mmm, it’s a recipe I’m copying from a fabulous little bar of Nancy’s, using a pomegranate glaze. After they’re panfried, we can devour the pine nut, asparagus, haloumi and pear salad. It is literally worthy of surrender. But don’t stop now… the chocolate cake with fresh blackberries and cream is on the way… An unforgettable moment? My most unforgettable moment would be one that has occurred very recently actually, when I suddenly realised what happens when you dare to dream big and run after that damn string to catch a helium balloon in your sky. More details to come, but because of dreaming big and more importantly, squashing all the fear bugs and my inner-critic, I stepped outside of my little square and was heftily rewarded with the realisation that I am a writer. It’s who I am as much as any other essential part of me. / Second to that, would be back the moment back in February when I sat in a trance amongst a field of Red Bubbles, almost shocked to silence (almost) by the realisation of my place in such a beautiful network and how important and vital and incredibly wonderful this little patch of red energy is in my life. The name of a song you remember from your childhood? I was eleven years old the first time I wrapped my little hands around a Pearl Jam tape, the property of my older cousin who I truly thought was god. It was of course, Ten, and the song was of course, Alive. I accidentally borrowed that tape and listened to it over and over again, my head pressed up to the speaker, trying to understand the swelling feeling in my chest that the melody Alive elicited in me. I remember specifically thinking, I wonder if this man’s singing about what this feeling is. My family was breaking at the time and I often marvel how, even as a wee little thing, I identified with the themes of that album. It was also the beginning of my enduring love affair with Eddie Vedder’s voice (that still trumps any other favourite) which has seen me camp out on sidewalks in sleeping bags for tickets, travel across country borders to see them live and go along with an awful story to convince security guards to let me swap places with a friend at one of their 2006 shows to get in the front row. The awful story paled quickly though when, after I’d just squeezed myself into my new position, they launched into an encore performance of Alive with Mike McCready embarking on a stellar guitar solo and Eddie Vedder jumped down off stage and shared a bottle of wine with me. I kid you not. Talk about things coming full circle. I toasted to the little eleven year old with a grin from ear to ear. Thank you Holly…you are ‘kalimna’ ;) x Delilah / Libby
Steven Lippis ♥ _The general rule when interviewing is to never ask questions involving your…
Steven Lippis ♥ The general rule when interviewing is to never ask questions involving yourself. I thought I’d do it anyway with Steve. I have given him such a hard time for such a long time over the years, the questions I did ask him about myself, were not the answers I expected. Let me introduce one of my best mates Steven ‘head like a door knob’ Lippis Steven Lippis….you should be congratulated and forever remembered for introducing me to redbubble :D How do you feel about that? I feel terribly jealous of course. You’ve become much more popular than I have on here. But I’m eternally grateful you still talk to me despite your new found fame. Also very happy for you! We have been friends for years, having first met on Deviant Art. How do you feel about that? I feel good about having known you so long. We don’t catch up in person nearly often enough, but you’re really one of the nicest people I know, even if you try to come across all mean and bad ass. Has redbubble lived up to your expectations? If not, what would you change about it? I’d say it has. I came looking for an alternative to deviantAds, and so far there’s been no ads, no paid accounts, the staff do their best to look after the artists, Australian based is a huge bonus, and so far I’ve only received good quality items (okay, except maybe the first calendar batch). Met plenty of great people with great art, I like that they only offer finished products, I can get straight prints at my local lab. If I’d change anything, it’s the forums. I’d scratch them completely. Groups too. The forums are full of nasty, condescending people (the way any forum on the net goes, sadly), and the groups far too open to abuse by hosts. The idea is great, but the reality of them so often isn’t all it could be. That said, I really don’t know how to make them better. Your most favorite piece of art on redbubble? Oh boy. I really don’t know. There’s a lot of good stuff, but one of the first things that comes to mind is my friend Jemina’s space hippo, Ingrid / It always makes me smile Your ultimate photographic goal? I’m not sure I have an ultimate photographic goal. As much as I share my work, in the end it’s a very personal thing. So long as I keep taking photographs I’m happy. I guess if I had a goal it would be to keep on learning. Every time I take photos I feel I’ve learnt something from it, hopefully something I can apply the next time. I’d like to keep doing that. In 50 years time I want to be discovering new ideas and improving my photography. There’s a long way to go, and I think that’s a