A conversation with Maryanne Moodie
Below is my transcribed phone call with Maryanne! It was INCREDIBLE to gain some insight from someone who is so established in many facets of the creative world!
BRIDIE: So, to start off, could you describe your art form?
MARYANNE:Iām a weaver, a textile artist. I create work for walls and I create design for peoples homes, and financial and commercial. Lately Iāve been doing some more instillation work.
BRIDIE: What started you into weaving?
MARYANNE: I was pregnant with my first son, I was an art teacher for 10 years before that, and I was going on maternity leave so I was cleaning out the art store room for a new teacher who was coming in to replace me, she was helping me clear things out and she uncovered this loom and she was like āWhat is this ugly thing? I donāt even know what it is, itās some thing from the 70s or something. We should get rid of it! Go throw it in the bin, Iām not going to be teaching any of that stuff. I was like āListen! Im going to have the perfect child, Iām going to have lots of time to learn new things. Im going to take it home, Iām going figure it out and whatever this thing is - Iāll learn what it is and just spend my pregnancy and maternity leave learning how to do whatever this is.ā
BRIDIE: How has your past influenced your current work?
MARYANNE: Iāve always really loved textiles, and vintage look and 70s was my favourite era. When I was an art teacher I also I had my own vintage clothing business, so Iāve always had a really strong aesthetic. Iāve always been able to put colours and patterns together and styling things in an aesthetically pleasing way. [I] brought all of that knowledge I had before from teaching art and vintage styling, and shoes to my weaving.
BRIDIE: You said you were an art teacher, what lead you to pursue that creative career?
MARYANNE: A lot of the jobs that are available now had not been invented back then, and so they were just like you can be a nurse, you could be a teacher you can be an engineer, there were a very limited number of things that you could do. Yeah so I think teaching was one of things that was easy, I knew what it was and yeah, thats the way I got into that sort of thing - familiar.
BRIDIE: Do you have any inspiration to help kickstart your design process?
MARYANNE: I donāt really look at other peoples work to be inspired. What my favourite thing to do is sit with a feeling, and notice if I have something going on in my life, making me feel one way or another and I can just be more aware of that, and sit down and almost like a meditation and draw shapes while Iām feeling that feeling. [I], sort of, just notice around me. Just being more aware of whatās going on inside as well as outside out of me directly, rather than me going to an art gallery or looking at Pinterest. So I think I try to do that that a little more, I try to make it come more from inside rather than outside influences.
BRIDIE: So that would make it more unique and a bit more meaningful āØ
MARYANNE: Yeah exactly! And then its more, not necessarily, the end product then, its more about going for the process of actually getting to know myself and getting to know what I need to have a conversation with myself about. Say Iāve noticed something and Iām feeling angry or jealous or upset [about] something that happened and I can sit with that feeling rather than pushing it away. I can sit with that feeling and turn into art and by the end Iāve created something. I come out with not only a piece of artwork and knowing myself a little bit better.
BRIDIE: WOW, thatās an awesome process of reflection, I really like that!
MARYANNE: Yeah its heaps Ā better than looking at other peoples work
BRIDIE: In terms of your design process, do you draw those feelings or emotions first, and then kind of get shapes to then further explore with weaving?
MARYANNE: Yeah, sometimes the feeling comes first, sometimes I can just sit and Iāll notice wow Iām feeling reflective. I doesnāt need to be somewhere beautiful, it doesnāt need to be an ocean or a park, I just just sit down in a car park and notice Iām feeling what Iām feeling. And look at the shapes that are around me, it might be a wheel, the shape of a windscreen, somebodyās someones t-shirt. Everything is valid it doesnāt have to be beautiful and natural, its your life, its the story of your life.
BRIDIE: Do you have to force yourself to sit down Monday to Friday 9-5 to produce work?
MARYANNE: So, I have two children. And so I donāt have to force myself to do anything. Iām desperate to have time to do my art and I spend a lot of time being with my children and mothering cooking and cleaning and all those things when you have a family so when I have my three days in the studio it is like, itās amazing and because Iām using it, itās not a job, itās not like Iāve got to do it to get money, Iām working through my emotions. Itās almost like art therapy.
BRIDIE: Do you ever have time to collaborate with other arts or have you in the past?
MARYANNE: Yeah, Iāve collaborated with other artists, Iāve collaborated with companies. To make a quilt, Iāve done rug designs. Iāve done clothing, which is really great, really enjoy doing because it pushes the boundaries of what I usually expect the outcome to be. And so I have to like spend my reality of it all in order to make it work with somebody else visions as well
BRIDIE: Do you reach out to potential clinch or or do people contact you?
MARYANNE: At the beginning I did a lot of giving my work away for free. I also found people who I really loved what they did, and I just did art swaps with people if I could because as artists we can never afford each others work. So by doing an art swap, we are showing that we appreciate each other without having to hand over a lot of dollars. Now I have a couple of agencies who represent me as well and they go off and find work for me and thatās why Iām getting more hotel clients and more corporate clients. They act as an intermediary for that. As I show my press on social media, other people more commercial clients come from.
BRIDIE: Do you plan on taking your weaving in new directions in the future?
MARYANNE: I have never had any plans to do with anything or any part of my life. Everything has always just been noticing how Iām feeling at that time and if everything feels good and everyone is happy in my family we can proceed along the path weāre going. And thats been the same with my weaving if I have too solid of a plan with what direction I want to go, then I am going to Ā miss out on opportunities that pop up. So, I am just very fluid. Iām also super privileged that I have a husband and he pays the rent no matter what, which means that my art is extra money for our family. So a lot of artists might look at me and think āwowā. So yes, I can support myself with my work but I also donāt have to take on the jobs that I donāt want to, in order to pay my bills and rent.
BRIDIE: Do you think that changes the way you design?
MARYANNE: Iāve knocked back Urban Outfitters and Anthropology because I didnāt want to work with them for their ethical history, whereas if I had to pay my bills, I probably would have said yes. I couldnāt have taken such strong stance and I would have had to take on more projects that I wasnāt so inspired by or didnāt align with my ethics. I just recognise how privileged I am and where I fit.
BRIDIE: One last question, what advice can you give to design students?
MARYANNE: Just keep doing it, do it everyday, and every time you design something try something different. I think yes, go and look at what other people are doing because thatās how you learn, but eventually youāll start to figure out what your own voice is. Youāre not going to do that unless you just keep trying and designing everyday and trying a bunch of different things. Mix it up, if youāre like ā oh wow I really like this persons colour paletteā, borrow a little bit of that colour palette, but then do it with something else, oh but this other person creates shapes in this way and puts these interesting things together. But take a little bit from everywhere, in order to always create something new.
