Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Meet Brett, Diana and Emma from Saltmarsh and Samphire


Meet Brett, Diana and Emma from Saltmarsh and Samphire

If you enjoy their interview pop over and chek out the links to their work 

Folksy shop 


 Social media sites



Emma is at www.organdie.co.uk 


Intro:

We are three artists collectively known as Saltmarsh and Samphire.

Brett Gardner is a photographer who recently made the leap from wedding photographer to nature and landscape photographer following his true passion and has been short listed in national competitions including British Wildlife Photographer of the Year. 

Diana Stickley originally trained as a graphic designer (possibly a few more years ago than she would care to mention...), and has worked as a visual artist and printmaker for a number of years in Norfolk.

Emma Stickley has a background in visual arts, having studied The History of Art and Design at University.  She terms herself a trainee photographer, being a very recent convert to the medium.·      

What is the main, Art/Craft you are known for?

We are mainly known for photography and fine art in the form of linocut prints.

Our favourite crafts would be printmaking and photography.  Diana loves to take inspiration from the seaside and beach as she lives close to the North Norfolk Coast.  Beach huts and sandcastles feature prominently in her work.  Even tiny pebbles found on the beach can provide inspiration for a fine art piece later on.
Brett is passionate about the natural world.  He is based in Lincolnshire near the Wolds and takes inspiration from the woods near to his home (as well as the coast when he come to Norfolk every few weeks).  His macro/close up photography can take the patience of a saint, but the results he achieves are well worth the huge efforts.
Emma loves flower photography and enjoys taking photos of plants in situ as well as cut flowers in a simple studio set up.

Is this a full time job?/Second income/ Or hobby for you?

Diana has been a self employed artist for a number of years and Brett left full time employment to pursue a career in photography.  Emma jumped the employment ship in August 2013, and that is when Saltmarsh and Samphire started.  So now Saltmarsh and Samphire is our main source of income - scary stuff!


What do you love most about what you create and the process of creating it?

We like printmaking and photography because of the huge variety of effects and results you can achieve with the same set of tools.  The possibilities end only with your imagination.


Is this your total creative output or do you also work in other areas and if so what are they?

We don't work as such in other creative areas, but Diana and Emma are partial to a little bit of knitting and crochet from time to time.  Doodling is another activity that Emma enjoys (not that she thinks she is overly good at it!). 

Do you think that its important to specialise in one area or to have lots of creative outlets?  Can one impact on the other, in positive or negative ways?

We think that you can gain a lot of inspiration from any form of creativity.  It can be extremely positive to mix and match from different areas of your life - who knows what you might come across! 

Perhaps the only negative thing that comes from having a lot of different interests, is that it does tend to eat up all your time - not enough hours in the day we say!

What gets you out of bed in the morning and motivated to create wonderful things?

We are all lucky to live in very beautiful parts of the country, so really you only have to look out of the window to feel that something very wonderful could be created on any day.  The only gripe we have had recently is the amount of rain and wind - not pleasant for photography, and of course horrendous for those who have suffered in the floods.

Do you have the support of friends and family when crafting and do you and they value what you do?

Yes!  We are all supported in numerous ways, from free board having moved back home, to support on social media sites.  It all adds up and makes us feel like we have made the right decision even on the tough days.

Describe what your prefect Art/crafting day would be like?

Tea and biscuits might feature heavily here!  Perhaps a walk down to the beach to gather some inspiration from nature, maybe a sneaky ice cream on the quay before heading home to hopefully create a piece of work that will remind someone else of their days by the seaside.

What are your aims and goals for the future.

We would love to make a success of Saltmarsh and Samphire.  It is still fairly early days for us as yet, but we are very excited about the direction we are going in now.  



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