key, to always strive to learn more. Your Camera of choice? Oh that’s a tough one. I’m currently using dual Nikons, F80 and D80. Nothing fancy, but they do the job. If I had a choice… on a personal level I’d like to be shooting medium format film. Maybe a Mamiya 645. For the bulk work, digital is the go, and I’d really like a D3 and D3x. They both have their strengths, and the D3 would be great for all the low light stuff. I have a ticket to the next Broncos game in one hand and a poo speciman from a Titans player in the other….I’m offering you one of them. Which would you choose and why? If the Broncos game was against the Titans or Panthers, I’d take the ticket. Otherwise I’m going to have to go with your poo specimen. Because everyone knows a ticket to the Broncos is worth less than shit. iriot Am I cool or evil or both? You’re cool, and I think not as evil as you’d like people to believe. The name of a song you remember from your childhood? I’m having trouble remembering last week, my childhood is a toughy! A few do come to mind. Demis Roussos’ Goodbye My Love, Goodbye comes to mind though. Summer days, the house opened up to the breeze, and my mother playing the vinyl while us kids were in the pool. / Cold Chisel also features a lot. Spending days in Dad’s workshop with MMM on the radio, a lot of the songs that stuck in my head were Cold Chisel, I only found out who they were a lot later. Steve, you are ‘good people’ and thank you for the work you have done with me and others for the Cancer and Leukemia Foundations. Cheers x ;)
Danny ♥ Danny..for as long as I have been on redbubble, you have been a great character, write…
Danny ♥ Danny..for as long as I have been on redbubble, you have been a great character, writer and designer as well as being the ‘Elvis’ of one on ones. / My all time fav would have to be the ‘Stringer’ interview :D Who has been your favorite redbubbler to interview and why? My favourite interview wasn’t an interview but a made up story about Lucan Industries. / But If I have to pick one it was the Stringer interview (which I’m putting back up in a couple of days for the re released Gonzo stories) / Mr Stringer helped me with location descriptions, some of his haunts and also provided the photos. I discovered all his awards and accolades with my own research. / He signed off on it but never made a comment on the actual story. The redbubble heirachy has a red dot next to their names, you have a brown splot. Please explain? Simple: I asked for one. / It goes back to the early days and a guy called Dave who’s no longer at the Bub and I was doing interviews and everyone had Red Bubbles but I wanted to have a different one and….well they gave in. It was that or I was going to do my name in Russian characters. A redbubble day you will never forget? There have been numerous (I’ve been very lucky on Red Bubble) / I can mention the day I got kicked off and the support I got was over whelming. / My day I discovered RB was pretty special. / but I believe the best is yet to come. / The project I’m working on at the moment with some other guys is shaping up to be that moment. (when it’s released/announced) / It’ is THAT exciting. An artist or writer you would like to pimp? Ahh….. I got heaps. / Some don’t need it while others would love it. But the two people I think will be the first Red Bubble inspired superstars will probably be Michael Alesich and Jessica Tremp. They both excel at everything. / Their writing is a bit different and usually swings away from the usual stuff that dominates this site, they model, they photograph ,they design and most importantly create themes and evolve. / If anyone deserves fame I reckon it’s these guys. / That may come as a big surprise to a lot of people but I’m always observing. / As a side note I would like to place Anne Van Alkermade on a pedestal because she has been insulted and pushed around trying to do her best and her best is all she offers and that has been evident in her work with the Phoenix Project and now the pending release of her book Haunting Emma. / I hope she sells a trillion. (also as revenge to some small minded people) Relaxation….what is your pleasure? I don’t relax. I fidget and fidgeting helps me think, when I think I’m active. I have a compass in one hand and a sombrero in the other. I’m offering you one of them. Which would you choose and why? A compass so I can find a way to get my head out of the clouds (or my arse as I can hear people shout) How would you mediate an argument between John Howard and Kevin Rudd? Pistols at 10 paces Something you have always wanted to do…but probably won’t? Thank Dad for the job he did raising our family . You always realise way too late. / Every thing else is achievable eventually. Do you remember your Primary school teacher? Yes , I went to a Catholic Primary School run by Presentation Nuns called St Mary Magdalens. / One of my teachers was a Nun; Sister Amelda. / She was a strict disciplinarian who had a no nonsense approach to education. / She had absolutely no impact on my life what so ever. The name of a song you remember from your childhood? Ha / Wrong question to ask me and who can stop at one? / These are songs that me go “What?” when I was a pre teen. / Can the can….Suzi Quatro / Seasons in the sun….Terry Jacks / I think I love you…The Partridge Family / ‘Cos I Luv you…Slade and probably 10,000 more. / Music – like my kids – is my life Danny…Suzi Quatro’s ‘48 Crash’ will forever and ever remind me of roller skating dead drunk on Bundy rum…good times :| Cheers ;) x / The STRINGER Interview / When in danger always copy nature
