Interview with Heidi Reyes [fiberwoman15] on Whohub

Heidi Reyes [fiberwoman15]

ART

What do you do? How do you define yourself as an artist?

My work is rooted in my Mexican and American heritage, thus it is a fusion of two different ways of seeing the world. It grows out of my experiences of living and traveling in Mexico and the US. I work in several mediums. The ones that I am focusing on at this point are tapestries, digital prints, freeform crochet, and textile design.

What is your message?

I believe that art can reflect the beauty of what we see around us.

Your biography in four lines.

I am a Mexican American artist.
I am a volunteer.
I am interested in science.
I am interested in learning and I read about various topics.

Do you upload your work to the web? If so, where could we see it?

I have a website for my work and my other interests. Here is the link:
http://fiberwoman15.googlepages.com/
In addition, I have a blog. This is the link:
http://tapestrycrochetandmore.blogspot.com/

How is an idea born? For you, what is inspiration?

Many times I am inspired by nature or by objects that I see around me in daily life. I also get ideas from my hobbies or from reading science articles. A lot of times, I will be able to visualize an idea in my mind's eye before I start working.

What role does technology play in your creative process?

I use technology to design my digital prints and textiles. It is definitely an integral part of my creative work. I even use it to create the cartoons for my tapestries.

When do you get your best ideas?

I think I get my best ideas when I am taking picures or looking at my email newsletters.

How do you evaluate whether an idea is good or not?

For me, evaluating an idea is an intuitive thing. When I think about it or talk about it with someone, I can fairly quickly get a sense, a gut feeling, whether it is good or not.

When and how did you begin to see yourself as an artist?

I think I have been an artist all my life. I used to draw when I was a child. I stopped drawing for several years, but took it up again in college. I also took a weaving class in college and it was then that I realized that I could do weaving for the rest of my life.

Which artists do you admire and how do they influence your work?

The artists I most admire are Frida Kahlo and Vincent Van Gogh. The colors that they used in their paintings are amazing! Color is very important to me when I work.

How do you feel about the fact that the pieces exhibited in contemporary art museums are often of artists already deceased?

I think that artists should be able to have their work shown and appreciated during their lifetimes. I see no reason why artists should have to face the prospect of being obscure while they are alive. I think the common belief that an artist only gets famous and sells work after he or she has died should be abolished.