This is an extension of my art column, Art Valet, in The Leader Newspaper. Read the column here, where I interview, Lily (Nabarupa Bhattacharjee), a visiting artist from India, that is in Art Launch’s mentor program.
The theme was “Around the World.” I invited artists from my mailing list to tell me their stories and where they are from.
This is an extension of Mitch Cohen’s art column, Art Valet, from The Leader Newspaper. Read the column here. The theme was “Around the World.” Mitch invited artists from his mailing list to tell him their stories and where they are from.
Cathy Hookey
http://www.cathyhookey.com/grownupwork
How long have you been in the U.S./Houston?
So I’m from various parts of southern England; I was born in Hereford, raised in north London but spent my adult life in a small town in Cornwall. I’ve been in Houston since December 2016, so I’m still kinda new!
What kind of artist are you?
I graduated with an illustration degree in 2011, then worked freelance in kid’s illustration as well as on contract to BBC making art and props for a children’s art show. I quit and got rid of anything I couldn’t fit in a backpack to travel in 2013, and for the next few years I lived in and moved around Catalonia, Italy, Switzerland, and England couch-surfing, volunteering and drawing. During my time in Italy I fell for a pretty American who was staying at the hostel I was working at…then a few years later I moved to Houston to be with that American permanently!
My career currently is both as an illustrator and an artist, so I take commissions, write and illustrate comics and picture books as well produce paintings, drawings and small-run seriographs for galleries.
In my pictures, I use a lot of esoteric and natural symbolism, especially plants from England and symbolism from native Celtic witchcraft and folk stories. Most of my work is inspired by my inner experience, working through my ‘Self’ and past trauma…making a picture is sort of an attempt to explore or transform something inside me, so my work is very personal and quite varied! I also hope that by sharing the personal work I make that other people with similar temperaments might find something useful in them too. I like to juxtapose the esoteric symbolism and folky themes with bright colours and modern comic style, sort of folk magic for millennials. I work in Photoshop, mixed-media, laser-cut wood and acrylic, pen and ink as well as making screen and block prints.
Has living in the states, changed your art? How?
Living in the States has definitely changed my work…I think for me it was an expansion – suddenly I’m surrounded by so many people who are so different from what I’m used to, and Houston itself is predictably very different to living in a small town by the sea in rural England! Everything about being here has expanded both my repertoire of influences and my ideas of what I could possibly do with my artwork. Before moving to Houston I struggled to figure out where I ‘fit’ in the worlds of illustration and art, but since being here I’ve been able to expand what I imagine the boundaries are between the two, that is, I don’t see a boundary anymore, and I love working with a marriage of the two. I think letting go of the distinction between art and illustration has made my work more experimental and unique, and far more enjoyable to do!
I also run artist critique and support groups online because I love to interact with and support other artists, and I have a regular blog where I tackle sort of general philosophical and spiritual issues through the lens of art.
What would you recommend a visitor to your country try doing/seeing or tasting in your country?
I suppose if I were to recommend a visitor something to do in England it would be…to see more than just London! Cornwall is my most recommended place, especially if you love history or beautiful landscapes. Cornwall has a number of Neolithic sites, as well as ruins and castles (Tintagel, the ‘birthplace of King Arthur,’ is stunning!) a number of ‘magical’ Celtic sites, as well as beaches, cliffs and headlands, forests and little quaint towns by the sea, and great surf and music spots.
If you really want to experience an out of the way, old-school English experience, I know an alehouse for a pint on the quay in a little town that is perfect! “The ‘Front” in Falmouth (in southern Cornwall) won best ale house and best cider pub of the year in 2018 from the local ‘Campaign for Real Ale’ awards, and comes personally recommended by me, who drinks and knows a fair bit about English ale!
This is an extension of Mitch Cohen’s art column, Art Valet, from The Leader Newspaper. Read the column here. The theme was “Around the World.” Mitch invited artists from his mailing list to tell him their stories and where they are from.
Aysha Badat
Where are you from and how long have you been in the U.S./Houston
I am Pakistani/Indian and South African, I was born and raised in Houston Texas
What kind of artist are you?
I am a henna, makeup and lash artist.
Has living in the states, changed your art? How?
Although I was born and raised here, my art work has definitely changed because I live here. I learned henna when I was 15 and Pakistan didn’t have the concept of natural, vegan, and harmful chemical knowledge or concerns. If it worked it worked if it didn’t and caused harm there were hospitals to fix it was kind of their policy. However meeting different American artist through social media, I learned about natural, vegan and cruelty free henna and makeup products. Which changed my designs out come, the health of my clients skin and overall the quality of service I provided to my customers.
What would you recommend a visitor to your country try doing/seeing or tasting in your country?
If you ever visit India, South Africa or even Pakistan always try the local foods they are the best.
Advice i leaned from my grandfather what ever foreign country you travel to, eat a piece of raw onion. it will settle your stomach for the water and foods of that country since your immune system would not be used to that region.
This is an extension of Mitch Cohen’s art column, Art Valet, from The Leader Newspaper. Read the column here. The theme was “Around the World.” Mitch invited artists from his mailing list to tell him their stories and where they are from.
Cyriaque Milhau
Photography Engineer
https://www.instagram.com/frenchtexan/
Where ya from:
Valenciennes, France – Way up north, by the Belgian border.
How long have you been in the U.S./Houston:
Since 2004, with only one year back in France in 2008
What kind of artist are you?
I like to call myself a photography engineer. Starting with my own photography, I structure and modify familiar sights into something new, unseen, and hopefully unexpected. I also like to be a social artist where some of my work can benefit local associations to help our community.
Has living in the states, changed your art? How?
The US, and particularly Houston, can leave an impression to Europeans first visiting. Those colossal highways exchangers, the shimmering skylines (as Houston has the privilege to have more than one), the gargantuesque food and even the amazing people welcoming me at the same time “boycott France” was trending in the early stage of the Iraq war. While it has definitely inspired me to capture bigger and brighter things, it did not, however, change me as a photographer initially. But the American mindset, which eventually set in, eventually did.
What Americans are known to excel at is breaking any rule, any convention, that stand between them and success. It applies to architecture, manufacturing, culinary fields and many others. For me, it is what shaped me to break from classical photography to create something beyond what the lens could capture. It’s playing with any technology at hand to push past common places and unapologetically craft my own concepts regardless of the conventions that otherwise revolve around photography.
What would you recommend a visitor to your country try doing/seeing or tasting in your country?
The first thing you need to find is a local bakery. There will always be one at walking distance from anywhere in France. Nothing beats the fresh bread still crispy and warm from the oven that you pick up in the morning.
After that, look for churches, cathedrals, basilicas. Most of them are always open to the public, but before you go visit them, learn about their history. When they were originally built, expanded. When they were torn down, and later rebuilt, renovated. Once you know that, you get to appreciate the architecture, the details in the writings, and the art that shows through structure, paintings and stained glass. Churches taken in a vertical panorama are one of my favorite things to shoot.