Simon Sherry ♥ Without knowing Simon well at all…I got a good vibe off him and really…
Simon Sherry ♥ Without knowing Simon well at all…I got a good vibe off him and really enjoyed this interview ;) Simon, You have some wicked art and t-shirts in your portfolio. Is your art all digital? If so what programme do you use? Cheers – and, yes, pretty much everything you see of mine here on the Bubble is 100% digital in nature. My main weapons of choice are my trusty G4 Quicksilver Mac, a wacom cintiq (the bastard lovechild of monitor and graphics tablet) and usually Adobe Illustrator CS3, although the odd bit of Photoshopping creeps in when I want to add some extra effects. I’ve been known to create the odd digital painting with PhotoShop and Corel Painter, though these days I’m focusing on what I like to think of as painting with vectors rather than pixels. I’m assuming and hoping redbubble has been profitable for you. Do you sell your work off the internet? I’m pretty shocked at how well I have been doing to be honest with you. My main reason for joining the Bubble was to use it as a means to create the designs that I myself would want to wear – to think that there are people out there not only laying down their hard-earned on my gear but wearing it boggles the mind. As far as selling my work outside of RB (is that what you mean by ‘off the internet’), most of my bread-and-butter illustration and design work is the type of thing you wouldn’t see unless you’re staring at a textbook in school. The odd comic cover has worked its way into the mix, but they’re done for love, not money. Of course, if anyone wants to pay me, I’ll be happy to accept it ;o) An artist you admire on redbubble? There are a LOT of amazingly talented people inhabiting the bubble, and I don’t think I could whittle it down to one. However the guys who have personally driven me to work my arse off while offering an incredible amount of support and encouragement would include Scott Robinson, Rubyred and Sjem – these guys have been incredibly generous with their time and input when I’ve needed it, and the work they produce themselves just blows me away regularly. To slip into Martin-Landau-Oscar-speech-mode, I’d also like to give shout outs to ThickBlackOutline, LilyM, NoFrillsArt, QuigonJim, Jordan Clarke, and Danny Nolan – the craziest and most inspiring tribe of creative – WAIT, WAAAAIIIITTT, I’M NOT FINISHED YE… Is there in area in the field of Design you would like to venture into? Well, the bubble has so far fed my desire to delve into the apparel side of things, but I’ve got a long-standing wish to crack into toy design. Being able to populate my office shelves at home with little plastic Killbots would give me a special kind of buzz. Have you travelled overseas If so..where? If not…where would you like to go? Unfortunately the closest I’ve come to overseas travel is crossing the Tasman, and it’s probably not helped by the fact that I’m terrified of flying (well, not so much the flying, rather the long plunge into certain flaming death). Saying that, if an affordable and 100% safe version of matter transport comes on the market in the near future, I’d love to visit large tracks of mainland Europe, dash over to the Pyramids in Egypt, take a stroll along the Great Wall, and spray-paint a goatee on one of the Easter Island heads to see if there really is a close resemblance. I have a harmonica in one hand and a cherry vodka in the other….I’m offering you one of them…which would you choose and why? I’d take the harmonica, hand it over to my almost-three-yr-old daughter Olivia, and then pass the cherry vodka to my wife to soothe her nerves while Livvy starts to play her own, special, rendition of Queen’s We Will Rock You. Your favorite all time movie? Possibly one of the hardest questions to answer, but if I had to pick one, it’d probably be the original, un-bastardised cut of George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead. Having finally gotten the opportunity to listen to the man speak while sitting only a couple of metres away, my appreciation for that film and the others that have followed it, has grown even more. If you haven’t seen it, do so, and see why a zombie movie done right is about so much more than dead folk and gore. Do you or have you ever played a sport? Wellllll, as a young ‘un I played basketball, cricket and dabbled in a couple of martial arts, but these days I occasionally hit trees with golf balls. One day, when I’m eventually physically up for the challenge, I would love to try fencing, but in my current condition I’d be too big a target for my opponent. The name of a song you remember from your childhood? I’ll give you three – Ghostbusters by Ray Parker Jnr, and the opening themes from He-Man and the Masters of the Universe and Doctor Who – my childhood in music. Simon…thank you ;) Your designs and t-shirts are fantastic…(I do have my eye on a couple) and I am sure your vision to turn your characters into toys will happen. You are a talent.
