Liz Payne // textile and fiber artist // Sydney Australia

Liz Payne is an artist from Sydney, Australia. With a background in the visual arts and graphic design, Liz combines this experience with her love of textiles & embroidery to produce work that breaks the stereotypes of embroidery as a medium. Often working on a large scale, Liz’s work blends hand painted fabric with thread, beads and sequins whilst she explores colour, shape and pattern, drawing references from an ancient world and bringing it into the today. Liz regularly exhibits her work in Australia and abroad, and has recently collaborated with the iconic fashion label Gorman to produce clothing, homewares & accessories of her vibrant artworks.

Check out more of her amazing work on her website or Instagram.

1. I began my #CraftWithConscience series as a way to simultaneously promote the work of other makers and to discuss the complicated issues surrounding creative inspiration and developing one’s own visual vocabulary. The internet is an ever growing fixture in many artists’ lives and businesses, could you talk about the role the internet plays in your artistic and professional life?

The internet definitely plays an integral role, and not just for artists, but for everyone these days. It’s fast, free and easy to use. I was never interested in any of the ‘social media’ platforms a few years ago, instead being more reliant on the traditional methods of getting your art out there. I was finally convinced though, and I’m so glad I did. I was initially drawn to Instagram because it could act as a portfolio of my work, which was great especially in the early days before having my website.

An obvious advantage is having your work seen by people all over the world just at the touch of your fingertips. This can be great as it can lead to opportunities that might not have come your way if you didn’t put yourself out there. However, the (major) downside to that is your work also gets seen by people who unfortunately will copy it, and infringement becomes an issue. I still love using Instagram though - I find when a lot of the time you work by yourself, it’s nice to get feedback from people - and that’s quite encouraging & motivating. I feel lucky to have connected with so many other creatives who are on this platform.

2. Where do you find inspiration for your work? In what ways has the internet and/or social media impacted your design process?

I get inspiration from multiple faceted disciplines. I’m immensely inspired by historical influences such as the beautiful cloths, textiles and beaded artefacts from countries such as Nigeria, Africa, Guatemala, Mexico & Uzbekistan. I’m also inspired by the latest in design from everything fashion, interior & furniture and I like to keep up to date with what’s new. Drawing on the past and pairing it with what’s new, or not even ‘new’ yet, but what’s next - sums up my work aesthetic as well.

The internet has been an important tool in opening doors in which these inspirations can be so easily accessed. Now, we are able to virtually visit exhibitions that are on in New York, research artefacts from galleries across the world, be able to look at rugs from Morocco... Now more than ever, we literally have access to everything. I regularly use sites like Pinterest to access imagery to some of these things, but I think it is still so important to not just rely on that - instead making the effort to go visit galleries, get inspiration from books, music, and just life in general.

3. How have you, as an artist, found your creative voice?

Practice. And time! But I think I am still learning and establishing my creative voice. It’s a journey, and a process. I think with everything, practise leads to evolvement - and I hope I never stop wanting to learn, experiment and push myself further. I think when you are developing your own creative voice, it’s important to stick to what you believe in - for me I like pushing the boundaries of what is possible, and am always striving to push myself into developing something new.

4. Sites like Pinterest and Instagram are popular places for artists’ to share their own work. They also act as public visual archives, often leading to creative work by others that walks the line between ‘inspiration’ and ‘infringement.’ Have you encountered copies of your work online and how does it affect you? What are your strategies for dealing with it?

I have unfortunately been subject to seeing copies of my work. It can be really disheartening, and it’s a shame how frequently it happens. There is a lot of work that goes into creating an original artwork that you don’t always see, especially with Instagram, where it is a curated selection of images we choose to share. All the sketches & drawings, experiments, and the ups and downs of the creative process - all these steps contribute to the end image you see - and when someone sees that final image, then takes that idea and reproduces it - it takes away from the original. It can be frustrating but it’s also a reality, so I just try to rise above it and not let it bother me too much.