Welcome to my monthly interview
feature! I’m so excited to be interviewing all the fabulous artists,
illustrators and designers I’ve meet over the years (both personally and
virtually!) and sharing their artwork and experiences here on Bird Meets Worm.
Look for a new interview on the first Tuesday of every month.
This month I’m pleased as pumpkin pie to be chatting it up with
the lovely Illustrator & Designer, Karma Voce! I’ve been a total fan-girl
of her artwork every since being her MATS classmate a couple years ago! Karma
is an Australia-based artist with 12+ years commercial experience, specializing
in fashion, home décor, wall art and paper products. Her clients include Kmart,
Target, Sky Horse Publishing, Tea Collection and many more. She is influenced
by nature, vintage art & design and travel. You can view more of her artwork here!
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| Don't you just adore the colors in this lovely succulent pattern?! |
Q: Before going solo, you worked for 10 years
in-house as a designer in the fashion industry, creating prints and patterns
for womensware, childrensware, sleepware and lingerie. Tell us a bit about what
was fabulous and what was not-so-fabulous about the experience, and how it has
shaped you as a freelance Illustrator/Designer—from both the artist and the
businesswoman perspective.
A: Fashion
is a very paced environment. You are always thrown in the deep end, and it’s
sink or swim from the get-go! So the pros are it is never boring— as it changes
all the time! You learn how to predict trends a year or so in advance, and you
are constantly learning and developing a broad range of skill sets, across many
mediums, as you have to be able to create in a wide variety of styles,
depending on what is required on the day. A lot of problem solving—which always
keeps your brain engaged!
The
downside is you are often creatively limited, in some way or other, and often
have to be very commercial. Working in fast paced mainstream fashion isn’t
necessarily on par with my own ethics or personal style, so that can be a
sacrifice at times.
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| Pretty, pretty, pretty!!! I'm thinking sweet girl dress, gorgeous sheets or rug! |
A: Oh,
wow, I must admit I think travelling and exploring exotic destinations may well
be my number one passion! I blame my parents who travelled with me in the womb
through India, (my namesake country) and then taking me again at 6 months old,
and then, when I was 3, they promptly left me in the hands of an Indian family
for 3 months, while they went off and did their own thing! I think that has
undeniably had a huge influence on me!
I went
on a big 15 month backpacking trip when I was 20, and another 3 month trip at
25. After I had my son, I didn’t go anywhere for another 14 years! Now I have
been making up for lost time, and going once or twice a year, for the last 3-4 years.
It fills me with so much joy! I love the 6 months of researching beforehand,
almost as much as the trips themselves!
I absorb so much, and feel so invigorated and regenerated when
experiencing new sights, sounds, smells and tastes! I feel like all my senses
are rewarded, and yes, definitely my artwork is influenced in either content or
style on my return! I try and create on the trip, but it is usually more when I
get home that I start to put things onto paper.
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| I totally want these gorgeous vases in my house!! Swooon! |
A:
Definitely, the colouring books were a fave. I wish I had had a lot more time,
but they definitely brought together all of my favourite things—fashion and
travel—and I loved doing them! I hadn’t been to Paris or Japan at the time, so
had to research heavily. I am happy to say I have since been to both places,
and they are even better than I could have imagined!
I would
say more recently would be some fabric collections and illustrations that I had
total creative freedom with! It was really nice to not have to work to someone
else’s brief!
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| Rockstar fashion + coloring pages = super fun!! |
A: Oops,
I may have covered this in question 3!
I loved doing them sooo much! I had a really short deadline, and was
working in-house 4 days a week on top of that, so it was really crazy at the
time, but I think sometimes I work better under pressure! I especially loved
Japan, as they have so many things to put into a book.
I think
colouring books shall always be an enduring part of a kids life, but I think
probably links to the call for ‘mindfullness’, which is the latest health trend,
that I think comes as a need from our very busy lives, where we are always with
a screen in our faces of one kind or another, both at work and at home. A
colouring book, is like a long hot bath, you can give your mind a rest and get
absorbed in the simple repetitive and soothing action of colouring, without having
to think too hard. The outlines are there, so the hard work is done, it’s just
a matter of settling in and choosing your colours and style, and breathing in,
breathing out...sigh…
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| Meow, meow, meeeooow!!! |
A: The
first two times I went as part of a collective (Forest Foundry), and the third
time my agent, Nerida Hansen represented me. So I guess tip # 1 is in that—save
costs by either sharing a booth, or being represented at an agents booth. It
can be an expensive venture on your own, especially for the first time! Having
someone to share a booth with also makes it a lot more fun, and the booth is
always busy and fun to be at.
#2 Make
sure you have fun and really engage and ask questions of your buyers. Having a
good note-taking system is really handy, so you don’t forget things later!
#3 The
follow up is a lot of work, and can be both exhilarating and exhausting, but it’s
super important! And you never know how it will turn out—sometimes the
brightest star that got you super excited fizzles into nothing, and something
else, which you didn’t get a vibe from on the day, can turn out to be really
lucrative! So try and not feel too excited, nor underwhelmed, just keep an open
mind, as you never know what can happen! AND ALWAYS WEAR COMFORTABLE SHOES!
Thank you so much for catching up with us here at
Bird Meets Worm, Karma! We think you’re super fabulous!!