PJ Ryan ♥ *Nicole, I have watched your writing improve astoundingly since I have been pee…
PJ Ryan ♥ Nicole, I have watched your writing improve astoundingly since I have been peeking at you on redbubble. Obviously you have always been a classy writer. Do you credit redbubble for giving you the courage perhaps other sites haven’t? I first began writing poetry at 13 years old. I’d been through a lot of trauma and tragedy and i wish i could remember the first piece of writing i ever did. I do have a book of some of those poems because a friend asked for all of my poetry and she wrote it out in her beautiful hand writing and presented it to me in a gorgeous hard bound book. She wrote something inspirational for me in the front and wished me on my way creatively. I never really made much of an effort with my writing although i knew i wanted to write forever (and share those words with others). I knew i had a gift with words and rhythm. I was able to make people feel things deeply and take them on a journey. I found writing to be an incredible release emotionally. I found that my worst experiences helped others too, so sharing my words helped people to relate to their own lives and those around them. I’ve only just now (since joining RB) began to endeavour to chase my dream a little. Previous to here, only ever submitted a few pieces of writing to poetry.com until they started chasing me down to buy anthologies that i’d been selected for. I never did buy one of those. / Since i’ve been at RB, i’ve had the opportunity to be continually inspired and to grow as a writer. I’m a busy mum to 4 children (yep, count ‘em) and it’s a challenge to be able to write as i want to. I look forward to the time when i can write constantly and concentrate on my novels. I tend to be quite a prolific writer and it’s almost teasing (and very testing sometimes) for me not to be able to sit and write as i want. / I’m a big believer in things ‘happening for a reason’ and there are little steps along the way that i’m jumping on (yes, like a frog on a pond of lilypads). Do you remember your first encounter with a native on redbubble and what your initial thoughts were? I was selected to display a piece of writing at Brunswick Street Gallery titled Barefoot alongside other RB artists. / That night, i met my first RB natives including lisag, bellmusker, luckyvegetable, Michael Alesich, Jo O’Brien, Paul Vanzella .. (forgive me if i forget anyone). The timing was impeccable because life had been very secluded for me for a several years following some personal events and the births of my three youngest children. Meeting everyone that night was like walking into a room of old friends. Every Melbourne Writers meet i’ve been to has been a gift to sit around a table with such fabulously creative people and i’ve enjoyed chatting with everyone, including and especially your good and gorgeous self. An artist who completely overwhelms you? My watchlist includes so many artists and writers who astound me. My good friend Aglaiab never ceases to amaze me. Her unique creative expression, process and delivery is awe inspiring. / Jessica Tremp is an artist that i admire greatly. Her ability to deliver so many forms of creative expression is outstanding to me. / Holly Ringland completely captivated me from the first time i read her words. She seems to resonate within me and takes me to a place i’m not in a hurry to leave. Her words literally leave me salivating sometimes, so succulent and filled with delicious aromas and tastes. / The words of Mstrace enthrall me because she is raw, blunt, sensual and shocking. I love all of those things. Her passionate resonates. / bellmusker absolutely floors me. Her worldly words takes me to places i’ve never travelled to and also she returns me to places i have. Her ability to encapsulate senses with sharp eyes and an open mind is a gift i am blessed to view. Paul Compton is one particular artist that completely transports and inspires me. His illustrations are the most sublime, sassy and endearing images. / Two artists and writers I’m currently enjoying viewing are rexinkpen and Biographyofred. Deliriousgirl was one of the first artists i communicated with on RedBubble. DG writes descriptively with a raw, succinct and sensual voice that transports. / I’ve really enjoyed watching LisaG evolve as a writer and her wise words filled with philosophy and yesterdays sometimes brings tears, laughter and plenty of head nodding. / An all time favourite writer of mine is Yasemin Sumner … her fable telling and ability to take me to a vast amount of places is impressive. I think she has a massive future as a succesful writer. Right. See, i’ve started that damn list. Stopping now, not because i’ve run out of names, but because i could fill pages with artists that overwhelm me in one way or another. Who, what or where inspires your words? I write about life; yours, theirs, his, hers, yesterdays and tomorrow. / My own life journey has been a never ending muse .. and those around me .. perhaps someone i don’t know, but i see something in