Dear HH readers, do I have a treat for you! Carolyn has been very generous and given me an interview for your reading pleasure.
You all know by now how much I admire her work, so you can imagine, this is very exciting for me .
Carolyn is an amazingly talented and accomplished artist and designer. Even in the elite design world, few can say they have worked with luxury design powerhouses like Hermès and Louis Vuitton. She has been featured in countless magazines and was Maison et Objets Designer of the year 2008. Carolyn Quartermaine is the epitome of style and grace. I love the following images featured in a personal favorite , Côté sud France:
Jaclyn: Where did you grow up?
Carolyn: In England..I was born in Cheltenham in a beautiful Regency house, then we moved to the Forest of Dean, in fact my parents moved almost every year.. then France, the Holland and then back to England when I was 17..just in time to get a place on a Foundation course at the local art school.
Jaclyn: Was it your dream as a child to become an artist and designer?
Carolyn: I loved painting and creating..I’m an only child and we moved to a new place each year so of course the world one created within is the only stable point..I don’t think anyone even knew the word design unless you wanted to become a fashion designer……… artist was the word ..
Jaclyn: What inspired you to begin working with french script in the 80s?
Carolyn: I’d discovered some 17th C texts and fell immediately in love with their graphic quality ..I began to use them a lot in my collages ..back then I was showing my work in art galleries…
Jaclyn: Where do you love to visit?
Carolyn: I’m happy anwhere..I always find something interesting..its all about the mood and the discovery each day.
Jaclyn: What are some things you love that define your style?
Carolyn: This is harder from the inside to decipher ….I’m always drawn to chairs.. to flowers.. to colour ..to the sea ..For me the script ..but very much the splash, the mistake , the marks of paint …. the history of a piece.
Jaclyn: What are your plans for 2011?
Carolyn: To spend more time doing what I truly love ..which is paint.
Jaclyn: Is there a designer that inspires you?
Carolyn:…………….painters…Cy Twombly… Cocteau..Bonnard ..Picasso…
Jaclyn: Can you give us a peek of some things you are working on or have recently finished?
Carolyn: ..will revert back
Jaclyn: Your work at Chateau Beloeil is stunning. What is your favorite project you have ever worked on?Carolyn: Thank you so much ……… favourite project… working with the Japanese small team at RAM in Tokyo..absolute pure delight… their level of care, diligence, understanding of every detail…..
Jaclyn: Words to live by?
Carolyn: Be kind and thoughtful……..Cx
I am inspired by this talented artist who is incredibly successful, gracious, thoughtful and kind.
