We have the privilege to work alongside a community of talented individuals here at The Paris Market.
Photographer and Local Artist,
Lily Lewin, has entranced us with her hauntingly beautiful imagery, which you can see currently gracing the walls of our store.
We sat down with Lily and asked her what makes her creative clock tick in this Paris Market Artist Q & A.
Q: What most influences the ideas behind your work?
A: I have always been intrigued by the Victorian curiosity of Naturalism and the mania for cataloguing flora and fauna, but they were a pompous lot and I prefer taxidermy through the morbidly irreverent lens of Edward Gorey. The nineteenth century embraced death and created elaborate rituals of mourning, living with their ghosts for a whole season, pinning bits of plaited hair into lockets, covering mirrors, writing poems. And of course their photographs... I love those solemn daguerrotypes and their stiff poses. I also adore Southern folklore and old Spanish sayings.
Q: Tell us a little about your process? Favorite materials you use?
A: I've been experimenting with printing on vellum and then conjuring up fire and water as a final cure. But really it's been about the treasure hunt in our courtyard, finding all sorts of lovely creatures- dragonflies, cicadas, the skeleton of a leaf- and compiling them. Sometimes I'll visit a friend's cabin where there are marvelous trophies from a long ago hunt- a sneering boar's head, pheasants in flight, a snake skin fanned out on the wall. And of course Paris Market has all sorts of goodies!
Q: What’s the most indispensable item in your studio/creative space?
A: my journal and my magnifying glass.
Q: What is your favorite thing about the art of photography?
A: My dear I can't draw and so it's instant gratification!
Q: What international art destination do you most want to visit?
A: Int'l art destination... My charming husband is taking me to Sicily to see the catacombs for my birthday this year. And I love the Prado, I go every year to see their Renaissance portraits, and if I could I would play hide and seek at night in Deyrolle's in Paris among the stuffed zebras and giraffes.
Q: What’s your favorite place to see art locally?
A: Simoni Trapsioni's art studio. She is such an amazing painter!
Q: Do you have any current projects you are working on? Plans for the future?
A: Learning how to work with encaustic wax.
To see more of Lily's photography, check out her photo blog,
Ojobox, and don't forget to stop by and view her pieces on display at The Paris Market.