them. I hear words and melodies in music a lot and i’m enjoy that creative process. I can honestly be picking up biscuit crumbs from the floor and start getting words in my head about fragmented pieces of you and life and the carpet fibres and blah blah blah … lol / I don’t hold a pen any more to write pieces .. my hands are damaged (broken bones which has led to arthritis) and so i type everything. The irony of a writer. Ahah. Hmm. Yep. I wonder though how long i will be able to keep typing for. Thankfully i bang it out quickly. Your ultimate holiday? I would enjoy a beautiful house by the sea, multi level with fire places and huge glass windows. A big spa bath overflowing with aromatic bubbles, plenty of wine, good food and friends. A place for the kids to run wild with the wind in their hair, salt on their lips and simple days filled with laughter, love and memory making. Things you treasure most in life? Truth. Time and space. My husband (who is truly my best friend in this lifetime and probably others) and our incredible children – the most real and prettiest things i’ve ever seen or loved. My friends are really important to me to because i consider them family really. I’m fairly deep. I have a Cosmo magazine in one hand and an old love letter in the other…I’m offering you one of them…which would you choose and why? Definately the love letter. No matter whom it belongs to. Where is Nicole likely to be found chilling? Chilling? Hmmm haven’t you heard that mothers of 4 children, who try to write books, don’t really get a chance to ‘chill’ … but i totally enjoy spending time in a comfy chair or around a big old wooden table with a bottle of wine (red or white dependent on the season) and a platter of beautiful nibblies including dips, breads, crackers, cheese, twiggy sticks and baby pickled cucumbers. I find writing very thereauputic also and i enjoy having the time to sit and write without interuption. Lots of other ways i can chill .. but it’ll all be in the book :) haha The name of a song you remember from your childhood? Shoop, shoop, diddywop, coma coma wang dang? Please tell me someone remembers that!? / Grand Master Flash and the furious five “the message”:http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoID=1579384145 Loved this because it was like poetry. / I was a big Blondie fan. In 1980 i was about 10 years old and loved dancing on my cousins billiard table to “Atomic”:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qW6OrdLkCLU / From a young age, i enjoyed music that i could sing and dance to. I was always very animated and enjoyed words. I would perform song and dance routines in my lounge room and back yard for my family and friends. I danced from as young as i could stand, my mother enrolled me into dance classes at an early age and so it begun – my love of dance and tunes. I got lost in clubs, festivals and underground raves for a good decade and a half. My husband was a DJ when i met him and his incredible knowledge, appreciation and respect of all music continually fascinates me. I wish that i could sing but it’s not so pretty. I don’t play any instruments, but did strum a guitar for a while. I’d love to play piano or guitar because i want to write songs. Ah, things to do, things to do. Thank you for the opportunity to blurt a little about myself. / Thank you to RedBubble and to everyone whom is a part of the amazing technicolour rainbow that it is. Thank you PJ ‘dipped in chocolate’ Ryan ;) xx / The lock of hair in my heart / pinholes for water / Love me like sludge / Pretty little yesterday machine
Von McKnelly ♥ *Von…you have been around for a long time (not saying you are old) just…
Von McKnelly ♥ Von…you have been around for a long time (not saying you are old) just that you have been a member of redbubble for a long time. ;p How did you come across the site and what were your first thoughts? Sure I’ve been around RB for a long time, in dog years. I discovered this wonderful place when I was playing on another site. A friend posted that he had started an account on RedBubble so I went to see what all the hoop-la was about. / After a brief view of some of the fantastic galleries I knew I was home. Kicked off my shoes, tossed my hat on the rack, jumped into my pajamas and settled in. Your Photographic experience is vast (not saying you are old) but you have been taking photos for years! What are some of your most memorable photo shoots? The one’s where everything goes terribly wrong. When someone doesn’t show up or ends up at the wrong location or the stylist brings wardrobe a different size than the model. It’s an outdoor shoot and it’s pissing rain all day and somehow we manage to pull it off and get the job done these are my most memorable photo shoots. Has Photography taken you to other countries? If so, where? The question should be has it taken me to other planets. Yes it has. Some people call me the space cowboy you know. France and Spain have been my countries of choice to work in. Paris has to be one of the best cities for an artist that loves to drink his wine and soak