{Copyright 2011 Hannah Nunn. All rights reserved.}
TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOURSELF.
HN: I’ve always loved making things. My most memorable childhood project was when my best friends and I made a cat house for a collection of miniature toy cats, with a maze of rooms made from old boxes and anything we could find to make furniture and decorations, even lights! It grew and grew until it had a lift, up to a whole arcade of shops! I went to Art College and was always very crafty and full of ideas. I had my two children soon after leaving college and while they were small (and I had my hands full) I yearned for some kind of creative business adventure. Settling here in Hebden Bridge was a great move for me and helped that start. Hebden Bridge has fantastic independent boutiques and coffee shops all nestled within an abundance of nature, surrounded by fields, moors and woodlands. The community is lovely too.
INTRIGUE US! WHAT ARE 3 INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT YOU?
- I’m passionate about yoga and do my practice every day come rain or shine… or even hangovers, sometimes.
- I’m writing a book at the moment called “Illuminate” about contemporary craft lighting, which will be published next year.
- I have just been invited to attend the first “Do What You Love” retreat in Yorkshire Dales to do a Q&A session about my creative enterprise and I’m very happy and honoured to have been asked!
WHAT HELPED YOU DISCOVER YOUR CURRENT ARTISTIC PATH?
HN: When my children were old enough to go to playschool I found myself with two and a half precious hours a day to forge my longingfor acreative career but was a little stuck as to what to do! I rented a space in a shared studio at the top of an old mill and decided to pull a few ideas together and make some handmade cards. They were very intricate paper cuts which I was always holding up to the light to enjoy their silhouettes and my fellow studio mate Hilary Roberts (ceramicist) suggested I make lights. My future flashed before me and with funding from the Arts Council I was able to research the idea and put my lamps into production. I have a lot to thank Hilary for as my lights have given me the creative career that I have always dreamed of!
NAME 3 PEOPLE THAT HAVE INSPIRED YOU MOST & WHY.
- Recently, I found a book of Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s flower drawings. Have you ever seen them? They are stunning and every time I look at them they inspire me to get my pens out and attempt to make drawings as beautiful as them.
- Julia Cameron who wrote “The Artist’s Way” has be mentioned. Her book gave me so many tools to live creatively. If you‘re ever stuck with a creative problem, this book offers great solutions to move forward.
- And, Helen Musselwhite – a papercutting artist. We recently did a podcast interview together for the Radiance blog and it actually made me cry as she is so inspired by nature and her surroundings and is so focused when it comes to her work. She made me feel really privileged to be working with people like her in my field.
WHAT ARE SOME RECURRING OBJECTS OR THEMES THAT YOU LIKE TO INCLUDE IN YOUR WORK?
HN: It’s always plants and flowers that inspire me. I have to find ways of simplifying them into lights and shadows. I love plants from the Umbelliferae family like Cow Parsley and Fennel. They show up a lot because they make really great silhouettes.
WHAT MAKES YOUR DAY SWEET?
HN: Oh lots of things…. like my cat Tomsk waiting by the door when I’m getting ready to go out in the morning and then accompanying me so enthusiastically to the end of my street. Then getting to work and switching all the pretty lights on in the shop in the morning and feeling glad to be there. It’s so lovely to be making a living doing what I love and I appreciate that every day!
{Copyright 2010 Justine Wong. All rights reserved.}
Can you imagine yourself in Paris, France at this moment, walking their narrow streets and the smell of fresh bread at every hour. Maybe even visiting the Eiffel Tower, that is so grand and beautifully intricate that it is difficult to not fall in love with it – especially at night when lights are displayed.
{Copyright 2011 Hannah Nunn. All rights reserved.}
At night, the warm glow from Hannah Nunn’s lamp beckons you to sit by the window and sink into deep thought. A break from the traditional candle that still keeps you cozy on cold winter nights. Find out what inspires this artist, from the quaint town of Hebden Bridge, UK, to create such delightful lighting.
WHAT SONG DO YOU LIKE TO WAKE UP TO? HN: Ohh, if only… I’m alwaysup first in our little flat so Ican’t wake anybody up by putting music on! Actually, though, I like the peace and quiet of the morning so that’s OK with me!
YOUR FAVOURITE HIDING PLACE IN THE CITY & WHY? HN: I live in a small town and it’s pretty hard to hide here but if I lived in London, then it would definitely be the Natural History Museum. When I went there last, I visited the Spirit Collection at the Darwin Centre and I was struck with awe by all the beautiful creatures preserved for years and years in old Victorian jars. I had theplace to myself and there was a real stillness there. You canescape the hustle and bustle of the city and enter a completely different world. I LOVE IT!
NAME A HOBBY YOU ENJOY, OUTSIDE YOUR CRAFT. HN: I love music, and getting together with friends and singing songs. My craft is mostly solitary, so it’s nice to get together with other people and create something beautiful (or even raucous) as a group. I get a real buzz from singing harmonies.
WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE BOOK? HN: Youknow, I always wish I’d kept a list of everything I’ve ever read in my entire life. Wouldn’t that be amazing to look back upon? I might start now! Then I could have glanced down at the list and picked a favourite right now. There is one that I had recently read and loved.Itwas “If nobody speaks of remarkable things” by Jon McGregor.
{Copyright 2010 Bloomsbury Publishing.}
WHERE WOULD YOU BURY YOUR TREASURE? HN: In the woods. Can’t tell you which, it’s asecret.
