Interview with Tim Budden [timbudden] on Whohub

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What is your message?

I tell stories. These stories are about the things I see, hear and experience. I believe in craftsmanship and so I create these stories through the traditional art form of Chinese paper cutting. However I don't use paper, I use a traditional silk which is stronger, longer lasting and nicer to look at.

Your biography in four lines.

Born and raised in Wales, I knew from the age of 8 that I wanted to be an artist. Graduating with an MA, I have studied performance art, sculpture and cartoon drawing. Moving to Taiwan to work (non art related) I suffered 'Artist's block' for almost 10 yrs until I discovered Chinese paper cutting. Carving the paper with a fusion of Western and Chinese imagery is what I do now.

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

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

Initial ideas may be born out of something I see, feel, experience or research. Then it is a long process of working and reworking the image until I am completely satisfied with it. Then I'll transfer the image to silk and cut it. Often though, new stories and ideas get sucked in along the way which somewhat changes the original idea.

What role does technology play in your creative process?

As the artist / craftsman I need to work with materials I can physically manipulate and touch. There is something very sensuous about the tactile process, touching and caressing the material as I work with it.
Technology serves to display and promote my work through my website and blog.

Art is a form of communication. It is inseparable from the culture in which it is created -the history, politics, science, media and fashions. Art reflects on and analyses all these things through the artist's eyes.

When do you get your best ideas?

Late at night while I’m winding down before sleep or early in the morning before my mind is cluttered.

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

Ideas pop up often at the most inopportune moments. I have to let them sit awhile. Maybe a day, maybe a week, month, year or longer before going back to see if they pass the test of time. The reason they have to be left is that ideas are often born of an excitement or a strong emotional feeling. If the idea is still strong after the emotion or excitement has gone then I develop it further.

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

As a shy child I loved drawing. At the age of 8 my teacher told me my drawings were good. That moment has crystallized in my mind as the moment at which I decided what my future life would be. From then on every decision I made, education wise, was based solely on me becoming an artist.

Why do so many artists and creators have such volatile personalities?

We do? One of my art school teachers once related how a psychiatrist had told him that artists could be ‘cured’ with medication. I prefer to be uncured if that’s the case.

Do you consider yourself postmodern?

I consider my work as being part of the culture in which I currently live and work. I cannot label my work. I will leave that to more objective viewers and cultural historians.

How should a work of art be evaluated?

Art can be evaluated on a whole range of values from its cultural relevance to the society it comes from down to the aesthetics of colour, shape and form. Unfortunately there is also the cult of celebrity which somehow equates celeb status with quality.

Must an artist reinvent him/herself everyday?

As an artist it is imperative that my art continually evolves at its own pace. I become disillusioned if ever I feel I have reached a dead end with my work.

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

There are many, too many. From the Impressionists to the cartoonists Robert Crumb and Gary Panter, they are all there. If I have to single out one group it has to be the old ladies of Szechuan province in China, who after a lifetime of hard work retire and start paper cutting incredible stories, patterns and shapes full of meaning and symbolism.

Does it pain you to let go of a piece you have sold?

Yes and no. To sell a work puts food on the table and generally when a work is finished it is not so relevant to me anymore. However there are pieces that I have an emotional connection with and yes I do feel the pain then.

Is a work of art purchased, or is it better said, that it is the artist who is bought?

The majority of artists consciously or unconsciously adapt our work to make it more attractive to buyers. I believe selling work to live is important, however I often undervalue my work which causes guilty feelings. I do believe that my perfect state of being would be to live comfortably off the earnings from my work rather than taking mundane non art jobs to survive.

In art, there is no guide. How do you know what the next step is?

Art, society, ideas, knowledge continually evolve in the world. There is no end of influences on what to draw from. I never know what the next step is going to look like, but I always know there is going to be a next step.

What types of jobs do you usually do?

My other jobs include author of text books for children learning English as a foreign language, Consultant to publishers of English language teaching materials and private English tutor.

What advice would you give to those just beginning?

There is no quick, easy way to success. Art, be it writing, painting, dancing etc is something that needs to be nurtured and practiced. A true artist will keep doing what they do best regardless of whether it is successful or not. It is a question of belief in one’s self and one’s art. Eventually that dedication and honesty to oneself will shine through.

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