Why have you decided to become an artist? Was there a defining moment in your life when you knew you were an artist?
I really don’t think of myself as an artist just as someone who embroiders/paints/draws. I find it sounds so pretentious to say ‘I am an Artist’, I feel like a fraud! Since I can remember I have always drawn. We didn’t have a TV when I was young so I spent a lot of time doodling and drawing.
What are your ideal conditions for working on your art?
I work best under pressure, if I have a deadline looming. I was like this with exams, I need that feeling of stress to really produce otherwise I tend to procrastinate. The closer the deadline the more I produce.
Julie in her studio, surrounded by her work.
What’s your background? Do you have a formal art education or are you self taught?
I went to Art College in Brussels in the ‘80’s to study Graphics. I hated it, it completely took away all inspiration. After finishing I didn’t pick up a pencil or paintbrush for nearly 10 years.
What’s the most important or most memorable advice you’ve been given about either your creation techniques or in marketing yourself?
I haven’t really had much advice apart from friends and family encouraging me. Europe is very big on art snobbery so when I used to do a lot of children illustration it was looked down on and not considered art. Embroidery is difficult in that until now it was associated with ladies embroidering flowers etc, not that there is anything wrong with that. I just feel that it is finally being recognized as an art form which I find important.
How has your work changed over time? Has your skill or ideology changed?
I started embroidering three years ago at a time when I was very low, looking after my chronically ill teenage daughter. I always loved anatomy but at that time was mainly doing children's illustrations. It was my children that set up my Instagram account and I put my drawings on. One day I noticed an embroidery and decided to give it a go. I loved it straight away and decided to stick with an anatomy theme as it is something I was always interested in.
What type of art do you most identify with (realism, expressionism, surrealism, etc - it doesn’t have to be confined to the style you work in)?
I know it sounds silly but I like when something looks like it’s meant to and that you can really see the skill that has gone into making the piece. I love most of the paintings that are shown at Stone Sparrow as they are just so amazingly beautiful and the sheer talent to make that sort of work is mind blowing.
What’s your clearest memory from your childhood?
We didn’t have a TV and in the evenings when I was little we’d sit down after dinner and I’d draw and my dad often read to us from the newspaper, they would burn oil lamps and there was such a warm, cosy, safe feeling. That feeling is my strongest memory from my childhood.
What themes do you find most interesting?
Anything anatomy, I’m fascinated by chronic mental and physical illness and how the world perceives people suffering from either. People can look very healthy on the outside while the inside tells a different tale. A lot of my work is based around that theme.
Who is your favorite artist?
One of my favourite artists is Alan Froud the book illustrator, I’ve had his books from when I was a teenager and have looked at them so much over the years. I’ve always loved strange and ugly things (baby hairless birds, gremlins etc) his work really appeals to me on that level. I was also very influenced by the amazing tapestries made by Kaffee Fassett.
What jobs have you done other than being an artist?
I was the concierge at a Museum and lived on the premises, secretary, market stall holder, sandwich delivery business but since my son was born 26 years ago I was a stay at home mum.
What memorable responses have you had to your work?
I remember I used to do these really big detailed paintings of flowers (zoom ins), I was exhibiting and two people came along and didn’t notice me, one turned to the other and very disdainfully said ‘that’s not Art, that’s decoration’, it obviously wasn’t meant as a compliment! It’s funny how we always remember the bad, I have had so many lovely things said about my embroidery and people have been so kind and yet that one comment has always stuck with me.
Where do you find inspiration?
Inspiration is a funny thing, it’s just suddenly there, I can be doing dishes, washing, reading and suddenly an idea pops into my head out of nowhere. It can even be a title that I like the sound of and then work from there. All my pieces are very personal to me and often on the theme of heartache.
What do you think are your strongest abilities contributing to the success of your work?
I like to stay real, I’m too old to care about all the nonsense around art. It’s good or it’s not, it speaks to you or it doesn’t, the rest is rubbish. I like to be honest in my work and show people my vulnerability.
What do you dislike most about the art world?
The snob-ism here in Europe is something I really dislike. People really looking down on people that do amazing work. That’s one thing I like about Instagram, it has given a platform to a new type of amazing contemporary art. Galleries like yours and magazines like Beautiful Bizarre have really changed art. That really needs to happen here in Europe.
What role do you think the artist has in today’s society?
Now more than ever we need art. With a strong shift to the right in politics throughout a large part of the world I am scared that the arts will become less important. Where would we be without art?
Should art be publicly funded?
I find that the art that is publicly funded are often things that I look at and think “really”, what is that supposed to be or represent, your average three year old could do that! I do believe however that it is very important to have funding for all types of art and culture and it worries me as that is exactly the sort of funding that gets cut.
What research do you do when beginning a new piece?
I have quite a few books on anatomy that I find helpful to get the piece anatomically correct, although I embellish my anatomy pieces with a detail I still find it important that it is recognizable. My mother was a draftswoman in the ‘50’s drawing the plans for ships and submarines, she often says my work is very technical looking.
If you could have a superpower, what would you have and why.
I’d love to be able to end world poverty. I find inequality on all levels hard to deal with so if I could do something about that. Oh yes and of course bionic knees, I have terrible knees and love walking.
Name something you love / don’t love, and why.
I love black coffee, black chocolate, laughing, reading in bed on a Sunday morning, the little things in life which I think since Covid have become even more important.
I really can’t stand judgement, this is something my daughter has had to deal with on top of being ill and it makes me see red.
What is your dream project?
My dream just 3 years ago was to be in a gallery in Manhattan and I’ve achieved that so I’m very lucky. I’ve always wanted to have my work used on a book cover, I suppose as a family of avid readers that would be pretty great.
Name three artists you’d like to study with, from the past or present and why.
Andreas Vesalius was a 16th-century Flemish anatomist, physician, and author of one of the most influential books on human anatomy, obviously due to my interest in anatomy I find his illustrations inspiring. For textile it would be Kaffee Fassett, his amazing tapestries and knitwear are an inspiration, just the amount of work that he achieves is impressive. There was a Flemish artist, Panamarenko, who made really crazy machines. I took my son to his exhibition and it was great, completely wacky, I think that would be fun just to try something out of my comfort zone.
What couldn’t you do without?
Coffee. My family. Books.
What do you do when you’re not inspired?
Procrastinate, I hate not being inspired as I always embroider in front of the television while everyone is watching and as I’m not really a TV person, I find it difficult to stay sitting and feel restless. I only ever embroider in the evening and only draw during the day, I’m a creature of habit so now that I’ve got into that pattern of doing things I can’t change.
Repair, embroidery on linen. Julie sends handwritten letters with her work to give her collectors a deeper connection to her thought process.