Meredith Gaston

Luna Magazine, Germany 2009

1. When you were little, what kind of girl were you?

As a little one I was sensitive, creative and always busy. I loved picture books, I loved to draw, make collages, and dress myself with extra special care. My mum hand-made me the most beautiful clothes; all very unique and original. We would often design them and choose the various fabrics and buttons together. My absolute favourite was a magenta velvet winter dress, trimmed with a little velvet city and a black velvet cat. I have held onto it; it is a work of art!
In the kindergarten I always felt a bit different. I had a string of unfortunate bowl haircuts, enjoyed making elaborate animals from vegetables, and made my own hand-bound, illustrated books. I was petrified of balloons, windsurfers and collars on shirts. I loved cooking sweet things with my mum and inventing my own recipes. It was no surprise I was relocated to Steiner school where we could dance our names and make our own candles! I loved to sing, I loved gymnastics, and I loved setting up ‘shops’ from my bedroom; attempting to sell my dollies and jewels to my unenthusiastic older brother.
One of my most special memories is sitting up at my father’s special, sloped drawing board, having been given permission to colour in the trees on his real, proper architectural drawings. I felt very very important!

2. Where do you feel home?

I live between Sydney and Berlin and feel at home in both these places. But really in a more abstract sense I feel at home wherever I feel love, and loved. While on a trip to Berlin two years ago, I fell in love at first sight at Tegel Airport. Shortly after I returned to Sydney, packed up my possessions and moved into Herr Lindemann’s Kreuzberg nest .
Born and raised in Berlin, Kevin had never visited Australia, nor given it much thought! He has now slept in the Daintree rainforest, boated across crocodile infested rivers, swum in rock pools, snorkeled with box jellyfish, and climbed through the Blue Mountains! I have attended German school, made a studio in an abandoned old attic at the top of our house, and enjoyed discovering the hidden nooks and crannies of the big city. For me Berlin is a very romantic and charming city, a place where old and new things coexist with an exciting synergy, and where history and stories are plentiful; breathable. Berlin has a remarkable twenty four hour buzz that makes anything seem possible.
Two years on I have the absolute excitement and privilege of calling two amazing cities home. In Sydney I love my garden with its generous orange tree, I feel at home in my studio and amongst my friend and family, and I feel at home in my Grandma’s garden where I have played with my cousins since I was knee high to a grass hopper!

3. What makes you laugh?

I’m always laughing! I can’t even say how it starts or stops - sometimes I even wake up from my dreams laughing out loud! My animals always make me laugh. My old chickens Fifi and Magnet always misbehaved, flying in from the garden and hiding under my bed, or plucking the bows off my fine shoes. My current housemate, Biru the cat, is very funny when she goes hunting lizards.. it’s all very serious! Funny song lyrics and bad soap operas on television also make me laugh.

4. Please complete:

Children are... intuitively, originally cool; brave, uninhibited and exemplary. They say what they mean and invite us into their worlds where things are brighter, bolder and freer.

5. What inspires you?

Noticing and revelling in the big and small beauties that constitute my daily life inspires me; from enjoying a good cup of tea to learning from and connecting with other people. For me this means noticing and appreciating all the beautiful colours and shapes, sounds, scents and rhythms of my surrounding environment, translating these into heartfelt drawings and paintings. Being outdoors and noticing the random beauty in nature also feels so integral to my art making. Travelling to new and interesting places makes me want to draw and document, along with great writing and beautiful music. I love to read and particularly enjoy unusual stories and Haiku poetry.

6. 3 things in your bag:...

Little watercolour sketchbook, favourite red lipstick, a small piece of gorgeous rose quartz (a good luck gift from my Tasmanian pen-friend Tashi)

7. What are you doing on rainy days?...

Most probably staying very cosy inside with my watercolours and a cup of tea; or baking my favourite orange cake while listening to the sounds of the rain or some nice old jazz.

8. Do you have a hideaway?

I have several... but to name two: The Woolshed Cabins in the Blue Mountains (just out of Sydney) are very hidden, you almost feel like you are at the end of the earth! Here you can draw, sleep, dream and paint in the most peaceful and private surrounds. My attic studio in Kreuzberg is also my hideaway; it is very secret and feels a bit like being in a little old wooden boat!

9. Dreamy night or narcotic sleep?

Very, vividly dreamy night.

10. Imagine having a magic wand, what would you do?

Probably step into one of my paintings! Sometimes I feel like they have their own world and reality... it springs from my imagination but I am always somewhat displaced from it; it is part of but not the same as my living, breathing world...it would be wonderful to step inside, look around, meet the characters and roll in the patchwork-quilt like hills!

11. Can we expect your future to be as rosy as you characters cheeks?

Well I hope so! I am currently working on my second book (to be published through Penguin); it is a picture book and is full of inky drawings and watercolours. It is an absolute pleasure of a project. I am painting for a few upcoming exhibitions, and working on some interesting commissions from around the world. This is a very busy, prolific patch for me; I am thoroughly enjoying everything I am working on and often pinch myself that this is real life!

I am looking forward to collaborating with other artists and writers in the coming years, as joint projects always extend and challenge me, encouraging an exploration of new subject matter and ideas. I especially love the openness of working for children, whose unbridled imaginations embrace kooky animals and whimsical dreamscapes without hesitation! Children make a discerning, honest and wonderful audience -They know what they like.
I have been extremely fortunate to meet some amazing people along my path who have taken me under their wings and guided me. I am grateful to these friends, and to the magic that seems to turn my dreams into realities. I have a need to create things as I have a need to eat and sleep – there is so much more to come.