MOST BELOVED MEMORY OF SNOW? HN: Walking up Horsehold Road (a very steep winding road in Hebden Bridge) on Christmas night with my then-boyfriend. The air was still, crisp and FULL of sparkling stars. The view across the field and the town was luminous. I had been learning a piece by Yann Tiersen on the piano. I got the sheet music for Christmas, so I had that tune in my head. That piece still brings back the memory.
HOW WOULD YOU DECORATE YOUR IGLOO? HN: I’d have lots of big, bright, warmcoloured cushions scattered all over the floor and fairy lights! It would have to have fairy lights to add a cozy glow!
WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF YOU WERE SNOWED IN? HN: I would wish that I had a big open fire and lots of logs so Icould snuggle up with my cats and a cup of tea and read a good book.
Comfort is key especially during the cold months of winter. Wake up to the soft photo of Grange Park by Miles and be reminded that winter isn’t so bad after all.
This Sunday Mood, let Mumford and Son’s Winter Winds sweep you off your feet. Watch them battle the winds as they journey down the road and sing of love, reminding you that spring is right around the corner.
Wendy doesn’t try to escape from my current apartment. In all the previous places I’ve lived, she has reached a point of discovery, where she realizes that outside of the front door (or window), there is a world of unfathomable riches – breezes to sniff, flying insects to catch with one’s paw, leaves on which to munch – but in my current apartment, she has never made it outside, and perhaps has concluded that my living room, kitchen, bathroom, and one bedroom are all that exist.
Sometimes she looks at the window as though it’s a television.
Though there was one time, when I had failed to lock the front door to the apartment, and that unreliable door swung open, unbeknownst to me as I graded papers out of sight. Eventually I stood to look for Wendy, hoping to scratch her ear or let her rub her head on my knuckles (one of her favourite hobbies), but I couldn’t find her. She wasn’t lounging on the bed or snoozing on the rug. Nor did I spot her hiding under the armchair, revealing herself with a tell-tale swish of her tail. Upon exploration, I saw, to my horror, that the front door had opened.
“Wendy!” I screamed. I ran into the building hallway, barefoot and alarmed. I heard a plaintive mew from the floor below, so I bolted downstairs (still barefoot, unconcerned about the ketchup smears and heroin needles that might populate the linoleum). Wendy was standing at the door of the apartment directly below mine, looking up and wondering why the door wouldn’t open. True, they are identical, this door and mine, except for the number, but Wendy has not yet learned to read numbers. “That’s apartment 6, Wendy,” I told her. Sensing her confusion, I redirected her to the stairs, and together we hopped back up to our rightful place in apartment 9.
This week’s palette is meant to help keep our minds off of the cold weather that we’ve been having. Icy blues are warmed by sage greens and hints of gold. During the hours of light snow, the sun would occasionally peak from behind the clouds, making the snow glitter as they fall. The smell of snow is so different from rain. It smells of stolen aromas and mountains that we’ve never seen, which makes it all the more beautiful. Stay warm and have a wonderful weekend!
Every now and then, in the middle of the week, I like having a moment of peace and quiet all to myself. I take this time to picture being elsewhere. Sometimes I’m off to a place I’ve been to before and sometimes it’s to a place I’ve only heard of or seen pictures of. This week, I’ve discovered Bern, Switzerland. How lovely would it be to be able to run about on hills that smell of freshly cut grass!
TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOURSELF. EM: I’ve studied art since I was eleven but eventually dropped out because of subjects like Math and German. I think school was just too hard for me. Some of my favorite childhood memories are sleeping on a footbridge, soaking up the summer’s sun and watching underwater bugs in a pond. I really loved swimming back in the day. I still do!
INTRIGUE US! WHAT ARE 3 INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT YOU.
- My not so secret superpower is my big-toothed smile.
- My surname, Liela, translates to English as “The Great”, though I’m only 168 cm tall.
- I have two rescued Irish greyhounds from Kerry Greyhound Connection. Check them out, these people do some truly amazing work!
WHAT HELPED YOU DISCOVER YOUR CURRENT ARTISTIC PATH?
EM: I first saw these adorable felt kittens in acraft shop, but they were not for sale. So I bought somewool and felting needles to try andmake one myself. It turned out to be really easy! Soon, people started ordering my cats and I also got some good responses from the local gallery owners – that was most encouraging. So, it’s curiosity that lead me to where I am now.
NAME 3 PEOPLE THAT HAVE INSPIRED YOU MOST & WHY.
- Roberto Greco and his fabulous blog about homeschooling and unschooling, green architecture, good food, great toys and even video games.
- Wes Anderson for his fantastic movies. I mean, really fantastic!
- Tove Jansson, a Swedish-speaking Finnish novelist, painter, honorary Professor of Philosophy, illustrator, and a comic strip author. She was the author of, among other works, the Moomin books – my favorite books since I started to read. I learned a lot about theworld and others from her books.
WHAT ARE SOME RECURRING OBJECTS OR THEMES THAT YOU LIKE TO INCLUDE IN YOUR WORK?
EM: I like to use Swarovski crystals. They have this special sparkle. On a sunny day one crystal can light up the whole room with its colorful sunbeams. And if you are walking on the street, a cloud of little sparkles will follow you around.
WHAT MAKES YOUR DAY SWEET?
EM: Just the thought alone that I can stay athome all day long doing thethings that I like. The thought that I don’t have to go to a “real” job, makes me incredibly happy.
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