up the history of so many great painters, photographers and writers. Not to mention the incredible women of France for whom I’m eternally grateful. / Barcelona is another city I fell in instantly in love with. So much so I stayed for two years working and drinking, drinking and working. If ever there I suggest the Michael Collins pub for the best in food & drink…and the barmaids are the best ever if you know what I mean. (They speak English, what did you think I meant?) / whatever Von :| A piece of work in your portfolio you are most proud of? Jack the One-Eyed Cat shot might be my favorite to date although I’d like to say I haven’t created my all time favorite yet. I saw Jack the cat sitting in a small square in the middle of downtown Barcelona from a block away surrounded by pigeons. There is no way I’m going to get close enough to this little scraggy cat before he runs away I thought. With a 50mm lens I’d have to move in fast snapping the shutter as I went. I was about twenty feet away when I stopped. Jack looked at me and I snapped the last shot before he bolted for cover. An artist you secretly admire? Secretly admire? It’s a secret! If I told you then it wouldn’t be a secret and if I did tell I’d have to kill you. You are so funny too! Have you ever done comedy? All throughout my school days I practiced my comedy routine. Back then I used a stage name. I was known as “the class clown”, without the makeup and funny nose of course. I have a glass of wine in one hand and a piece of chocolate cake in the other…. I’m offering you one of them…which would you choose and why? Logically I’d take the wine, drink it so as to loosen my lips a bit and then I’d be able to talk you out of the cake. Having one’s cake and eating it too is the only way to live. Your favorite color? Forrest green. I once painted my Miami Beach apartment wall to ceiling with it. Sure it looks good the manger of said apartment told me as I was moving out but you’re still not getting the deposit back. I guess painting over such a dark color is a pain. The name of a song you remember from your childhood? “Big Bad John” by Jimmy Dean. You may know him as the sausage king here in the states but before that he was known to kick out a tune or two. I had the 45rpm record and played it over and over driving my mother insane. (Yes it’s my fault she crazy) To this day I sing it while in the shower…if I’m alone that is. Some advice Von recently gave me…Mountains are old little one…we are but infants :D Thank you Von…I heart you and so should everybody else :) x /
Dreddart ♥ *I had no idea who you were, but having just taken a look at your work…I’m more …
Dreddart ♥ I had no idea who you were, but having just taken a look at your work…I’m more than impressed. Could you tell me and those who may not know you….a little bit about yourself? Thank-you :) / I have been a working artist since completing a degree in FineArt Printmaking in 1994 / My main works are what I have named Emotional Expressionism * – Raw – often hardhitting – Portraits – * – Influenced by the ‘Alternative’ and ‘Rave/Techno’ Club Culture * – I worked as a Venue Manager and Club Promoter for quite some time and my work was often inspired by what/who I saw around me. * – My work varies in size from 2”x2” to 12ftx12ft Has redbubble been an enjoyable experience for you so far? Absolutely. I love the site – I have used other online art sites but RedBubble is now my site of choice for building my gallery. Alot of your work appears to be heavily influenced by music…do you have a musical background? I do .. in the sense that I worked as a Live Music Venue Promoter and Manager from 1995-2001 and Club Night / Events promoter since. As such I have worked with a lot of bands from many musical genres and have an extensive music collection :) Do you have a vision for your art? I have always found it difficult to ‘define’ my art and why I do what I do. It is just ‘me’. At this time I really want to sell some of my older original art as it seems such a shame for it to be hidden away in my garage unseen and unloved :( What do you do in your spare time? My life seems to be entirely virtual (online)!! I work in online promotion to a degree – I also love to play online games – mostly word games and poker. And of course drawing or creating. I have a cigarette in one hand and a can of Blueberry Fanta in the other….I’m offering you one of them…which would you choose and why? The Cigarette… when I am online I tend to smoke too much – also I have never tried Blueberry Fanta !! Although it would be a hard choice somedays as I do love fizzy drinks :) Your favorite piece of art by a fellow redbubble artist? Gosh – a difficult question as there is so much amazing work … / It would probably be one of HeadCrime’s as I do love their work / The name of a song you remember from your childhood? ‘I saw a mouse – where? – there on the stair – where on the stair? Right there! A little mouse with clogs on. Well I declare! Going clip clippity clock on the stairs. Oh Yeh.’ – !! lol Aww…you are a champion ;)...thanks Dreddart!
