Who is Vanessa as an artist?
Vanessa is a textile artistwhose work is developed from the reuse of materials. This has been mymission, and I always strive to highlight what is happening to the environment, raising people’sawareness of our actions to help secure the future for the next generations.
How is your art sustainable?
All the material I use is waste from the textile industry. What is considered waste for the big industries isgood material for me because I use it in small quantities. Aside from that, there are also the themes that Iaddress in my work: the issue of sustainability, trying to be more ecological, the seabed… Finally, thetechniques I use, which are manual techniques, are also environmentally friendly, and I try to preservethem with my work by teaching new people how to do them.
How would you describe your creative process?
We have two departments at the atelier: the orders department and the more creative one. I alwaysdevelop a collection, and clients can order the pieces based on this collection. From this collection, Imake drawings so that we can then produce the pieces for these clients, who are often decorators andarchitects, who always need the drawing to fit in with their projects.Then there’s the creative part. I have ideas, I know what I want to represent in my head,and I startcreating. So, every day, the idea evolves too, and that’s why I don’t like to follow a drawing when I’m inthis more creative department. I have an idea of what I want to do, and then I start producing. Over time,the piece created itself, andthe idea I had initially had changed. It ends up being very spontaneous, verymuch going with the flow.
We always seea lot of colour in your pieces. Has colour ever been the beginning of your work?
It’s always the beginning.It’s always from the colours that I start a piece of work. I see the colours, I likethis one, I like that one, and I want to create something withthese colours together. As the days go by,some colours might change, but the colour is the main part.
If you had to choose three colours to define you or your work, what would they be?
I love greens, I love old pinks and whites, they’re my favourite colours.
And are there any colours you’ve never worked with before?
I think I’ve worked with all of them.All the material I have here, all the colours I get, is what exists. SoI’mnot going to dye new ones, I’m not going to make new colours. Sometimes, there are colours that I havetoo much of, and sometimes, there are colours that I have too little of. And that will also guide where mywork goes. If the client wants an XPTO orange, I don’t have that XPTO orange; it has to be with anotherone. So, colour is the basis of the initial part of this creative process.
Can you define Vanessa as an artist in three words?
In three words? That’s a difficult question. I would say dedication, patience, and creativity because I thinkit’s very important, and I hope I never lack it.
