Studio Visit: Happy Red Fish

The first time I saw the collage and yarn work of Amsterdam based artist, Happy Red Fish, I knew this was the kind of person I would want to have a lunch date with. Whimsical, full of color and little playful notes of oddity.

When these series of Jello inspired prints surfaced I knew it was time to get to know each other a little better.

Here's a little more behind the scenes at what goes on behind the mind of a clever collage artist.

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Name: Hagar Vardimon-van Heummen - Happy Red Fish

Stomping Grounds: Amsterdam

All of your work is a lovely balance of mixed mediums. What is your creative process like? Where do your creative influences come from? Thanks! Normally I am coming across an image that captures me and that will be the start of creating a new series of work. Every image that I pick has a story I wish to tell. The next step will be how to tell the story - I’m looking into the shape, details, space around the image & colors. This process sometimes is very short, but can be very long as well.

There are influences around me all the time, music, people, nature, books, magazines….

Your Jello collage series, where did the inspiration come from? Did the Jello image surface first, or do you have a secret desire of sporting with gelatin? Well that was love at first sight- I saw the Jell-O in an old cooking book and voila! I knew at that moment that the hidden acrobat inside of me finally had a chance to shine!

Where's your favorite place in Amsterdam to take a creative break? What food or drink should we order there? I'm a huge fan of small, friendly cafes. Lucky me, I’m living in an amazing neighborhood that all I have to do is just go outside and pick one. Let’s order a coffee latte with soy (probably more than one) and a super delicious kale and spinach salad with lots of nice surprises inside (goat cheese, pumpkin, pomegranate maple syrup roasted walnuts), all organic at the "CottonCake" cafe.

No jello for desert.

Can we expect food to be a reoccurring theme in your work? What would be your ideal edible subject to work with next? Mmm. It was so much fun making the series that I will continue for sure! I do not feel that I used all the amazing Jell-O potential. What next?  Maybe something green, like kale or maybe sardines.

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Want more?! Check out  the full scope of her unique work over at Happy Red Fish!