Interview ( Marie Blanco Hendrickx aka Mijn Schatje)

I recently got the opportunity of speaking to French artist Marie Blanco Hendrickx also known as  Mijn Schatje, Mijn creates graphic art dolls, her work is a mixture of subtlety and seduction which can arose any individual with innovative thoughts. In comparison to other artist I can truly say Mijn’s creations show originality, with her vivid colors and rare detailing. Mijn has showed her many series’ of graphic art in galleries in various countries from Amsterdam to New York. As a true artist she appreciates all art which is why her love for fashion was no surprise. Mijn’s work can also be found in the Fornarina 08 collection shown at Milan fashion week.

Interview

How did you gain interested In Art itself?

Everybody in my family is very much interested in culture, when I was a kid with my siblings we would all learn an instrument and we would extensively travel with my parents. Both my parents being from different countries they believe it's important for us to get to know different countries, cultures and languages. I happened to be bad at playing musics but when I was 10 I could stay forever in the museums, just watching the paintings. I had my first art crush while watching "Bleu de Ciel" by Kandinsky, at the Pompidou museum in Paris.

http://media.paperblog.fr/i/125/1250256/bleu-ciel-L-1.jpeg

Why do you choose to do your art through the computer?

I had many art lessons when I was younger, mostly manual like drawing, painting and sculpting, and attended a fine arts school where I did a classical arts training. But I also discovered computers when I was 11 or so because my father was an early nerd. He was learning all by himself because then it was the very beginning of illustration softwares, and I was watching him for hours and then trying to do my own things. I followed the evolution of softwares until today, and it became a very natural drawing tool to me.
After the fine arts school I went to a graphic design school and then when out of the school I worked a bit as a graphic designer for music labels and parties in Paris. In the meantime I worked a lot to develop my own body of work, it's not something I planned but some people approached me and proposed me to take part in a few art shows.

What does it take to be a successful artist?

I don't consider myself as a successful artist, at first it was even hard just to consider myself as an artist. I have so much respect for Art that I've always thought that only a few visionnary people in the world, the "elected", can be called artists.
The only thing I know is that I have been constantly working for almost five years, drawing again and again and giving up on most holidays and weekend, trying to find something special in me that could move people and create certain feelings.
I still don't know if I managed doing so, only the audience can tell, but I'm still working hard, and who knows what will come next.

What is fashion to you?

I love fashion, I consider high fashion and couture as one of the main arts. But in my daily life fashion is important too, I love playing with clothing, composing an outfit that will make me look how I really feel. People are their own canvas in the streets, they can bring colours or subtle shades, they can darken or brighten things so easily. I wish more people would be conscious of that, it's one great way of us having an impact on our environment. Just imagine a city in the early morning, everybody wearing different shades of blue.

Do you believe at times fashion can be considered a Sin, If so why

I only think it's a pity that fashion must lead some girls to stop feeding themselves, fashion is only ever supposed to enhance our lives.

Do you think each Individual artist’s has a secret to creativity?

I think it's not so much of a secret, artists have to feed their sensitivity and protect it, most artists I met are pretty oversensitive, which is a pretty complicated thing to deal with but allows you to feel the zeitgeist.