Q&A | ALMA PROENCA
Can you describe what you do, and what your connection to Stolen Girlfriends Club is?
I am a tattoo apprentice & a ceramicist, I've been learning to tattoo for almost two years & have been practicing ceramics for just over five years.
I have friends who work for SGC so that’s my connection! But outside that, I have admired SGC for many years, I remember saving up for their pieces when I was in high school. Now more than ever I'm finding the subject matter & style they work in strongly resonates with my own.
How would you describe the Stolen Girlfriends Club vibe/ spirit, and what are the ways that you think it matches your own?
Bold & exciting more than anything. I wouldn't say that necessarily matches my own natural spirit, but it's something I'm trying more & more to channel through my work & general way of being. I want to excite & inspire people with what I create, and who I am as a person. SGC has always done that for me.
Stolen is forever inspired by people who carve their own paths and create magic! What are some ways that you carve your own path?
I don't really know.. this is a hard question to approach without sounding egotistical lol. I try my very best with each piece of work (ceramics specifically) to push it further than the last, in terms of technical skill, form & subject matter. I like to make work that isn't similar to other people's, while still inspiring a sense of nostalgia.. if that makes sense? My initial draw to ceramics was my Portuguese heritage, the traditional blue & white used in their tiling etc. I work within those boundaries but explore further with the imagery & shapes I create.
How do you want your clothes to make you feel?
Comfortable above anything else. Sometimes sexy, but only on sporadic occasions.
How has Covid affected you creatively?
Without sounding too dismal, it's been quite tough. It was weird when the world came to a stand still & we were all in limbo waiting for answers & a sense of security. Being stuck at home & reminded of the fact that my skill set is 100% non essential, or crucial to the foundations of society. It was hard not to wonder what the point of creating artwork was, when everything felt like it was stripped away in a matter of days.
Once I was able to put that thinking aside, I did start to take advantage of the abundance of spare time. I explored new painting methods & made some of my best work to date, in my opinion anyways. I was able to remind myself of the reason I started creating in the first place, it's always been for me and my mental stability. I ended up needing a creative outlet more than ever through those few weeks of lockdown.
Your craziest, best-life dream: Where are you and who are you with and what are you doing?
I just want to be comfortable in every sense, with very few responsibilities or obligations. I'd need to be by the water, either a beach that strongly resembles Omaha - but definitely not in Omaha - or the river that runs through my Grandad's village in Cortes Do Meio, Portugal. My best friend Gabi would have to be near by at all times, along with my family. I would need to meet Serj from System Of a Down at some stage throughout this dream, but he doesn't need to stick around, a coffee or dinner will do. I'm also in love with a boy from New York, he'd be involved in some way.
In short, so long as I'm happy, by a body of water, with my best friend & family nearby & I'm able to kiss the New York boy on regular occasions AND get to have dinner with Serj Tankian then you can consider all my dreams fulfilled. I suppose I will still be making ceramics & tattooing, but maybe only 3-4 days a week, the rest of the time I will be naked on the beach regardless of my age, and it will always be sunny. Except on the odd occasion where it'll pour torrential rain & I'll be inside my home (that I own) with my cat Slinky, who will be immortal.
That's it, that's the dream.
What do you hope we all learn from this crazy time?
To practice more kindness & empathy.