abotonar collage 20×20 (2014)
Briefly describe the work you do.
My work is comprised of painting, drawing, collage, photography, shibori and weave. The presence of technical of textiles, the relation of the men with the textiles, as well as human consciousness. The pieces for these have been composed of items such as clothes: shirts, jeans, buttons, blankets, drawings, paintings, paper, stones, tea bags. These items exist as a part of my imaginary and my dreams, and I have put them in my works as forms of representation of my daily life I use textile art for explore concepts and to see how each idea is expressed. My process is to work with a idea present in my dreams or my awareness
Tell us about your background and how that has had an influence on your work and on you as an artist?
I grew up in Santiago city and I had access to art classes and paint, during my adolescence. My father is sculptor and when I was a child my mother was seamstress, she worked in home, so textile materials they were always around in house and I became accustomed to them at an early age. I learned to sewing in a machine to the seven years, I toward clothes to my dolls.
In 2009 I was sixteen and take class of art in the school, my professor teach me painting with oil and draw with charcoal, my love of art is thanks the professor.
The concept of the artist studio has a broad range of meanings in contemporary practice. Artists may spend much of their time in the actual studio, or they may spend very little time in it. Tell us about your individual studio practice and how it differs from or is the same as traditional notions of “being in the studio.”?
I don’t work in my studio, I work in the kitchen. I see the studio as a surface where I can assemble my work and contemplate this. For me “studio” is more like a white wall; my kitchen it is a place where I feel like a alchemist and experiment. So theoretically I stay every day in this place: I work, I eat, I read, I think and cook. The inspiration finds me wherever I am, especially when I wake up.
Metamorfosis, Photography 63×43 2014
What roles do you find yourself playing that you may not have envisioned yourself in when you first started making art?
I had no idea that I would work with cloths although my mother worked with this materials, when I started thought “I will be painter for the rest of my life”, but I was just a child. I had a really great inspiration during university, when I was in the workshop of painting I was bored and I needed explore in other workshop of art, there I met a artist of textiles , she showed us steps and tips necessary to make good jobs, the workshop was hard, but I learned much.
When do you find is the best time to make art?
Do you set aside a specific time everyday or do you have to work whenever time allows? When I was in the university time ago I worked every days: day and night.
But now the best time to make work for me is in the night when everyone sleeps and the house is quiet. In the day I do various jobs that finances my art work. I don’t work daily on my art, I left of the university two months ago and yet I don’t find the balance between art and job.
manual versus digital weave 34×25 2014
How has your work changed in the past five years? How is it the same?
I always wanted study art, but my work has changed in the conceptual and the technique. As opposed to five years ago, I’m not painter, I making art with clothes and fibers, textil materials. These materials mark to my history and the columbian culture that is a big influence to me, I travelled at 2010 to Iquique, in the north of Chile and saw the columbian textiles, and was love a first sight.
When you work with this materials you don’t see the process and you don’t back begin, doing so become less arbitrary, nothing is random. However, in my process i don´t work until finish, I try to become more aware of the I see in the moment, and if I like the process I stop and start other piece with the same material. I experiment much with the materials and try to discover his potential in my art
How have people such as family, friends, writers, philosophers, other artists or even pop icons had an impact on the work you do?
Various influences on my work include my family, professors, other artists, writers, etc. A few include my parents, Julio Cortázar, Haruki Murakami, Gonzalo Díaz, I try to read aesthetic texts in my free time, Mario Benedetti, among many.
Have you ever been pulled in the direction of a pursuit other than being an artist? What are your other interests?
Baker. I love cooking cakes and have really enjoyed it. I love making things with my hands and I’m vegan so is a challenge to me cook without milk and egg. I cook to my family and when I see they enjoy my cakes is the best gift.
About
Born in Santiago at Chile, Nicole is a full time artist in Chile. She received her degree from the Universidad de Chile. Her work has been exhibited nationally and she have first place in a competition of art. Nicole’s work is in a number of corporate collections including that University Andres Bello.
All images copyright of the artist and used with their permission.
365 Artists | 365 Days 