Una Gildea

Born in Sligo, Una Gildea is an animator and illustrator based in Dublin. Her work has been shown all over the world, in art galleries and film festivals! She swung by This is Art Club! studio to teach us about the power of collage and how to animate our designs. Una tells us more below...

What is collage?

Collage is when you take different elements from various sources such as magazines, books, photographs and combine them together to create something new!

The word comes from the French word “collér,” which means “to glue”.

Where do you source all your wonderful materials for your collages?

Everywhere! In charity shops, at markets, or anywhere that has vintage or second-hand books and magazines for sale. I am always on the lookout for materials!

Who do you admire / any favourite quote or motto that inspires you?

I admire positive people, people who just do their thing in the face of all kinds of challenges which life throws at us all. I include myself in that - for continuing to do what I do.

I love inspiring quotes from Winnie the Pooh and Spike Milligan, they are a great place to start. They combine two things I really appreciate in life – keep it simple and keep it funny!

Hard to choose but here are two from Winnie the Pooh:

“When all else fails take a nap.”

“Life is a journey to be experienced, not a problem to be solved”.

And from Spike Milligan - please do take some time to read more quotes from him and his gloriously bonkers poetry!

“Money can't buy you happiness, but it does bring you a more pleasant form of misery”

“And God said, 'Let there be light' and there was light, but the Electricity Board said he would have to wait until Thursday to be connected”.

Why is it important for artists to incorporate humour into their work?

I use humour but that doesn’t mean that all artists should. Humour is one of those things that you can’t force if it’s not there. That’s my way of dealing with what life throws at me. Having said that, I think humour is an important life skill - let’s not take ourselves so seriously!

If someone wants to be animator, what’s the best way to get started?

Start making some animation! There are lots of free software programmes out there now to download, along with loads of tutorials and a wealth of information at your fingertips!

Follow your passion, find out what excites you, draw and experiment! If you believe this is really the path for you, then think about studying further, or contact animation studios to see what their requirements are.

Make contact with animators you admire on social media - most people are open to you saying ‘hello’!

Tell us about the work you make / your practice / describe what you do?

If I am in the flow, and I am working on something that's going in the right direction, it is easy! I just go into the studio and continue working. If I am searching a bit or starting something new, then it can be a bit more challenging.

So, what I do is go into my studio - your job as an artist is to turn up - browse my art books, look at my sketchbooks, look through previous ideas and my work in progress designs.

This generally gets the ideas going. If that all fails then I go for a walk with Patch, my dog!

When did you realise art was something you wanted to pursue?

I was always drawing as a kid. But living in rural Sligo in the 1970's, I didn't really have any idea how you would do that.

I just continued drawing - then I ended up living in Amsterdam and went to the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in the 90's.

Since then, I have just kept on my creative path, exploring, experimenting and above all remaining curious and inquisitive.

Do you think people are 'born' artists, or is it something they have to discover?

I think some people are naturally more curious and inquisitive than others. They question stuff; they wonder about different possibilities and dream about other lives. This is the starting point for many artists, but not all.

What is art?

In 1917 Marcel Duchamp submitted an ordinary piece of plumbing – a urinal – for an exhibition, stating that they are "everyday objects raised to the dignity of a work of art by the artist's act of choice." This is often seen as the starting point for the concept that anything can be art.

Ernst Gombrich, Austrian art historian, said that “there is no such thing as art, only artists”. While Grayson Perry, a British artist, said that “art is a socially constructed thing that a certain number of people need to agree on”.

You have art, as in the world of the art market, from curators to galleries and museums to collectors. It’s big money.

But you also have the art that we all make! That unique expression of your view, your experience of the world, that space you go to give life and form to your subconscious, your thoughts, your ideas.

Art informs, inspires and encourages you to see things from a different perspective. It challenges you, makes you question things and invites you to take nothing for granted.

This is also art.

The theme of this year's TIA! competition is "This Is Inspiration". What does 'inspiration' mean to you? Is there a lightbulb moment?! 

Inspiration is when you feel fired up to take action – an idea that just won’t let you go.

It’s a feeling of enthusiasm, which motivates you to do stuff! I think the more you feel inspired and the more you act on it, then light bulb moments happen. It’s like an energy.

Where do you get your inspiration from? 

Life inspires me. The passing of the seasons, the light which invariably follows the dark. Positive people inspire me, individuals who just do their thing in the face of all kinds of challenges which life throws at us all. And of course, art inspires me.

Any top tips for people who might find they are blocked - when inspiration just won't come to them?  

Ah, I know this feeling so well!

Go and see some art - the museums are free in Ireland. You can walk in and be surrounded by great art – well, if you live in the city or a big enough town.

Read, go to the cinema, theatre. Get out in the countryside; go for a walk, cycle, swim.

Try not to dwell on the block - 'this too shall pass' is a good mantra.

Being creative and making art is a process, we are not machines.

What would you say is the function of art / the role of artists? 

I do think the role of art is to engage, re-interpret, entertain, to challenge people and get them thinking about things in a different way. Open their aperture on life!

Any advice for young artists who might think their work is "no good"?

If you have that creative urge, that urge to express yourself, just keep doing exactly that, whatever medium you choose be active in it.

Try not to engage with that negative critical voice - it will always be there, so get used to it! But don’t let it rule you. And remember nobody can do what you do.