Paul Louis Villani ♥ *Paul Louis Villani….(I dated a Paul once…he was a prick) :| You on th…
Paul Louis Villani ♥ Paul Louis Villani….(I dated a Paul once…he was a prick) :| You on the other hand are not…you are one of the sweetest, nicest most generous men I have ever had the pleasure of meeting, watching and collaborating with on this site. How much has discovering redbubble changed your life? Firstly, you’re an absolute darl for saying such nice things about me! Secondly, Red Bubble was and still is a shining beacon for anyone seeking, exposure, collaboration with like minded folk and creative development regardless of how long you have been on your artistic journey. / Allow me to ellaborate… some of us have not studied art(s) in any form, so we develop in an unorthodox and unguided manner. We ( I most definately incuded) learn most artistic lessons the hard way. Finding your style and developing skills, getting exposure and exhibiting, getting your work “out there” and into the publics buying eye… Not easy or cheap in the real world… Red Bubble gives you all those things in one place, you just cannot get better than that and the best thing is that this place is just going to get better and better. Do you have a ‘most memorable’ redbubble moment? Well, I’ve got a few… My first Melbourne Meet-Up I was completely petrified about meeting people whose work and auras I really admired. Writers meets, these are quite fun and I get the honour of sitting around sipping a beer and listen to some really talented people, read and discuss their works. I keep saying this but one day some of us are going to be telling people “I used to attend a writers met with that famous person!!” if you don’t know what I’m talking about check these out. The Aradale get together was pretty magical and we’ve got another meet up coming at The Astor Theatre that I’m hoping will be quite memorable too! :D You are a talented writer and musician…Do you still play music? Now you’ve hit a nerve!! hehe! Music has been a huge part of my life and it’s something that I’m finding hard to let go of. I still write but now lack the belief or self confidence to share or perform. I keep saying “one day” but until I see a reflection in the mirror that I can feel proud of my own music will remain behind closed doors. / In regards to music in general… If I was stranded on an island and I had a chice of my ipod or a big screen TV with Foxtel… I’d always choose the ipod! :D Your favorite piece of ‘jaw dropping’ redbubble art? Damn, just one? Can’t do it… Here’s a few! / / / Ode to Led Zeppelin / Scorpio (Just a few is an understatement…I had to pull another 10 images out because of time and space…PLV could sell bikinis to eskimos :D) How do you like to relax? Sport. I’m a bit of a sports nut. Cricket is my first love, with Aussie Rules Footy and Golf not far behind. / I’m n ot the kind of bloke who sits and watches TV but if there is a game on I become completely mesmorised! / My missus freaks out at the fact that usually I cannot sit still, I’m always fidgeting or doing something yet put Test Cricket on the TV and I’ll set there motionless for hours at a time!! An event you will never forget? Oh, that’s easy! My recent wedding and honeymoon. If you want to see some pics from the honeymoon you have to be on facebook and click here I have a Sony DSLR A700 in one hand and an endless Chicken Parmagiana in the other….I’m offering you one of them…which would you choose and why? Hahahaha!!! Not fair honey!!!! Alrighty, if the Parma was accompanied by an entree of Lasagna and a desert of Apple Strudel, my decision would be very easy!! Alas, I’ll have to chosse the Alpha! I’ve been a Minolta user for years before the digital evolution so the transition to Sony was quite simple The last live concert you attended? Well, depending as to when this interview goes “live”… the last concert I payed to see was U2 in Melbourne… Awesome!! The next concert that I’m being “sent” to as a photographer is “The Who” in Sydney 31st March, can’t wait! The name of a song you remember from your childhood? Seasons in The Sun by Terry jacks / Close To You / Little Help From My Fiends Joe Cockers version / Purple Bear by Mac Davis / La Bambola – Tu Mi Fai Gira / The Man who Shot Liberty Valance by Gene Pitney / Guitara Suona Piu Piano by Nicola Di Bari / Black Diamond by KISS / Blue Spanish Eyes by Engelbert Humperdinck / San Francisco by Scott McKenzie / Whiter Shade of Pale by Procol Harum / Volare by Domenico Modugno / War Pigs by Black Sabbath….... / :D GOOGLE THEM! ;p Paul….to know that you will be a part of my memory forever is a blessing. I will always treasure you. :) x /
Earthquake Bee ♥ *Bee…you are one of my all time favorite women. I love your attitud…
