Inside Caitlin Shearer's World

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Artist Caitlin Shearer, the 18-year-old Sydney, Australia native behind the Etsy sensation Pepperminte (and the subsequent "Bleeding Knees Club"), discusses her love of fashion, aversion towards pants, the nightmare that was high school, and the creative process behind her girls... and effeminate boys!

Julia Frakes: How would you describe your artwork?
Caitlin Shearer: Imaginary girls caught in houses of paper who have the biggest eyebrows in the world and whose knees are always bleeding.

JF: Who or what are your main influences?
CS: Everything I see goes in behind my eyes, then mingles and sleeps there in my brain for a while. The whole world is influencing me all the time. I catch a lot of public transport, and it's good for people-watching. I'll accidentally stare at people for too long, or listen to their private conversations: It's good material. I guess the culmination of me thinking about things too hard are my girls (and effeminate boys)!

JF: What are your favorite hobbies?
CS: Drawing! I enjoy drawing because I forget what I'm doing and I don't have to think about anything else. It has been like that forever, I think. I used to draw the Spice Girls all standing in a row when I was about nine. I also discovered the joys of cooking, but now our oven is broken.

JF: Are there any historic figures that you identify with?
CS: I got really obsessed with Anne Frank and WWII Nazi death camps last year. I would read all these horrific books right before bed and they resulted in nightmares. I don't know if I would say that I feel personally akin to Anne Frank, but her story really fascinates me.

JF: What are you studying in school?
CS: I just started a bachelor of fine arts at College of Fine Arts (Australia), so it's a lot of drawing still lives and painting tons with scientifically precise mixed colours. I get to dabble in textiles and jewelry too, so it's exciting!

JF: Who are your favorite fictional heroes?
CS: He's probably not much of a hero, but little Alex from Anthony Burgess' A Clockwork Orange. So nasty, but so nicely spoken.

JF: What makes you laugh uncontrollably?
CS: "The Mighty Boosh" and my friend Matthieu Peirrot.

JF: How would you describe your personal style?
CS: I'm looking like a conservative peak-hour commuter lately. All I wear is black black black, because it's cold and it doesn't matter if I get paint on my dresses. Otherwise, I wear a lot of dresses... I have a rule of not wearing pants. Ever. And I'm building a collection of patent leather shoes. Puffy sleeves and Peter Pan collars are usually around somewhere. Oh, and black stockings too!

JF: What period of art history do you most gravitate towards?
CS: The time when Art Nouveau was everything. Lalique, mucha love!

JF: Who is your favorite artist?
CS: I love traditional painters like Gustav Klimt and J.W. Waterhouse. Also artists like Lily Piri, Riika Sormunen, Helani Laisk and Charles Anastase.

JF: What types of mediums do you most enjoy using?
CS: Watercolours, tracing paper, gouache, black ink and canvas

JF: What do you value most in others?
CS: People who are genuine with hearts made of gold.

JF: What do you value most in yourself?
CS: That's so hard to answer... I am a good daughter to my parents?

JF: What are your absolute favorite fashion magazines?
CS: Karen, Vogue and Oyster. I wish I could just mash together all the pieces of different magazines so that I could make a perfect one for me... that's an idea for the future!

JF: What is your favorite fairy tale, and why?
CS: Rapunzel. All those lovely golden braids trailing from a window! I always thought it was a bit weird that the prince climbed up on them. It would cause Rapunzel a lot of pain and then she'd probably just chuck him back out the window.

JF: What are three of your favorite songs?
CS: "Tristan" by Patrick Wolf, "Stella Was a Diver and She Was Always Down" by Interpol and "Beautiful Boyz" by Cocorosie

JF: Who are some of your favorite designers?
CS: Fashion inspires me so much! I go crazy over Luella and Erin Fetherston. And Chloé. And Viktor & Rolf. And Vivienne Westwood. Oh, and Gail Sorronda!

JF: What do you consider to be your greatest achievement thus far?
CS: Graduating high school. What a nightmare!