21 October 2010

A Conversation with Pam from Fantail Digital Art


With THAT time of the year coming I am more inclined to wander through Felt and Etsy looking for unique handmade cards to send to friends and family. I especially love the Aroha image from Pam's range. I also discovered in my Fantail Digital Art wanderings wedding invitations, removable graphic wall art (minimalist black word art - nice!), posters and star charts for the kids. They have a distinctive New Zealand feel. And you know, its so easy to do the Christmas shopping here? Come and meet Pam, she's a work at home parent and the wonder woman of this collection of creativeness. Carol 

Who is Fantail Digital Art?
I am a qualified Nursery Nurse, but have always had an interest in photography, graphic design, typography and art as a hobby, reading everything I could and taking online classes. In 2009 I made the decision to work full time in design and Fantail was born.

What’s your “handmade groove ?”
Typography and imagery really inspire me, working digitally with my own photographs enables me to combine these to create prints, cards invitations and customised designs for clients. My latest venture is sticky vinyl wall graphics which have been a lot of fun to create. I also run Photoshop Elements classes along with an artist friend.

What’s on your bedside table right now? (hey, no tidying up or censoring)
My alarm clock, bedside lamp, 2 pens, a necklace, a scrap of paper with ideas jotted down on it, and a little fluffy toy Vole my sister gave me.

Who are your creative role models? What music, books, images, poetry spark your creative fire?
I love the work of David Carson, whenever I lose the creative vibe I browse his work to get me excited and inspired again. I also try to get my hands on a copy of Photoshop Creative magazine whenever I can, and have several graphic design books which I have been known to use as bedtime reading. If I have music playing while I am working it will most often be something like The Great New Zealand Song book cd, or an oldie pulled out of the cupboard like Dire Straits or, dare I say it, even Neil Diamond!

What could you talk late into the night about with like minded people?
Graphic design, photography, travel, planning holidays.

If you could go to three free workshops/creative events this year which ones would they be? What are they about?
I would love to go craft events and markets in other areas of the country, and any photography or graphic design events where I would have the opportunity to discuss work and ideas with others.

How do you balance your creative life with your family, life commitments?
I try to design during the week, and keep weekends and evenings free for family time, but that doesn't always happen, especially if I am in the middle of an exciting project! I am lucky in that my 'creative tools' are mostly all contained in my laptop, so I can work anywhere anytime.
I have designed in the dance school waiting room, under a tree at the beach, and even on a plane before now. My daughter enjoys her own crafts so we often work side by side sharing ideas.

What is your favourite creative screw-up?
Any really hideous screw-ups get fixed with the 'delete' button, so no one ever has to know about them!
I often have happy accidents and come out with something totally different to the original idea. My Aroha print, is a good example, it started as a test page for me to decide on some fonts to use for my wall graphics, but once I had a whole heap of them on the page the idea to add the word love and alternate the size etc just happened and so I went with the flow! I love unexpected results which are a 'mistake' but then take me in another direction!

Kitchen table or studio?
I recently turned our spare room into a dedicated classroom/office and love that I can go in there to work now, I seem to get far more done than I ever did sat at the kitchen table or on the sofa! If I am working in an evening I sit in the lounge with my family.

Do you have a wish list? Can you tell us what’s on it?
In my creative/work life top of the list would have to be an upgrade to Photoshop CS5 and a DSLR camera! I would love to take a graphic design course at university.
In my personal life it would be fun to take off in a camper van and tour the South Island, particularly the west coast.

You can explore and wander through Fantail Digital Art and Felt shop by clicking on the names. Enjoy ...

7 comments:

  1. Great interview! It's nice to get to know you better, Pam. :)

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  2. What a cool conversation, I just love your Aroha picture, cheers Marie

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  3. Nice to know you Pam. You sound very focused and creative. I'll be watching your space. :)

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  4. Wonderful read! Thank you for sharing Pam! (I like your name because my Mum's a Pam too. ;)

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  5. A very interesting interview Pam - it's always nice to have a little window into the "behind the scenes" world of another crafter/designer/artist.

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  6. Thanks for an insight into your creativity Pam!

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