Lynn Hatzius Collaboration
It felt ‘meant to be’ working with Lynn for this collection . Not only is she an old friend, who in fact designed my very first label logo “Killer Bunny” nearly 15 years ago. But she is also incredibly talented across multi disciplines. When we first knew each other, fresh out of art college, Lynn made these tiny whimiscal and intricate collages that I proudly still have dotted around my house. Lynn now lives in Sweden with her husband and two beautiful children. I asked her to write about her creative process in developing her print and the story behind it. Where did your inspiration come from first of all? “I take long walks with my children in the forest surrounding our house. When we return, our pockets are often filled with natures precious gifts – pine cones, stones, seedpods, branches, moss, leaves, etc. These are then kept in various places around our home, added to growing collections, serve as pretend food or turned into new creations by tiny crafty hands. I wanted to celebrate these objects, that spark imagination, joy and creativity. Why did you decide to focus on nature to tell a story? “I find nature to be the most magical setting for story telling. My favourite children’s books have always been the ones set in natural environments and featuring plants, gnomes, fairies and animals. As a child I was mesmerised by a book called ‘Die Wurzelkinder’(The Tale of the Root Children) by German author Sybille von Olfers. It personifies flowers and grasses and follows their journey through the changing seasons. Swedish author and illustrator Elsa Beskow of course, makes nature come alive in children’s imagination, like no one else. How do you feel nature is important in terms of being a child? “I think nature can be a valuable retreat for anyone but for a child, whose perception is still so acute and unfiltered, I feel it is almost a necessity to regularly ‘pause’ and relax in a natural environment. Here they can move around and explore freely, without cultural or social expectations. They will not only find an endless source of treasures, to marvel at, to collect, to build with, to inspire, but it also teaches them the wonderful processes of life and the importance of caring for it.” How do you feel motherhood has impacted on your creative practice? “For one I feel my children have given me a new set of senses. I try to pay close attention to how they perceive all the wonders of this world for the first time. This helps me to notice afresh and appreciate all that I thought I knew. To share their intrinsic curiosity and follow their lead, will often spark new visions and ideas. This also applies to the creative process, which is so natural and wonderfully uninhibited in a child. While these aspects serve as a reminder to be more instinctive and less driven by logic, becoming a parent has also made me question the purpose of my practice. I feel like motherhood is awaking a new sense of responsibility as an artist and presents a challenge to my creative intentions.”