"Wind and Sea" by Nadia Turner

Earlier this year, Melbourne-based illustrator & artist Nadia Turner exhibited her work in a group show titled "Stories To Tell". Nadia's careful brushwork and detailed compositions are so beautiful, and here, she opens a window for us to peer into her illustrated world...

"Drabarni" by Nadia Turner

I 1. How did you come up with the name "Wayward Harper"? It seems like such a good fit for your illustration work.

NT It's a name I've used for email and whatnot for years and it just felt right to use it for the website. It came about because I play the Celtic harp and I guess at the time I felt rather wayward in nature :-)

"Nunuuika the Huntress" by Nadia Turner

I 2. What led you into a career in illustration?

NT I studied a diploma of illustration at NMIT in Melbourne which was a really good course for teaching the basics of illustration, before that I hadn't really realised that you could actually make a career out of illustration. After finishing the course and working for about a year in unrelated retail and hospitality jobs, I was, I admit, fired from a job and thought wow; I really don't want to go back to working for another boss, so I’ve absolutely got to make this illustration thing work! So I applied for the NEIS scheme, where they teach you the basics of starting a small business, in my case a freelance illustration business, and pretty much just after starting NEIS a publisher contacted me with some work and it all started from there.

"Large City Scape" by Nadia Turner

I 3. Where do you find your inspiration?

NT This is always a hard question, because inspiration can come from almost anywhere can't it?

But I would have to say from old myths and stories, beautiful old photographs, children's books, nature, music, and of course, other artists. But the list does go on and on.

"Beneath the Jackdaws Gate" by Nadia Turner

I 4. What does the music of the Celtic Harp its associated mythology & folklore mean to you?

NT I went through a big phase during high school where I was obsessed by all things Celtic. I started to learn the Celtic harp, and I especially loved that with the harp there is such a long history attached to it, and how, in comparison to other instruments, it's played such a large role in lots of myths and folklore. It's just such a magical sounding instrument that really fires the imagination. I was playing a lot of music back then and art and music were a bit more equal in my life and guess it really influenced the shape of things to come, so to speak, in regards to the themes that I'm now drawn towards in my painting. Art has kind of taken over my life in the past few years and I haven't really had much time to devote to music, so that's something I really need to work on and get back.

"The Jaala Girl" by Nadia Turner

I 5. How would you describe your painting style? Do you carefully plan your subject matter & composition before you begin painting?

NT Well, I work in a few different ways, depending on the project. For my illustration work, yes, everything needs to be planned out with rough sketches and then colour roughs for the client to approve, but in my own personal work I might simply just start a painting after a basic sketch and see where it goes from there.

"Wind King" by Nadia Turner

I 6. What are your favourite materials & techniques? Which of your paintings are personal favourites?

NT I tend to use mainly acrylics paints, on wood, canvas or paper. Sometimes I do some ink and watercolour pieces.

I can become pretty attached to most of my pieces. I think that's natural when you work for so long on something. But at the moment I think "The gift of time to the Red King" and "Wind King" are my favourites.

"The gift of time to the Red King" by Nadia Turner

I 7. What was the Illustration course at NMIT like? Did it just focus on various art techniques, or did it really prepare you for a career in illustration too? Did you find it a difficult industry to break into?

NT I found the course at NMIT really good, all the teachers were wonderful and really talented in their particular areas. It focused on all the different art techniques you might use in illustration (we had an amazing teacher who was brilliant in just about every medium you could think of, so I learnt a huge amount from him) as well as practicing all the various styles of illustration. My actual drawing and painting skills had improved by such a huge amount at the end of the two years and that was the most important thing for me. We learnt a lot about the industry but in truth, I felt a bit unprepared about the business side of being a freelance illustrator so I sort of fell in the deep end with that. But experience really is the greatest teacher when it comes to all of that, you've got to make those stupid mistakes in order to learn.

It can be pretty daunting when you start out when all you have is your student work and you are trying to convince clients that you really are professional! Once you've done that first job it really is so much easier to get hired, so until that happens it can be very difficult industry to break into. Australia also has such a small illustration industry especially when you compare it to America and Britain so that makes it very hard for us aussie illustrators, but hopefully one day that will change.

Little Owl Handpainted Brooch from Wayward Creations (US $40)

I 8. When did you decide to translate your art into products such as brooches & cards, and where can we purchase Wayward Harper designs?

NT I guess it's been a couple of years since I started the brooches and cards to sell at markets. They've evolved a lot since then. I haven't been selling at any markets recently but creations of mine can be bought at In.cube8r Gallery at 321 smith street, Fitzroy or at my etsy shop, which can be found through the 'shop' section of my website.

Little Fawn Handpainted Brooch from Wayward Creations (US $40)

I 9. How did the Spiderlings project come about?

NT Basically, I sent out art samples to Brolly Books and they contacted me about six months or a year later (I can't remember how long exactly) with a project in mind for me. So far I've illustrated three non-fiction children's books for them, "Spiderlings", "The great dinosaur game book", and "My dinosaur ABC".

"Spiderlings" cover art by Nadia Turner

I 10. Tell us about your experiences in illustrating a childrens book – something many of us would LOVE to do! Do you have plans for another book?

NT Hmm... well, it takes up a lot of time! Admittedly publishing isn't always as lucrative as other forms of illustration like advertising, especially when you're just starting out, but there is something very satisfying about finishing all the artwork and finally seeing the book in its finished form, there's something very addictive about that.

I'll probably be doing some more non-fiction books with Brolly Books somewhere in the near future, but of course what I would love to do is work on some books with actual stories and characters so I can really sink my teeth into them, so to speak. And of course, I would love to write and illustrate my own book; I just have to work out what it will be about and try to work out how to write it!

