Senior Interview / 4. Sigrid Calon

We met Sigrid Calon at FuoriMICRO in Milano just few weeks ago and it was love at first sight. Grid, colours, shapes, composition, complexity, neatness, dutchness at its best. She was there to present her sumptuous book To the extend of / \ | & - Within the grid and beyond the pattern. This Risograph Lady resulted to be a solid visual artist, fluidly operating both in small and environmental size. We really appreciate the impeccable care and coherence of her work, the strong artisanal core, the harmony between the playful and conceptual attitude. We highly recommend to discover her sharply crafted universe, you won't be disappointed.

Name: SIGRID CALON 

City / Country: The Netherlands

Your sphere of interests: art / installation / textiles / graphic / Risograph

Studies: Academy of Fine Arts, Tilburg

A place you'd love to visit soon: Basel, Switzerland

1 special museum: Galerie de Palóntologie et Anatomie Comparée, 2 Rue Buffon, Paris

1 recommended website: www.whatspace.nl

3 objects you like: stamps, children's fabrics and my computer

5 words to describe your childhood: happy, playful, creative, carefree, cheerful

Favourite ice-cream flavour: hazelnut

An important step for your self-improvement and artistic growth: The project; Brabant-Games 2005, after winning the public-award I decided to quit unimportant freelance jobs and dedicate myself into exploring the autonomous art

How is the place where you live influencing your work? I have a studio in an old school where several artists work. It is high, quiet and there is plenty of light, so working there is delicious! I  get inspiration out of 'everything' around me, that is not localized. I love to be in another country and be amazed by the things as they are.

Which is the aspect of your profession that you dislike the most? Administration!

You as an artist in three adjectives…? Curious; dedicate/passionate; investigate/research/explore.

If you were living 100 or 200 years ago, which artistic movement or group would you have worked into? Expressionism.

What is for you the main difference between commissioned and personal work?  Personal work is total freedom, with commissioned work you have to deal with the expectations of the client. When the client has full confidence in you, you have an ideal situation.

Three artists you would like to exhume and interview? Mondrian, Van Gogh and Sonia Delaunay.

Which is the most "artistically friendly" city you have visited? Berlin

Three irreplaceable visual art values that are useful for the human cohabitation? Look / experience; questions; empathy / emotion.

What are you looking for? Happiness and freedom (to provide creative highlights)

+) Can you tell us something more about the consistent project that is To the extend of / \ | &  What was the start point? How much time did it take? Is it like you imagined at the beginning of the journey?

To the extend of / \ | & -  is a result of something that has lain dormant for years and has come out (finally) in the proper form and technique.

Since 2005 I have been fascinated by the possibilities of an embroidery grid.

I am interested in the language and autonomous value of textiles. In the identity of 'things'. 

This work, which is the form of a book (and I started a year ago) is a research to the graphic possibilities of that (embroidery) grid. To equal the intensity and craft of embroidery I'm using the stencilling technique. The RISO machine provides the quality of the screen printing process and is as practical in application as a photocopier.  As a consequence, this gave me the opportunity to go further than the standard CMYK-printing. Hidden in the grid, there is magic and with 8 colours and 8 lines (stiches) I visualise a new world out of it.

Thanks to a financial subsidy and therewith the confidence I got, I had total freedom to make something good. No compromises.  Listen to your heart and do what you think you should do. I started on something, not entirely know where it would lead. Now it is finished I rather think that it's a new key-work, from which other work can arise….

Thanks a lot Sigrid! 

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LINKs: Website; For more about the concept of the book, check out this article on Bolo Paper.