Interview with Karla Pringle

q)Tell me something about yourself….What’s your background…?

a)I have a background in Fine arts, animation, web design, and if you go back far enough- tap dancing.

q)When growing what was the greatest force pushing you towards art?

a)Probably my crazy family

q)Were you inspired/encouraged by any one person to pursue your craft?

a)An art teacher at high school.

q)How would you describe your art to someone who could not see it?

a)That’s always difficult- especially with cab drivers – I generally make a lot of hand actions and then mumble something about children. But if it’s to a sympathetic ear then I generally describe it as a visual story that treats trash and images left over in pop culture like a longing love poem to an ex-lover. There is also something about creating places for things or ideas that haven’t been given a space before. The mediums used are mainly collage, felt pens, pencil, watercolour and I do like office materials like fluro markers, red pens and feint ruled paper.

q)Are certains colours,shapes that you’re drawn to?

a)I have a real fondness for supermarket shopping catalogues, especially when they have those sexy pictures of meat trays with a light parsley garnish. Other than that I like the space left over when you remove an image.

q)What other talent would you like most to have?

a)Math genius

q)What’s your favourite mediums to work in/on?

a)I like to work on paper, there is something placeless about it- Sometimes I imagine I’m drawing in a school yard or in a cherry blossom forest on paper I’d just made- or even at some Elizabethan palace dance. Basically I like the fibres, the history of the medium and its ability to move around so easily. But I also love working on computers, you can really do anything you want with them- especially with layering and transparencies –and they aren’t messy!

q)What artists influence or have influenced you(these need not be visual artists)and how have they done so?

a)John Wolseley, an Australian landscape artist. I love his mark making and I also always liked Mr Squiggle (Australian TV children’s show)- I loved how he made silly squiggles into ridiculous pictures and his explanation of them, and Dr Seuss- I love the oddness and naughtiness of his stories.

q)What non-visual art interest you and does this have an impact on your art?

a)I love gardening, open spaces, and weird things that mainly crazy grandmas would collect, like my peacock thermometer made out of pipe cleaners. I think sometimes my art is a bit of a fan letter to these people and places. There is something about sympathising with the unreachable, untouchable, forgotten or unloved. I really like objects that don’t seem to have a purpose but you can tell they were created out of devotion or obsession.

q)What do you think about artists using the Internet as a forum for sharing their work?

a)I think-bout time too. It makes you instantly connected to so many ideas, opinions and ways of creating. I love it.

q)What is your favourite toy, game or other artefact from your youth(and do you still own it)?

a)Probably my budgie – I called him Tootsie,(from the movie with Dustin Hoffman) and decided he was a homosexual, it gave me a starting point for accepting points of difference. Unfortunately, Tootsie went to the big Hollywood in the sky.

q)Got any new projects planned?

a)I guess I’m always planning little projects, life seems like a misty lake and there is always something else beyond the mist. (more mist)

q)What advice can you give to other artists to help them improve their chances of survival in this global village we call our home?

a)Put your art online, It is such a massive viewing platform.

q)Favourite books/authors?

a)I love Kurt Vonnegut – pretty much anything he’s written. Another favourite book is A Mapmaker's Dream, by James Cowan- it was really inspiring when I read it- I highly recommend it. Also another inspiring novel was Sam Watson’s The Kadaitcha Sung, It moves in another time, written by an Australian Aboriginal about Aborigines past and present in Brisbane, Qld. It’s kind of a science fiction/horror/romance/history – It’s brilliant.

q)Favourite music?

Mmm. my music collection is pretty eclectic, recently I found a collection of music on I-tunes entitled ‘Childish Music’ which is my favourite at the moment. I like instrumental’s that take you on a journey, and story telling lyrics. I also like a lot of bad 80’s music, it amuses me and annoys others. Talking heads are one of my favourite from that era. I have quite a few friends who are musicians so I listen and go and see their music a lot, like Ned Collette (www.nedcollette.com), and a very new Melbourne country/folk band called Slipper (www.myspace.com/slipperband)

q)What do you fear most?

a)Someone touching my wrists and Sharks.

q) Your contacts…

a)You can contact me through my site: www.somewhereafter.com