Craft Conversations
Tab Sejoe is a Melbourne based designer and textile design student. You will be able to get a glimpse into her studio and practice in this year's upcoming Virtual open Studios as a part of this year's Craft Contemporary festival.
Can you tell us a little about yourself and how you became interested in Craft?
I’m a Melbourne based designer/maker and textile design student. Growing up both here in Melbourne and Botswana has allowed me to exist in the two worlds when it comes to my inspiration and approach to creating. I found my way to Craft almost ten years ago in my creative practice, Feather & Spear, which included screen printing on paper and working with textiles. I kept my interest in Craft as I know firsthand the kind support and encouragement that it lends to makers and creatives.
What are some unusual places you draw inspiration from?
I don’t know how unusual it is, but I often find my inspiration can be traced back to a time in my childhood in Botswana on my grandmother’s farm, Montaville farm. Not the physical place itself, but the feeling it gave me, or the light, sound, and smells.
If we walked into your studio, what would we see you working on right now?
Right now would be my final body of work for my last semester of an Advanced Diploma of Textile design, including sketches and gouache painted motifs to be translated into screen printed textiles and woven textiles, along with some experimental textile creations.
In response to COVID-19, a lot of people have re-evaluated the way they work. What impact has the pandemic had on your practice? Were they positive or negative? Have you adopted any new skills or techniques that you otherwise may not have?
I went back to uni at the beginning of 2020, looking forward to the social aspect and sharing creative ideas. But instead went into a very isolated pandemic learning and creating. I found that I had to work a lot harder to push myself to create. However, pandemic living also pushed me to try out newly learned skills, especially more detailed work, which I don’t think I would have tried otherwise or otherwise had the time to focus on.
The pandemic has also influenced the inspiration that leads my work. It has made me more nostalgic than ever and trying to capture a sense of soothing and lightness we perhaps are all craving right now.
Who is an underrepresented artist we should be looking at right now?
Perhaps because I have my head in a textile learning space, I think of fellow textiles student Kelsey Elliston, an amazing artist and definitely one to look out for in the near future. She applies her masterful use of colour to screen printing and knitted textiles.
What Craft Contemporary events are you most looking forward to seeing this October?
I always love seeing other makers take us through their creative process, so I look forward to the Makers in Residence program, which I enjoyed last year as well. The Virtual Open Studios gives us a glimpse of that too.
Thank you for your time Tab! We look forward to seeing you in this year's Virtual Open Studios!
Interview by Eloise Sim, Curatorial and Programs Assistant