Camille Carpentier - Pt.1
Camille! Such a beautiful name, is your social media handle ‘ceedraws’ born from a nickname?
- Thank you! I was actually named after Camille Claudel, the French Sculptor. My mum is an artist as well so I guess my becoming an artist might have been my birthright in a weird way. Cecee on the other hand is something I adopted myself for my social media accounts. I wanted something recognisable and easy to remember. My last name is Carpentier. So having 2 C’s in my name paved the way for my new artist name.
We love your new embroidery icon - how long did it take to create?
- Well the weekend before the deadline for this embroidery deck I was showcasing it at Zine Happening VII which takes place in Ghent every year. It was my first zine fair and I was quite nervous and anxious. I’m used to putting my work on the internet by now, but seeing the visual reaction of people interacting with my work was something new to me. My way of coping at the time was doing some embroidery, which ended up as my icon. I hadn’t originally intended to make a new icon in embroidery but in the end, I found it tied the whole deck together in something solid and cohesive.
How did you get into embroidery?
- Maybe this is something other artists identify with or maybe it’s just me, but with all the artistic skills I develop, it just sort of happens. I see something interesting pass by on Instagram or Pinterest and it makes me want to try it myself. I never thought it would have quite such an impact on my development as an artist and in the end, on my career.
Your zines and illustrations tackle some personal and serious stuff - how does illustrating your hardships help you, and what more could we all do to support our own and each other's mental wellbeing? (Author's note - big hugs for your poorly back - hope you are on the mend now!)
- I find it weird how life works out sometimes but me having back issues ended up being the lifeline to taking my first steps in my career. I worked a minimum wage job in a clothing store, having to lift and carry heavy boxes on a daily basis. From one day to another I ended up in a lot of pain, out of a job and having a lot of free time on my hands. I tried to spend that time as much as possible drawing and working on my portfolio. Chronic pain is no joke, not only physically but especially mentally. Since I was alone with my thoughts and my pain for most days, my art helped me cope. With my art I was trying to put a positive spin on this situation, seeing it as a learning opportunity. I still struggle with chronic pain every day so I hope that sharing my experience might help somebody else going through similar problems. I feel like it’s a running joke in the artist community, finding a good balance between physical and mental health and still being able to have a productive day work-wise. All I can say is: spend money where you spend time. Maybe invest in that slightly too expensive chair or desk, it probably will help you with your health later on in life. And also MOVE! Get out of the house, do some yoga or play with your dog, whatever. I feel we should invest more time in education on creating healthy habits for our bodies. Be it for people who are on their feet all day or sitting down.
What video game have you played the most? What video game are you dying to play!?
- I have nearly 600 hours on Overwatch. So yeah …. That being said with everything that has been going on with Blizzard in the last few months I took the opportunity to play more indie games. Dicey Dungeons is one of my absolute favourites. I’m really curious about Storyteller and Dordogne.
We heard you enjoy a bit of yoga! How good has yoga been for your health and mental wellbeing? What is your favorite yoga pose? Do you go to a class or studio to practice?
For me, yoga helps me keep my pain under control. I tried to practice every day for 15 to 20 min. Sometimes I get lazy and then the next day I get punished by my body. I just practice at home. It’s also some bonding time for me and my cat Ophelia, who always likes to come to cuddle when doing yoga. Adriene Mishley from Yoga with Adriene is an absolute godsend. Her videos on YouTube definitely are so helpful, especially for people on a budget like me.
Who is your favourite FLICK artist/deck, and why?
- I have a hard time choosing between Ugly Medieval Cats by Satu Jokinen and Deep Space Desperados by Rex Crowle. I’m just such a fan of Rex’s work I feel I’m a bit biased. Haha!
Please can you tell us about your own FLICK deck, especially all the different characters!?
- It all started with a Christmas gift I made for my brother’s girlfriend. I wanted to do something special to make her feel welcome in the family. She absolutely loves squirrels, so I ended up making an embroidery brooch of a squirrel with a little jacket on. She was so blown away by the gesture it sparked the idea of maybe doing a series one day. When Ian a few weeks later approached me with this wild idea of making a whole deck in embroidery, the brooch was still in the back of my mind. I let that first squirrel be my inspiration and wondered in what kind of setting she would be living. The rest came really naturally. I ended up with a deck that reminded me of a slower-paced life, which ties really well with embroidery because it’s such a slow-paced medium. You need a lot of patience to see it through. Around that time I got recommended to watch the Netflix show Bridgerton by a friend. The characters talk about “The Ton” a lot. It refers to British high society in the Regency era and the word Ton comes from the French expression bon ton or good manners. Since the deck was already set in the English countryside, the name fell right into place. Et voila: the Bon Ton embroidery card deck was formed.
Which card suit from your deck is your favourite, and why? (Sorry, cruel we know!)
- The Queen of Clubs, Mrs Bunny. I think she was the last character I embroidered. I was tired at the end of it all but she made me chuckle with her cute little pink bonnet.
What was the toughest part of this FLICK project?
- Since embroidery takes a while, I feel just able to power through it all, so I met the deadline!
