Lyndie dourthe biography of williams
I have been following this french artist on Facebook and on her blog because I’m fascinated with how her work is a cross between jewelry, hand-sewing, installations, bouquets. Her flowers are simply amazing, such beautiful colors and textures.
- Can you describe your artwork?
I’ve been a visual artist for 10 years now. I design textile sculptures and installations, as well as unique jewellery pieces. I started exploring the universe of botany, by creating hand painted, crafted and assembled flowers. A part of world that I have named ‘Naturalia’. I kept on enlarging the field of this kind of research to natural sciences working on insects, birds and other animals. For these themes, the technique of textile printing is: each piece is printed by a special transfer paper and then stuffed like a little cushion.
Next, the theme of human anatomy, always with the same technique, and that was transformed into research aboutcuriosities, still life, and ex-voto (“an offering to show gratitude or devotion”). This became my ‘Mirabilia’ collection. What mostly interests me in the theme of Time passing by, Time that preserves or decomposes. These pieces are quite often decorated by several materials coming from popular traditions such as the danish or mexican pleated and cut paper techniques.
Everything is structured and presented like personal cabinet of curiosities. ‘Mirabilia’ absorbs actually most of my working time.
My work is an attempt to have a strange, delicate view on our surrounding world, a twisted vision, between violence and smoothness, blossom and putrefaction.
Bones, blood, fruits, butterflies,… everything that is ephemerous and fragile; that fascinates and repulses us at the same time. Every single textile piece tempts to establish the link between body, science, and poetry.
- What piece have you completed most recently?
An installation for a shop window in Nice : http://lyndiedourthe.blogspot.fr/2016/02/le-petit-paris.html – a collaboration with a french design brand.
- What are you most proud of?
To continue to do what I want in my work and to be able to say NO to boring or underpaid projects!
- What advice can you give artists?
Choose your path!
- Can you tell us about your background and how this has had an influence on your work?
My background: I have a diploma in Textile Design from a public applied art school in Paris (School of Design, Fashion, and Creation) in 2002. In France this diploma is called a B.T.S (Brevet de technicien supérieur) – generally 2 years. After my diploma, I did different internships in different companies (very small to very big ones) for 1 year. After these experiments, I decided to become my own boss (!)
The school taught me the basic techniques in creation and imagination and a lot of textile and others techniques, but, not how to start a business… I learned that by my own. I still use a lot of techniques I learned every day, like to make a range of colors or dyeing, for exemple.
- What is your studio like? When is the best time for you to work?
I moved to Nice from Paris last august… Now, I work at home (before in a studio with 7 other artists). I work all the day long but I prefer the morning when everything seems still possible… 😉 I try to keep my ‘home studio’ tidy, to have clear ideas.
- What was your best decision?
To continue with my artistic vision.
- Has your work changed in the past few years? How so?
I don’t know. I go without looking back. I only think about today.
- Who inspires you?
A lot of artists: Louise Bourgeois / Matisse / Annette Messager / Klimt / Rothko / Cocteau / Lucian Freud / Bacon / Françoise Petrovitch / Nathalie Du Pasquier / Rinko Kawauchi / I forget many others !!!
- What are your other interests?
Flowers / botanic / insects / mineralogy / mushrooms / birds / fishes / etc… : Nature. And walking (very important for me) + taking pictures + music + cooking + see people I like…. = ordinary things !
http://lyndiedourthe.blogspot.fr