THE PAPER WHALE

The Bee’s Knees – Hannah Nunn Part II

{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 longing for a creative 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!