Stegosaurus illustration from "My dinosaur ABC" by Nadia Turner

I 11. Congratulations on your recent exhibition, "Stories To Tell". How did the group show with Alisha Ball and Rhiannon Mowat come about?

NT All very simply really. We all just decided we wanted to start working on a show together so we did! We all studied together so we have that connection and we are all drawn towards similar themes in our painting so our work usually sits together fairly well.

"Druantia and Ava" by Nadia Turner

I 12. What's next for Wayward Harper?

NT Well, hopefully lots of things. I'm trying to work on some new designs for my brooches and cards and I will hopefully have a nice new range of prints out soon. All of these will be available at In.cube8r and through my Etsy shop.

And maybe, hopefully I'll get around to writing a story or two :-)

"When Night Falls" by Nadia Turner

Thank you so much, Nadia, for this insight into your creative life!

To see more of Nadia's paintings, visit www.waywardharper.com, catch up with her blog at waywardharper.blogspot.com, or browse her Etsy store at www.waywardcreations.etsy.com.

Oh Dear by Karlee Rawkins - on display at the Zoo Tomorrow exhibition at Iain Dawson Gallery, Paddington, Sydney.

While I was in Melbourne, I was determined to visit the LIFE inSTYLE trade fair. I've heard so much about it from so many different people & really wanted to see it for myself as I'm planning to exhibit at the next Sydney fair in February (with my label, Non-Fiction). After an unbelievably hectic Thursday July 31st, I drove into Flemington Racecourse at about 8.15pm & had just 45 minutes to devour four floors of design! Both the organisers & the designers had done an incredible job - each & every stand looked stunning & this fair certainly showcases the best in gifts, homewares & things for littlies. Unfortunately I didn't have time to stop & chat to many of the labels we've featured on indie art & design, but I thought it would be a great opportunity to revisit some of our favourites & show you what they've been up to recently! First cab off the rank is Melbourne jewellery designer Natalie Cirillo of A Skulk Of Foxes.

Since we first featured A Skulk Of Foxes a year ago, Natalie has introduced a series of intricate acrylic brooches to her original handcrafted silver jewellery lineup. Both designs above have been created with a solid base layer of ivory acrylic bonded to a carefully cut & contrasting dark design layer. I really love the swirling floral design in Bergen (top, AUD $39). I'd like to imagine myself in Horse & Rider (above, AUD $39) but my other half has stubbornly maintained a "no horseriding" policy for way too long!

The brand new & super-sweet "Forest Scene" (above) is a glass mirror framed by an acrylic mount - which is available in either black or red. It measures 30cm x 30cm and sells for AUD $136. Also available are mirrors featuring incredibly beautiful Wisteria and Creeping Cherry designs.

Natalie has also continued to add to her range of gorgeous animal silhouettes which she handcuts into silver. I adore "Birds on a Wire" (above, AUD $138).
I love wearing short necklaces & chokers, and it's such a clever idea to use the cable as part of the design. Cute "Birdy" pendant below (AUD $79) & the galloping "Horse" brooch (bottom, AUD $127) are more stunning new designs.

The LIFE inSTYLE trade fair was a big success for A Skulk Of Foxes - not surprisingly, Natalie's designs have found many new homes and will be appearing very soon in shops all over (from Australia & New Zealand to the UK)! For more info & to see the entire catalogue of designs, visit www.askulkoffoxes.com.au. I'm looking forward to seeing Natalie again in Sydney in February!

Check back soon for the next report from the Melbourne LIFE inSTYLE trade fair! If you attended as either an exhibitor or a visitor like me, we'd love to hear from you!

P.S. Grace Bonney from Design*Sponge is also currently featuring some of our finest from Melbourne - she's halfway through a four-part feature at http://www.designspongeonline.com.

Mr Panda children's wall art by Look at the Wall

These gorgeous creations are by Melbourne designer Monique Gaspar. She recently launched her label, Look at the Wall, after she was inspired to decorate the walls of her own boy's rooms. She's always loved craft, but working full time as a medical imaging technologist (taking X-rays), she struggled to find enough time. This project, however, expanded quickly into a home-based business which currently offers 10 limited edition designs - each one handmade from a different selection of papers so you know it's unique!

Children's wall art by Look at the Wall

Monique chooses from a vast array of different papers such as handmade and processed papers, magazines, recycled, maps & more... (If anyone wants to find a home for their scrap papers, Monique can put them to good use!)

Cheeky Monkey children's wall art by Look at the Wall

Monique is very flexible, and is more than happy to work with a specific colour scheme or customise an artwork with a child's name. I'm rather taken with the idea of a series of the same design - each one with different details and colour schemes. You can see above how good the different "Cheeky Monkey" designs would look hanging together.

Squirrel children's wall art by Look at the Wall

Look at the Wall collages measure 30 x 30 x 1.2cm and come with a protective polyurethane matte varnish and a sawtooth hanger ready to be hung on your wall. They will surely delight little minds with colours, textures & happy animal friends. Each step of the process has been handmade with love - from initial drawing, to cutting & sanding the wood, then choosing & cutting the paper designs and assembling the collage. Monique likens choosing the complimenting colours to picking out clothes, and considers this the hardest part - not all colours go together!

Cats on a Fence & Hungry Hippos children's wall art by Look at the Wall

Each children's wall art collage is available for AUD $120, from the
Look at the Wall web site, and from the following stockists:

VIC: My Poppet (Caulfield South), 1001 Things for Kids (Carlton North)
NSW: Fragile (Bondi Junction)
SA: One Small Room (Croydon)
ONLINE: Kids Gift List, Wallspace, Urban Child, Beyond Pink and Blue, Beautifly, Shophouse, Giggle Smile Designs, Rosie Pose, Lala Baby, Chic Kids, Mini Echo