Earthquake Bee ♥ Bee…you are one of my all time favorite women. I love your attitude, your coolness, your talent, your taste in music and your beautiful heart. You are my type of girl. Tell us about your initial thoughts when you first came across redbubble? My landing in RB was unintended. I was home, bored, amusing myself with Google, searching for stuff about pigeon phobia – which I have. Same with butterflies. They’re disgusting beings with pulsing bodies showing of fragility. (Any shrink around?) I understand what others see in them but I am more a lover of spiders and cockroaches like the gorgeous Australian Giant Burrowing. I came across a site where I saw a t-shirt.. I wanted it really bad… Click to purchase… And I was in RB in Sjem’s profile. It was his ’’No Pigeons’’ tee. But I started to nose around all the artworks I was able to find and I forgot about it. I didnt buy it until months later. Being familiar and bored with other communities, I fell in love with what was going on in RB and I stayed. I made a small place of my own and started sharing what comes out of my mind in form of what some happen to call Art. The first redbubbler who made you feel most welcome? Dave (Lostboy). I’m still in touch with him. I dont know what happened and I’m not interested. I dont take part in lynchings and riots for many years but I miss his art a lot. We share some interests like model tanks, steaks, clay and Lego men. Then I crossed ways with you and that was kind of a blessing too. You’re a very different mind to what’s around these days and you liked Cajun Music. An artist or artists who have inspired you? Francisco de Goya y Lucientes. Always. To me the best painter ever on Earth. Even my end of career project was about him and his Black Paintings. And I am so lucky I could go study them every week in El Prado Museum. I am also a big lover of Paul Klee, Frida and Diego Rivera and many others I get a kick out of the work of guys like Mike Mignolla or Daniel Martín Díaz (you should check his drawings). Tell us about the Festival you have just attended in the U.S? South by Southwest (SxSW) in Austin, Texas. I saw Roky Erickson singing again, able to smile and looking sweet. I got all emotional. It’s the second time I go there and I have the intention to come back as much as I can. It is mainly an inspiring thing for me.I’m not very good at accurate facts but I think it initiated by the end of the 80’s as a local event and less than 1000 tickets were sold, to help local acts break through. Today more than 10.000 registrants go there and they say over 300.000 music lovers walk the streets of Austin during the days the 1.400 or so bands play in the many venues there. All kind of bands. I just like it. I like the vibe, the city, the locals, the margaritas with salt, to be able to hook up with old friends I rarely see, the sound of live music cuddling you day and night. Watching humans queueing to see live music makes me happy. And the bat community that lives under one of the city bridges and it is heavily protected and cherished. This festival helps independent bands & labels to try to reach a higher ground. Quite a tough thing in this time of big trouble for the music community which I quit 2 years ago. But also big bands would play their ’’secret shows” there. This year Metallica and Jane’s Addiction showed up. I’ll be posting a few shots I took there any moment now. A place you have never been…but want to? Polynesia. I will go one day. I have to see the Moai face to face, not just in National Geographic. I have a ticket to a Neil Young concert in one hand and a Scorpion in a jar, in the other….I’m offering you one of them…which would you choose and why? Oh woman..The ticket! A scorpion in a jar can’t beat a live music session of someone I like. I see what you’re doing here! Yes I’m one of those… The Constellation was named like that by the Akkadians. “The Stinger”, ’’The Seizer’’. I ‘m an aracnids woman and I understand the magic humans see around scorpions but truth is a scorpion will run like the wind if facing something bigger than him! Things that make you go…hmmm? I’ll give you one, partially. Put together Kyuss’ Sky Valley, two bottles of red wine and my husband peeking at me like a kid from behind his black hair. I dont need much more to go ’’hmm’’. I’m a Scorpion :P The happiest moment in your life so far? Can’t pick one. But the day my father didn’t die (he was taken dead to hospital) may be one of the happiest days I have a recorded memory of. The day I helped to put all my shit in the movers truck to leave Spain and start a life with my husband. And when he literally took me to SxSW in a cotton carriage the first time in my life. The day BB King nearly broke my spine with a hug. The day I first ever ate okra. The day I understood beer is good and I had the legal age to buy it. The day my Mum showed me the first drawing I made when I was 13 months… I have millions of happiest moments :) The name of a song you remember from your childhood? Too many. But I was 9 in 1981 and my older cousin took me to my first concert. AC/DC playing in the Bull Ring in Madrid. I couldnt get Hells Bells out my child-mind and I would mumble it I couldnt speak English then at all times. I still can sing the Smurfs theme song. And The Love Boat. Thank you Little one :P / X Bee. No..gracias abeja hermosa. / Mi amigo ;) x /
RedBubble is a great place to find art, design, photos and writing from over 80,000 talented people.
On stunning greeting cards, awesome t-shirts or beautiful prints to hang on your walls.
It’s really simple. If you’re not happy with your purchase for any reason, we’ll fix it.
Since February 2007 we’ve shipped over 318,500 items to more than 70 countries around the world.
Sign up for your free account, upload your work, join some groups and share your creative genius with the world.