Page 14 - VE Magazine - Issue 42

Karyn Sparks tracked down three highly skilled exponents of anthropomorphic works of art and sent them each the same 12 searching questions:
2 How did you first become interested in creating your anthropomorphic creatures?
3What inspires a new creation?
4Can we see inside your workspace please?
6Which one, out of all your creations, has been your favourite and why?
7What animals fascinate you the most in life, and why?
8Do you ever find an object first, say from a fleamarket, and create a creature around it? Or does the creature always come first?
9How do you sell your creations, and to what kinds of people?
10 What are you working on at the moment?
11After lavishing so much work and putting so much love into these pieces, how do you let them go?
Mandy Hawkins www.facebook.com/UnderMossWood
1
I’VE BEEN A vintage dealer for over 40 years, now under the name of ´Under Moss Wood’ instead of ‘The Hat Faerie’.
I love making all kinds of weird and wonderful wearable art... hats are my favourite passion – my grandmother was a milliner in the 1920s so I suppose it’s a family thing... I love wearing them too! 1. My passion is creating art for lovers of the weird and wonderful. 2. My love of nature and creatures inspires me... mix that with a passion for textiles and fashion and you have magic!
3. The seasons inspire my creations, the colours and textures of what’s around me in my woodland world.
4. My studio is my cottage ‘Under Moss Wood’, that nestles in a woodland on the banks of a river in deepest Wales. It’s currently being renovated so a peek inside isn’t possible. Sorry.
treasures I find, they speak my language and fire my imagination. 9. My creations are sold to lovers and collectors of the unusual... word of mouth that floats on the breeze and whispers that reach far flung places.
10. At the moment I am working on a story for my grandchildren... magical creatures that inhabit my world at Under Moss Wood!
I created the Hare and Raven for the launch of my new business called ‘Maven & Hare’... I have collaborated with another vintage dealer friend of mine called Bronia Lee and we are Maven & Hare. My anthropomorphic creations were made to represent us and demonstrate our love of the unusual... we are purveyors of
the weird and wonderful. For the opening of our business they sat and stood in various poses... like living breathing art.
The Hare and Raven heads
going to flea markets etc, I just can’t get enough of the stuff.
6. Mainly flea markets, eBay, car boot sales and charity shops. I do get friends giving me stuff they think “suits me” though and I’ve even been known to pick stuff up from the ground like old chamois leather, twigs and shells.
7. Lambs are my favourite animals to make but the most fascinating are cats, I’m lucky enough to live with two and
I love to watch their different personalities, from playful to spiteful, I can literally spend hours watching them, every move they make is so photogenic.
8. Yes, absolutely. Something I come across can totally start up my mind for a piece, an example of this is I saw some little white shells and thought how much the markings looked like curly locks so born from this was the fleece of a lamb.
9. Most of my work I sell through Etsy, I have lots of different kinds of collectors from all over the
In a sentence, please describe to our readers what it is that you create...
5
5. Vintage textiles and finds come with their own stories, a history that asks to be never forgotten and lived over and over again.
6. My creations are a part of me and I love them all... they fill my dreams until they become reality... they are like my children and so I love them all the same!
7. All creatures great and small fascinate me - we live in a world full of enchanted wonders.
8. I am totally inspired by vintage
What is it about using vintage and preloved materials that appeals to you most?
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WELCOME TO MY WORLD
of storybook beings. Curious creatures from the outside
to display inside. Each piece
is individual and unique, and because of the recycled nature
of my work, no two pieces will
be quite the same. I use muslin, 100 per cent wool felt, ‘up-cycled’ wool garments, velvet, leather, cotton, moleskin and blankets for wall hangings and figures. I then stitch on curious little things I find including vintage buttons, charms and jewellery.
1. I create one of a kind figures using vintage fabrics, doll clothes, glove leather, plastic dolls and pretty much anything I find that I can use.
2. I used to make wool dolls and as time went on the appliqué themes on their dresses became more elaborate and always seemed to feature animals in clothes. I was fascinated by the idea of animals being children in grubby clothes from being out in the woods etc. So it kind of grew
from there.
3. I get inspiration from many different things but mainly music sparks my imagination for a new being. A certain lyric can create
a whole new character in my head with their own story and personality running through them. 4. My workspace is my kitchen, here I’m surrounded by hundreds of visual treats from various
and random objects I find in
flea markets, charity shops and car boot sales. I have a table
in the middle of the room with piles of dolls underneath. Every cupboard is stuffed with fabrics and remnants for me to use and incorporate in my work.
5. I like to think that my work has a reminiscent quality about it so using vintage fabrics and other findings lends to the theme of a piece, if I find a certain piece of textile or object to incorporate,
it makes a piece look more authentic to the era I want them to look like they came from. Besides, my favourite pastime is
Can you give me one word that describes your usual state of mind?
14 / October-November 2018 / ve
www.vintagexplorer.co.uk
Annie Montgomerie www.anniemontgomerie.co.uk