Gynosome came across Tamara’s work during the research for our (spoiler alert) eco-feminism debate. Amongst a piece of literature, a drawing entitled ‘Mother Nature Posing’ was included. We spoke to Tamara about feminism, the power (or lack of) in art, and how bad-ass fairytales can be. 

 

Researching Miss Theibaux- Haikalo online was not easy, her website is under construction and all other images and posts were related to her book illustrations. From this one image we had seen we knew this was a lady worth talking to- in one image Tamara had encapsulated all that our issue represents. Immediately we got in touch with the artist to find out more about her work, her views and her take on Mother Nature.

 

Tamara has been creating art all her life. “I am 51 and I’ve been drawing for as long as I could hold a pencil (or whatever was available). I always wanted to be an artist” she says. She’s also illustrated many books and is working on her ninth children’s book. Her whimsical and surreal style isn’t always reflected in this work though.

 

When she’s not creating the drawings for children’s literature she’s creating “loose” styled art speaking on issues that concern her. The Nova-Scotian artist described her work, ‘Mother Nature Posing’, as “another way to say something”. She says her ideas often come “without thinking about them”.

She’s incredibly inspired by nature; “nature is immensely important to me and coupled with a concern about socio- political issues, I will try to express what needs to be given voice to. I love when it comes with humour. Humour has huge power. (Mother Nature Posing) also includes an embracing of our bodies - in their natural uncovered form - without apologies”.

 

Nature is pivotal to Theibaux’s life and she thinks we all need to realise how vital it is. “Humans can’t survive without it, no matter how hard so many people try to- destroying it or fighting it along the way. I am deeply alarmed by how hard people fight nature” she states. “We are getting further and further into trouble with health problems and environmental degradation. I have an intense need to live where I can easily access nature, especially the forest. I also grow food, fruit and herbs, wherever I live. If I could easily live without electricity, I would”.

 

When asked if art was the most powerful means to make change, she surprisingly said no. “If you want to know if I think art is the most powerful medium, generally speaking, my answer is no”, shocking as her answer is, her honesty is refreshing.

 

Instead she believes that music is more powerful, “aside from the fact that we absorb vibrations right from conception, the sense of hearing is the first to develop in the womb. I am married to an amazing musician, who is also talented with visual art. I hear on a nearly daily basis the power of music”.

 

However the artist does acknowledge the power she holds; “music is limited in what it can say about socio-political concerns - at least if you don’t also include accompanying text. My husband has composed some pieces of music that are focused on serious issues, and you can feel their strength, but you’d need to be told what they are about, whereas with visual art, if the message is conveyed clearly, no accompanying description is necessary”.

 

One of her favourite pieces she has created is ‘Vasa Lisa Receives Fire From Baba Yaga’. It is a commissioned painting inspired by the chapter on Baba Yaga, in the book ‘Women Who Run With Wolves, by Clarissa Pinkola Estes. She tells us “it is fierce, not at all nice”, which is probably why Gynosome likes it.

Tamara has an incredibly meaningful connection to this work though, “it helped me (more like pushed) at a time when I was in need of the message conveyed by that tale. I was in a bad marriage, and once a month (during PMS, when women are in a state of not being able to tolerate nonsense) I’d bring up the problems and we’d have a big fight. Then everything would get swept under the rug again. Finally things got worse and I had a (albeit very small) way out, so I took it”. Luckily Tamara says she’s in a better marriage now.

 

Another favourite is a collection of illustrations that accompany a set of fairy tales. Tamara was adamant that “these are not fairy stories for children, and the fairies are NOT your stereotypical fairies”. She says she enjoyed this project particularly because she “enjoys messing with people’s conditioned expectations; besides, the young, female, pretty, caucasian, too-often pornographic concept of fairies is very boring- no, annoying”.

 

Unfortunately Tamara thinks the collection won’t be published as publishers are dismissing original and inventive ideas, such as this. This is a massive shame, as the work sounds genuinely interesting and pioneering. 

 

Luckily, though, Tamara has created some other collections that Gynosome is extremely fond of.

She has also created a series honouring menstruation. She describes it as “a reclaiming of what has too long been unjustly, unwarrantedly, maligned”- amen to that. A collection of Vulva Pillows is Tamara’s latest work, too. They’re “honouring this integral aspect of being female, it’s pillows that are sacred and playful” she develops, and they are inspired by The Vagina Monologues.

 

We may adore Tamara’s work, but not everyone seems to be so accepting. Tamara says she has experienced censorship a great deal. Her Menstruation series had to be taken down due to exploitation from the “wrong crowd”, she says.

 

Another piece of work she created, entitled ‘Menses Introspection’, which Tamara explains “refers to that time of the month when women in some cultures would disappear for a while to reset themselves, re-evaluate or contemplate life - a sacred time”, was confiscated at a University in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

It’s sad how closed-minded, and perhaps a little backwards, people can be. However, we love Tamara Thiebaux’s work; it’s feminist, honest and to some controversial, which are all qualities Gynosome intends to be. Tamara’s one piece of advice she wanted to offer Gynosome readers was to “be honest with yourself”, and that is one of our favourite responses we’ve had yet.