As you have already heard, Citizen of the Month has come up with a new phenomenon called The Great Interview Experiment. It is a great concept and gives everybody a voice......so here is the interview I conducted of Joanna @ Badaude She is from the UK and a wonderful artist! Now go get a cup of tea, or whiskey (whatever you prefer) and enjoy!
Me: I see that you started your blog in July 2006....What were the factors that determined your decision to blog?
Joanna: I started my blog because - sadly - I had little better to do. I'd come to the end of a contract to provide illustrations for The Guardian (UK national newspaper) and found that - whoops! - I hadn't really arranged enough work to back me up. I realised I had to revitalise my work and try something new, so I started doing drawings with writing on them of things I had seen. A blog/diary seemed a natural form...
Me: What is your favorite part about living in Paris? Do you want to stay in Paris or do you dream of living somewhere new?
Joanna: I actually live between Oxford, UK, and Paris. So my favourite bit about Paris is often, truthfully, that moment when the Eurostar train from London hits the outskirts of the city and begins to run through the high-rise suburbs. I can see French signs and French graffiti, and my heart starts beating faster. It's a moment full of possibility every time and, at the moment, I'm not thinking about living anywhere else. I've also just been asked to write a book about Paris, so I think I'm stuck with it...
Me: Your Art is spectacular! Is this your career, passion, both?
Joanna: Why, thank you! Yes, it's my job. I've worked as an illustrator for about 12 years for UK and international magazines, newspapers, publishers etc. But it was something I'd been fighting up 'til I made the decision to become an illustrator. The school I went to didn't see much future for anyone who wanted a career in art so I did an English degree but spent most of the my lectures scribbling sketches of the lecturers, geometric patterns, and imagined portraits of the characters in the books we were discussing.
Me: How about your family life? Significant other, kids, parents, brothers, sister, etc?
Joanna: I've got the lot: 2 parents, 1 husband and two children. You can find them on some posts in my blog in words, and in the occasional illustration, although I don't frequently write about them. I find I have to have a little time perspective on such close relationships before I can make some work about them.
Me: Do you have any pets?
Joanna: Noooo - I wouldn't be able to travel so frequently. I'm already an 'anti-mum' ('anti-mom'?) who refuses to be in possession of spare batteries, working pens (apart from my Rotrings which the rest of my family are forbidden to touch), paper tissues or even a handbag. Who knows what I'd do with a pet? Though my son has recently decided we should keep turtles...
Me: Is there anything else you think we should know in order to better understand what makes you, well....you?
Joanna: I prefer to keep a little mystery. In fact it's essential for the work that I do. I never quite know what I'm going to get interested, or write about, next.
Now go check out her blog....you will LOVE the art!
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