Power of Music with Stacie, Awesome Mama Illustration
This series is giving me so much joy! I loved this interview with Stacie, founder of the brilliant Awesome Mama Illustration. A fellow lover of teenage grunge - this was brilliant! Enjoy her contributions - I did.
Stacey Williamson-Michie www.awesomemamaillustration.com
How much does music play a part in your life?
It's very important in our house. We sing all the time, especially with our toddler Fox. My husband plays the guitar and plays to Fox at bathtime. He joins in on songs he knows. I think it's a great way to help kids learn and help improve their vocabulary. I sang to Fox when he was in my belly and the first thing he heard when he was born was me singing the Mamas and the Papas to him. He now sings Dream A little dream to me as I get him ready for bed.
Creatively, I find music a massive help too. If I'm needing extra inspiration, I'll play music really loudly in my studio and scribble away. I think it's great to get lost in the music sometimes and let it all out. Words are also important to me and in my work as a paper cutter, before starting Awesome Mama, I'd name each piece before I'd even created it. Musical, dreamy wording was always the way I found inspiration to actually start the piece and bring an idea to life.
I include a song in every mail shot I send out. I want people to really feel the tone of the email and it gives them another dimension to what I'm trying to convey with my words.
Here’s a link to Stacie’s playlist.
Have you ever learned a musical instrument/were you in any musical ensembles at school?
I used to play the piano when I was younger. I can still read music although I'd be extremely rusty if you asked me to play now!
Despite being relatively shy, I did a lot of drama in and out of school. I was the lead in several school musicals and took part in local plays. In my grungy teen years I was a ''singer in a band'', I say in inverted commas, as we didn't really do much!
What music did you listen to as a teenager? Have your tastes changed much since then?
I listened to a lot of punk, grunge and ska. To this day, I still adore Nirvana, Hole, Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Sublime. Sublime songs are my happy place.
I love Daughter and Florence and the Machine. I think Florence's lyrics are breath taking.
What do you think “being musical” means?
Expressing your true inner self. Dropping the mask we sometimes wear and allowing ourselves to be really seen.
Do you think you’re musical?
I’d like to think so. I love singing and music in general. In a deeper sense of the word 'Musical', in being free and open, I'm becoming more of an open book as I get older.
What is THE piece of music that makes you feel everything? When did you first encounter it? When do you listen to it now?
Avril 14th by Aphex Twin. It's the most beautiful music and makes me feel as everything that's weighing me down is being lifted away. It's a very hopeful song for me, yet reflects on what came before. I think I must have heard it around the time Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette was released. It was the song I chose to walk down the aisle to. I listen to it now whenever I need to build myself up from a hard time or when I'm feeling a bit sentimental.
What music do you hope to pass onto future generations/ leave as part of your legacy?
Definitely Nirvana, for the angsty years. The Beach Boys for carefree times. Foo Fighters and Sublime for EVERYTHING. Early Muse for getting totally lost in. Fingathing for uber coolness, Abba for belting out a tune and Dizzee Rascal for jumping round the kitchen.
Clear your brain. What’s the first lyric from a song that comes to mind: GO!
It's something unpredictable, but in the end is right. I hope you had the time of your life.
Greenday
Stacie is the creator of Awesome Mama Illustration and here’s what she says:
I base most of my artwork on the highs, lows and everything between of Motherhood. I capture quirky family portraits and I aim to empower and support parents through my prints and t-shirts.
Instagram: @awesomemamaillustration