Into The Artist's world with Stacey McCall

Welcome to 'Into the Artist's World'

Each month i will ask an artist who is teaching a class with STILL a few questions about themselves and their practise

I’m starting things off this month with Australia based artist, Stacey McCall. Enjoy!

 

Ellie - Are you a podcast listener or music whilst you work? Or perhaps you prefer silence? Anything you’ve loved listening to recently?

Stacey - I love listening to podcasts while I’m driving or out walking, but prefer silence in my studio. I used to listen to music, I had a playlist of various songs that would get me in the painting zone but lately I just need the quiet (maybe a little bit of talking to myself).  Some favorites are : Talking with Painters ( Australian with Maria Stoljar), Art Wank ( another Australian Podcast ), The Creative Kind ( Julie Batttisti ( New Zealand ), The Great Women Artists podcast, Katy Hessel, Art Juice, Sentimental Garbage (Caroline O’Donoghue)…there’s many more! I’ve just listened to The Slightly Foxed podcast’s interview with Laura Freeman about her book on Kettles Yard, reading that book at the moment.

 

Ellie - When are you most creative? A certain time of day or year?

Stacey - I do feel like a get a real creative burst at this time of year, after a bit of a summer break where I’ve only had my sketchbook with me and time to let ideas swirl around. By the time I come back to my studio after any time away I do really benefit from time to just think about my work but at a bit of a distance. I usually have a real burst of energy around 4pm in the afternoon, I can’t explain it, maybe it’s the day in my studio finally coming together in a burst of energy but also knowing family things are looming and I need to get some work done. 

 

Ellie - Which is your favorite season and why?

Stacey - I am absolutely an Autumn person. Summer can be brutal in Australia and as much as I love the beach, I definitely love the cooler months more. There is just something about Autumn light, the transition from those hot days, the palette of Autumn is just so beautiful, and it is also when we harvest our walnuts ( my husband and I grow walnuts two hours from Melbourne,  a farm we have had for 26 years, 5000 trees so it’s a busy but lovely time). It is a such a gorgeous time of year on the farm.

Ellie - Are you an early riser or a night owl?

Stacey - I am definitely an early riser. When my girls were little I loved getting up before them and having some quiet time, knitting or folding washing with a coffee, whatever, just to have that time to myself. I still love getting up early but can also find myself watching YouTube videos about painting or knitting until way too late.

 

Ellie - What does this year look like for you? What are your intentions? Does it feel like a time of wintering or Luminescence?

Stacey - Definitely luminescence. I have an art trip planned for April with an artist friend, we have been planning it for a few years now, we are heading to Paris and the UK, so absolutely a year of inspiration and enrichment. 

Ellie - Tell me about a time when you were creatively stuck. When and how did you get out of it?

Stacey - I don’t think I get stuck so to speak but definitely tend to float between inspired and feeling a bit lost. For me I just need to go out to my studio (which is in my backyard) and start pottering. Get the sketchbooks out, open books and look at art. I also find it helpful to look back through older work and identify what it is I like about it, what ones stand out and use those works as a bit of a bridge to new work. I also love watching other artist’s paint so I have some favorite vloggers on YouTube that I will turn to such as Sandi Hester, or I will watch a documentary or interview, one of my favourite artists to watch is Rose Wylie, just love everything about her. 

 

Ellie - What’s your relationship with Nature? Do you draw inspiration form the natural world? How and here?

Stacey - My mother-in-law was a woman who recieved so much joy from nature. While I was trying to wrangle five small children she would be telling me to “ look at that sweet little wren Stacey”…I get that now, nature in its greatness or it’s tiny minute details, when we are in that moment of observation, we can feel such joy. When my girls were young a friend and I produced a TV show about reconnecting children to nature, it was such an important thing to me as a parent that my girls connected and cared for their natural environment. I think it is when I am in nature that I really connect to my intuition. Things make sense, I get clarity about things whether it’s my art, my children, myself, I need that time alone in nature so much and I can tell when I haven’t had enough of it, when I’m noticing that little wren. 

 

Ellie - What is an unexpected influence? Something which gave you a surprising jolt of creativity and stimulated your work?

Stacey - I can’t remember when I first came across the work of Ben Nicholson. I was probably scrolling Instagram and saw one of his paintings. I went down an absolute rabbit hole and soon after found myself on a train from London to Cambridge with a ticket to Kettles Yard. Goblet and Two Pears is probably one of absolute favorite paintings and there it was in real life. I think the thing about Ben Nicholson’s work but also of so many painters in the UK at the time was although they were influenced by the modernist movement in Europe, often their subject matter remained quiet and domestic. Sir William Gillies is another painter that I absolutely love, someone who post war favored a peaceful life, painting and teaching, often painting his sister’s handmade pottery, the simple and beautiful objects of our domestic environment. Having been at home with five children for such a long time, these painters almost gave me permission to paint the place I had spent so much time, they validated my domestic subject matter in a way.