I am pleased to present Danielle's work, we exhibited work in the same show last year in Toronto. Her work is so lovely, and it's amazing how she can create such unique pieces with other people's family heirlooms. In this post she talks about her own family heirlooms, and also the struggle between being an artist and being a designer, which I know all too well!
Name (Real or Screename): Danielle Hession / Danny&Dani
URL (Blog, Website): http://www.dannyanddani.blogspot.com/, http://www.daniellehession.com
Location (Where are you from?): Grew up in Kingston, On/Aspen, Co (Currently in Toronto)
Q: Describe your work in 10 words or less.
A: Playing with the old, the loved, the forgotten.
Q: What do you like to work with (magazines, photographs, vintage)? Be specific!
A: Found vintage photos, wallpapers, packages, maps, letters, journals, notebooks. Anything old!!! I also love letraset and rub-off decals that are found at scrapbooking stores. Recently, I have been playing with coloured and patterned tissue paper and my newest obsession is washi paper tape from Japan.
Q: How long have you been creating collages and what made you start?
A: I started making collages with rubber stamps and different papers when I was about 10 years old. I had a little card company with my friend at one point. I kept visual journals obsessively since I was pretty young; collaging my little heart out. I tried to focus soley on Graphic Design in university but always got in trouble from teachers for veering on the artsy/illustrative side. It has only been 4 years that I have been collaging professionally. I never thought I could make a living from it so I made plans to be a graphic designer.
Q: Are you solely an artist, or do you work in another profession?
A: Happy to say that I am solely and artist. Most of my business comes from custom artwork. I create pieces from people's old photos and favourite memories.
Q: Do you have any formal art training?
A: I majored in Graphic Design at OCAD. I always tried to do art workshops on the side. I did some amazing workshops with Claudine Hellmuth, a collage and illustration artist. I took one painting class at OCAD and created some disastrous attempts at realism.
Q: Explain your favourite techniques.
A: My absolute favourite technique is image transfer. I am always trying to learn new image transfer techniques but the one I use most is the gel medium transfer. I have also had some great results with acetone transfers but I could do without the toxic fumes. I love creating any sort of tranparency whether it be with masking tape, tissue paper or images.
Q: Describe your favourite piece ever created.
A: This is a hard one. Some of the custom pieces I created are favourites because I get to see the reaction from the client. If I had to choose one favourite it would have be a piece called "To Make Believe." It is an image of a little girl pulling a toy boat.
For the longest time, I thought that my family didn't have any vintage photos. A year ago I was given a few boxes of old photos that were found in the attic of my grandmother's sister's house. The photo of the little girl in "To Make Believe" is a complete mystery. No one in the family knows who she is. I love the innocence and playfulness that comes across in this piece.
Q: What other artists do you admire?
A: I feel very fortunate to be surrounded by people who inspire me. My mom makes beautiful art and she got me started on my creative path. My boyfriend constantly surprises me with his creative projects. My close friend, Kathryn Macnaughton is a strong influence as well. I also love all of the artists featured on Notpaper!!!!!
Thanks Danielle!