AT HOME WITH... Lisa Baudry
Lisa Baudry did a degree in graphic design with a major in illustration, and found her niche after years thinking you had to have a textile degree to design fabrics. She lives in Waterview, Auckland, with her daughter, 14.
LISA I’ve bee nh ere in Waterview coming up five years, and previously I lived in Avondale. I wanted to stay in the area for my daughter’s schooling. It’s close to the motorway ,e asy to get around.
It’s very private, which is very important to me .If eel tucked away, and the living room gets the western sun so you can have a nice nap in the afternoon.
I’m from a Waikato farming family; I grew up in Kaihere on the Hauraki Plains. We have a school but that’s all. Lots of my family still live there .I’mv ery proud of my roots.
The way I gre wupwasv ery much lik ee veryone goe san d helps each other, Dad’s brothers especially. We all lived near each other, shared machinery, help ede ach other. It’s sad that a lot of the pressures on that business are intense.
Some in my family are still farming, but on the first of June, it’s going to be handed ove r aft er all thes e de cades.
As for my art, I’m trying to do this creative path, and it’s sporadic. I’m still learning how to make what I do into a viable business. Whe nIhav e a contract, I’m in the studio every day. Otherwise casual work in hospo is how I feed us.
I d o Ub er driving. It’s flexible. I can just drop it, I don’t have a boss.
The thing I’ve learned ove r th e years is that you can be good at what you do, but if you don’t nail the business and marketing, you can’t do it.
I’ve had alotofh elp through online courses ,e specially a woman in the US, an illustrator who became an art agent and teacher. She made me realise that illustrators can use all their drawing and skills in surfac ede sign. I thought you had to have at extil ede gree to design fabrics.
I design for an [international] market call ed B olt Fabric, for customers who are home sewers, quilters, people with a lust for fabric and who always want new designs.
Another example is a UK store . Th e woman there has an amazing eye for textiles, fabric on the roll, lamps, trays, other things for her store . Th e ys e ll r eally well, so now each ye arIg et a royalty.
One that sells really we llh ere is my crayfish print, an art print that sells through Endemic World in Ponsonby. There ’salotofp eople that love crayfish in Ne wZ ealand.
I’v ed one a lot of jobs as a graphic designer so I know what it’s like to b e in a studio working for someone, but I wouldn’t draw.
They wouldn’t use me . I’ d be using clip art an dd oing it so fast. I’d rather just keep developing where I can.
My daughter likes drama and music. Because I’m so interested in art, she’s not. But I always feel like the things that you’r ed rawn to, you don’t ge t to decide that.
I didn’t do drawing whe nIwasaki d. A sat ee nIcam e across painting ,d rawing and art class and I was like, oh wow. I’d just go into the art studio or music studio at lunch time.
I’m blessed, really. To find something that you lov ed oing and kee pong etting better... That’s satisfying.
Som ed ays I think, why d oI do this? But I just followed what I wanted to do, and ke ptonb eing open.
I hope that at th ee nd of my life I’ve created something beautiful: That’s all I want to do.