Frankie Meaden - Textile Artist

Creative Matters

Frankie Meaden is a textile artist and painter from Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland. She makes giant embroidery artwork from recycled materials.

Frankie’s art is almost always botanical, with her large-scale sculptural pieces challenging the scale at which embroidery is usually seen. Frankie tells the story of the rich biodiversity of our world using colourful rope and recycled street banners in a way that is impactful, beautiful and sustainable.

We talk about how Frankie came to work on such a large scale, how she sources the recycled materials she uses and the joys and the challenges of creating a large scale public installation. We talk about her process of making these beautiful pieces in her studio, how she connected with her 2 Auckland galleries and her dreams for her business Beautifully Frank.
https://www.beautifullyfrank.co.nz/
https://www.instagram.com/beautifullyfrank/

Text Mandy - leave your name and email so I can get back to you!

Support the Show.

Ngā mihi, thanks for listening!
Follow us on Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/creativematterspodcast/
Learn more about the podcast
https://www.creativematters.co.nz/podcast

Chapters

1. Frankie Meaden - Textile Artist (00:00:00)

2. Art at high school (00:04:08)

3. Right after high school (00:05:35)

4. Migrating to NZ from the UK and working around being a mother (00:07:51)

5. Early work (00:09:40)

6. Building an audience (00:12:05)

7. Finishing up with a product or work (00:14:45)

8. Using recycled materials (00:14:58)

9. A shift in an art practice or artistic focus (00:15:05)

10. Creating a public artwork/installation with funding (00:15:10)

11. Using recycled materials (00:15:47)

12. Applying for a public art callout (00:17:17)

13. Creating a public artwork/installation (00:17:21)

14. Sourcing recycled materials (00:20:01)

15. The creative process - giant embroidery (00:21:23)

16. An international installation (learning and challenges!) (00:31:46)

17. Approaching a gallery (00:41:13)

18. Using light in an artwork (00:51:41)

19. Commissions (00:55:07)

20. Building a business (00:58:26)

21. Making prints of artworks (01:00:42)

22. What would you say to your younger artistic self? (01:03:27)

23. What artists inspire you and inform your practice? (01:04:05)

24. As an artist, what is your biggest challenge? (01:05:34)

25. What drives you to make the kind of work you make? (01:07:19)