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INTERVIEW. CAITLIN MURRAY ILLUSTRATIONS. HANNAH EDDY
Hey Hannah! Your work is rad, tell us a bit about how it all started for you. I have drawn and painted for as long as I remember and always loved it. When I look back in old sketchbooks, I can see how at the heart of it, my style and interests haven’t really changed all that much. I used to draw cartoons and dragons and aliens and all that good stuff, and I basically still do. I have obviously dialled and refined my style, which just naturally happens over years and years of creating and finding things that really resonate with you. I love to use colourful combinations of funky characters, imaginative landscapes, bold line work, and free-flowing hand lettering. You’re a snowboarder & skater. Did this contribute to the progression of your artistic style? I’ve been snowboarding and skating since I was super young and have always been really into the whole free-thinking and creative culture that’s included. Board graphics have always been super fun and inspiring to me, and I would even redraw the logos or graphics and make my own fake company ideas all the time. My artistic style today is greatly influenced by my love for riding boards. I really enjoy having a balance for my creative outlets. One is outside having fun in nature, and the other is a quiet and meditative solo activity, but both are so fun and fulfilling to me. My
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art life and snowboard/skate life are so completely intertwined that I can’t imagine one without the other. The snowsports industry is fairly male-dominated in most areas. How was the industry towards female creators when you first started, and where do you feel it is now? I think it’s really valuable to see „someone like you” do the things you aspire to do, so representation absolutely matters. The whole „if they can do it, I can do it” feeling is important for confidence, motivation, and inspiration. If there can be a place for all sorts of underrepresented groups to get a bigger platform within the art world or snowboarding [or everything else for that matter], I feel like it can do nothing but good for everyone. But, compared to people of colour, transgender, and plus-size, for example, I feel that women are pretty well represented in snowboarding [and art], so it’s a hard topic to fully tackle from this angle. At the base of all of this is the importance of providing equal opportunities for young people [or anyone] to actually have access to the activities they wish to get into. This is definitely easier in the art world because it’s not as pricy or limited to your location as it is to get into snowboarding which makes it super tricky. If more people have access and encouragement to get into the activity, different types of people will be involved, leading to more
being represented. I think it’s this that is the problem in snowboarding. I think inclusivity and support are the keys to encouraging more women to get involved in the creative side of sports. Do you have any advice for women of any age who are trying to do the same? I think it’s really cool to see more and more women in skating/ snowboarding/surfing follow a more unique and creative path within the industry. You can love these activities and base your life around them without following the typical route of being a sponsored professional athlete. There are ways to make a living as an artist, musician, filmer, editor, or many other creative positions and still get to be part of the activities you love. My advice to break into this creative world would be to keep doing what you love and what is authentic to you. Practice is huge, and patience is key. If you are authentic and doing unique stuff, other people may start to catch on even if you’re from an underrepresented group [you might just have to work a bit harder to get noticed or respected]. The best part about this is that even if no one seems to notice or you’re not getting what you thought you wanted out of it, at least you are doing what you love every day and making intentional life decisions based on what makes you happy, and that sounds pretty much like a freakin’ win to me. METHOD 21 ----------- 22.3
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