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Renilde Depeuter from the blog At-swim-two-birds is participant number 2 in Fine Little Interview.
Renilde is an outstanding artist who, among other things, makes stunning contemporary cross-stitch and embroidery art.

Thank you Mieke Willems for introducing Renilde to me last year.

Please tell us a little about your self, who are you Renilde?
I'm 49 years old and i live in Antwerp (Belgium), I worked as a textile designer for a short period in the early nineties and i
recently picked up the thread again to make textiles for the Mieke Willems shop.





So, do does Brian O'Nolan´s book, At swim two birds mean something special to you, or do you just like the name?
It is one of my favourite books and besides extraordinarily funny. The title actually means 'the river current of the two birds', it is a place often visited by the mad King Sweeny who's condemned to spend the rest of his life as a bird after he was cursed. I remember i've chosen the name because i liked it, but on rereading some parts of the book as a result of this interview i was amazed how i was imitating the story without realizing it. Briefly summarized , it is about characters who are given life outside their fiction and in the end conspire against their creator. Actually this is what i'm also doing in my stories; creating my own universe to please myself by twisting everyday reality. The stories mostly appear after a long day in bed with a headache, it is really working like that, i'm not making this up.

How did your blog come about? Was it a response to something or lack of something?
I only wanted to show my textiles; a website was far to complicated and expensive for me, and besides too static, so, i was thinking a blog would be the most suitable for me. Mieke and Veronik helped me over and over in the beginning, a was really a complete illiterate. But after some time, when i was becoming familiar with the medium, it changed into a place where i could give vent to my fantasies and reflect on life. I don't know how things are shaping up, but i'm hooked on it by now.





What is your earliest memory of coming across a blog that you like?
I remember i liked ii-ne-kore a lot, i still do, but i'm a fan of everything that is Japanese, especially the textiles and interiors.


How long does it usually take you to create pieces?
This is difficult to answer, it depents whether i'm concentrated or itchy, besides, i'm always working on several projects at the same time. It happens that i'm struggeling with a project for days or weeks, and in the end it is coming to nothing, but it is also possible that i'm tossing off a nice embroiderie in a few hours. I love to be concentrated, it is relaxing.





Do you have any favorite artists?
This question is even more difficult, but i have to make a choise. I love Saul Steinberg's drawings, the comics of Chris Ware and of course Sonia Delaunay.
And since last summer i'm also a Fischli & Weiss fan. I found a very nice book of their work at Veronik's place when i was watering the plants.


Who would your top three dream dinner guests be and why?
I always wanted to see an authentic Neanderthal man, and actually smell too, so he may take a seat at my table. My second guest will be Count of Saint-Germain, a notorious charlatan and alchemist who was unequalled as a conversationalist. And finally the super attractive King Aragorn, featured by Viggo Mortensen, don't have to explain why, i suppose :-)

Finally, what do you have in your pantry Renilde?

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