{"id":20736,"date":"2012-12-06T09:00:22","date_gmt":"2012-12-06T14:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.uncommongoods.pro\/?p=20736"},"modified":"2013-01-10T16:45:00","modified_gmt":"2013-01-10T21:45:00","slug":"designers-studio-audrey-heller","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uncommongoods.pro\/blog\/2012\/designers-studio-audrey-heller\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside the Artist’s Studio with Audrey Heller"},"content":{"rendered":"

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I remember the sample meeting (where each week our buyers present uncommon products they’re considering for our line-up) when Audrey Heller’s fantastical photographs were first introduced. The team was immediately captivated by the whimsical scenes, and not a buyer could wait to add her work to our collection. <\/p>\n

Remembering the excitement around her creative pieces like End Well<\/a>, Ripened<\/a>, and my personal favorite, Bound<\/a>, I couldn’t wait to get a tour of the studio where Audrey brings her miniature models to life. Since Audrey is in San Francisco, I couldn’t visit her workspace in person; but being a photographer and all, Audrey was happy to snap some photos of her own to provide virtual tour of her studio.
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What are your most essential tools?<\/strong>
\nEyes. Light. Focus. Patience. NPR. Coffee. And then a bunch of tech stuff.<\/p>\n

I was a lighting designer and director for theater, and I use those skills all the time. I create and light my little scenarios, using many of the same design theories that I used on a big stage, but adjusting my tools to tiny scale. So what I would do with a 400 pound follow spot in the theater, I might do with a flashlight in my studio.<\/p>\n

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Where do you find inspiration within this space?<\/strong>
\nI love to be surrounded by evidence of creative thinking, reminders of unique places I have been, and objects with histories.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve spent the last twelve years traveling to art shows across the country. That connects me to a huge variety of artists, people who present and support the arts, and arts educators. All of those connections, combined with the array of sublime and ridiculous experiences I have on the road, remind me that there are always new things to explore. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Where does down time fit into a day in the studio?<\/strong>
\nI\u2019ve started to learn to play the ukulele. I have absolutely no musical training or aptitude, so I\u2019m just dreadful. But I\u2019m slowly getting less dreadful, and that\u2019s really amazing. It is hard, it takes a lot of focus, progress is slow…but it is such a sweet and silly little sound that I can\u2019t get too worked up about how bad I am. Working on a three chord song is a great way to reset my brain. <\/p>\n

How do you set goals for yourself?<\/strong>
\nHa. I usually set goals by committing to an external deadline. Deadlines are great for me, because without them, I would never consider anything finished. So I look for things that will stretch me, maybe scare me and then I say yes. From there, it\u2019s the calendar and lists! <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Where does collaboration come into play with your craft?<\/strong>
\nTheater is the ultimate collaborative art, and I struggle with working alone. I really love working with people, incubating and nurturing ideas.<\/p>\n

In this series my collaborators are silent, but essential. The figures I use are made for model train sets, and they all come from the same manufacturer. They are crafted with incredible precision and care, and have made it possible for me to create work with much more depth than if they were not, in themselves, so fascinating.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

How and when do you decide to celebrate a victory?<\/strong>
\nVictory is its own reward, right? When it\u2019s not, ice cream!*<\/p>\n

* San Francisco is the home of some mighty fine purveyors of frozen treats, but I travel a lot, so I\u2019m always interested to hear of new places to try..feel free to offer your suggestions!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

What quote keeps you motivated? What does that quote mean to you?<\/strong>
\n\u201cYou are here.”<\/p>\n

It is simple, and profound. Sometimes it\u2019s just a locational fact, sometimes it is great ponderable wisdom of the ages. It is a reminder that I often need. My curiosity can become a liability and lead to distraction. When I remind myself to be present just where I am, I get a lot more out of what is in front of me and who I\u2019m with. It\u2019s delightful that the phrase appears in the world, unlooked for. When I see it, even on a map in a subway station, it reminds me to stop and look around.<\/p>\n

How do you recharge your creativity?<\/strong>
\nSerious play is the best recharger for me. Learning, experimenting, trying out new things, can put me in that childlike state of mind where I\u2019m open to new ideas and new ways of doing things. I don\u2019t mean \u201cchildlike\u201d to sound simple, or superficial. I mean REAL child-like: when the world is fresh and full of wonder, and a little scary and mystifying and out of control. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

What advice would you offer the you of 5 years ago?<\/strong>
\nDon\u2019t be so afraid of making mistakes. I don\u2019t get better by figuring out how to do things right; I get better by doing things. Jump in.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I remember the sample meeting (where week where our buyers present uncommon products they\u2019re considering for our line-up) when Audrey Heller\u2019s fantastical photographs were first introduced. The team was immediately captivated by the whimsical scenes, and not a buyer could wait to add her work to our collection. Remembering the excitement around her creative pieces like End Well, Ripened, and my personal favorite, Bound, I couldn\u2019t wait to get a tour of the studio where Audrey brings her miniature models to life. Since Audrey is in San Francisco, I couldn\u2019t visit her workspace in person; but being a photographer and all, Audrey was happy to snap some photos of her own to provide a virtual tour of her studio.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":21137,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[743],"tags":[557,40,34,37,961,910],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uncommongoods.pro\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20736"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uncommongoods.pro\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uncommongoods.pro\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uncommongoods.pro\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uncommongoods.pro\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20736"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.uncommongoods.pro\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20736\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uncommongoods.pro\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21137"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uncommongoods.pro\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20736"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uncommongoods.pro\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20736"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uncommongoods.pro\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20736"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}