MORE ABOUT HELEN
Tell us a little more of the origins of Helen Platania Art, what inspires you, what kind of creative patterns, rituals do you have?
My creative journey so far has had me designing & making bridal jewellery, mosaic’ing, running adults & children’s art classes/workshops from my home studio, working with local council on Arts events e.g. ‘Banyule Kids Arty Farty Fest’ and holding an Artist in Residence’ position at the Maharishi School in 2012.
Here and now, my creative adventure has landed in the Mixed Media world, my passion lies mostly with my paintbrushes but in my world, mixed media means using anything at hand to make a mark and tell a story.
Lately I have been working in my art journal as a way of keeping the creative juices flowing without the pressure of a finished piece for an exhibition. It’s working for me because I can start a page; maybe finish it, maybe not!
I use as many materials as I can reach from my table, I break all the rules and when I’m done, I rarely clean my brushes properly!
...and as for rituals, it definitely involves tea drinking during the process!
The female face and the general mind bending complexities of living a real life, warts and all inspire me! Oh and strong women!
My art tells a story, one I can deeply connect with during the process of creating it and one I'm happy to share with anyone interested in my creative process :)
Helen Platania Art is a culmination of a leap into the unknown, naked, real and self taught combined with a desire to live my creative life right here and now without the need to be perfect… (just to clarify, the naked bit is a figure of speech!)
Can you describe the time when you first realised that this was something you absolutely had to do?
All my life I’ve had a constant pull in the direction of creating things, it wasn’t necessarily something I was conscious of growing up, it just manifested as a crafty rambling through life with a keen eye and a different ‘out of left field’ approach to things…all of course standing on one leg and balancing a spoon on my nose (just to be different)….I was the crafty kid! Still am I guess (minus the kid part!)
What’s one piece of advice you would give yourself 5 years ago if you could go back in time and whisper it into your own ear?
“What are you waiting for girl??” Oh Ok, that’s not really advise that’s the new assertive Helen speaking! I would sit myself down with a glass of wine (& maybe a cheese platter) and tell myself gently “Don’t be afraid, and follow your heart…in that order” …. Then I’d hand out the hardbound copy of “do’s & don’ts learnt from 5 years of experience”