What is the best thing that I love about my work?
The spontaneity, the colour, the passion, the mysterious spirituality, the glorious female power of it.
What is my idea of perfect happiness?
Of course the state of the world precludes perfect happiness, but self medication helps achieve it for awhile. My shield (self medication) against the travails of the world? Uninterrupted flowing creativity in my shed/studio, intense colour events with my fellow artists/fashionistas, weekends with my family.
What is my greatest fear?
Racism, knee jerk reactions, war, nuclear attack (anywhere!), cultural destruction.
What is the trait that I most deplore in myself?
I am well into my 70s. Pushing 80 you could almost say. I have learned to live with all my traits, good and bad.
Which living persons in my profession do I most admire?
The list is too long to complete here. I have a posse of wild artists/designers around the world. All live and kicking, all extraordinary. Ella Guru, Anne Sophie Cochevelou, Mei Hui Liu, Debra Rapaport, Julia Sisi, Gail Mandel, Alicia Piller, Diane Goldie, Amanda Caines, Laurie Zuckerman, Anothai Hansen…I could go on for quite a while!!
What is my greatest extravagance?
Collecting the art of my friends, collecting my own art, making too much, constantly buying weird materials to make more.
On what occasion would I lie?
To spare someone’s feelings.
What is the thing that I dislike the most in my work?
I love my work!
When and where was I the happiest, in my work?
I am always happy when producing work. And I love living with the work. Curating major shows always make me deliriously happy. I was very proud of Wow (Wild Old Women), Flashier and Trashier, Dare to Wear, Epiphanies, and Chromophilia.
If I could, what would I change about myself?
I have come to terms with myself a long time ago. That which I have been able to change I have changed. All is well.
What is my greatest achievement in work?
Inspiring other artists to become wilder, more colourful, and more prolific.
Where would I most like to live?
Exactly where I am now. It is bliss.
What is my most treasured possession?
My collections
What is my most marked characteristic?
Obsession. Extreme chromophilia.
What is my most inspirational location, in my city?
Home! And my local Thursday flea market at Old Spitalfields Market.
What is my favourite place to eat and drink, in my city?
Mei Hui Liu’s exquisite Chinese pop ups in London ’s East End . Tas Firin, my local Turkish barbeque in Bethnal Green.
What books influenced my life and how?
All the profound and thoughtful science fiction I read in my youth, and continue to read. I am not talking space opera! It turned me into a thinker. It freed my mind from dogma.
Who are my favorite writers?
Shirley Jackson. Connie Willis, James Tiptree Jr., Margaret Atwood, Theodore Sturgeon…So many more: too many to mention.
You Only Die Once. What music would I listen to on my last day?
How do I die? Do I have advance notice? Easy and natural old age, or violent and awful? Lingering or sudden? Does the world come to an end and everyone goes together, or just me?? Impossible to answer! Although Mozart always helps. The Queen of the Night’s aria. Sumi Jo could sing it. I wouldn’t mind.
Who is my hero or heroine in fiction?
I am very partial to the semi fictional narrator of Shirley Jackson’s memoirs: Raising Demons, and Life Among the Savages. I feel that no one really gets the subversive feminist element of these so called ‘lighthearted’ tales. I reread them every year or so.
Who are my heroes and heroines in real life?
Eleanor Roosevelt. Josephine Baker. Marion Anderson. Harriet Tubman. Gloria Steinem. Niki de St Phalle. Shirley Jackson. I wish I had the space to add them all.
And of course my artist friends, including Mei Hui Liu, Diane Goldie, Anne Sophie Cochevelou, Anothai Hansen, and many more…
Which movie would i recommend to see once in a lifetime?
I can choose only one?? Not possible. But why not have a look at Bringing Up Baby? A ‘dark’ comedy (it is filmed mostly in the dark). Katherine Hepburn, Cary Grant and a leopard, and – oh yes – a dinosaur. What could be bad?
What role plays art in my life and work?
Art is life and life is art. I am the art and the art is me. I live, eat, sleep, dream and wear it, I am completely immersed in it every moment of my life.
Who is my greatest fan, sponsor, partner in crime?
My husband has been a great supporter of my work and lifestyle for many decades. More than a half a century in fact. He is my oxygen. I have fans all over the world. They boost my self esteem and give me great joy. Partners in crime? Anothai Hansen, Dina Leor, Diane Goldie, John William, Peter Herbert.
Whom would I like to work with in 2017?
I would like to work again with Tatty Devine, Shelita Birchett Benash and Peter Herbert.
Which people in my profession would I love to meet in 2017?
Daniel Lismore.
What project, in 2017, am I looking forward to work on?
My book about my philosophy of fashion, art and life.
Where can you see me or my work in 2017?
Watch out for my new book, in progress now. And see Sue Kreitzman on Instagram, facebook and Twitter. Website: http://www.suekreitzman.com
What do the words “Passion Never Retires” mean to me?
It ain’t over ‘til it’s over. Inspiration is everywhere. It is impossible to turn it off.
Which creative heroines should Peter invite to tell their story?
Diane Goldie, Mei Hui Liu, Dina Leor, Anne Sophie Cochevelou.
How can you contact me?
suekreitzman@yahoo.co.uk
Passion Never Retires 