We’re excited to kick off our Meet the Maker interview series with Rebecca Garfield, full-time artist and founder of State of Eden – a Melbourne-based art boutique, specialising in print artworks, inspired by the beauty of our natural world.
After a successful career in fashion retail, Rebecca made the bold decision following the birth of her second child, to combine her passion for business, marketing and art. Harbouring a secret desire to become a full-time artist since her high school days, Rebecca founded State of Eden in 2017 to connect, bring joy and contentment to people of all ages through her beautiful, detailed works – a true labour of love, created to be enjoyed for generations to come.
Find out what inspires her, how she stays creative during this challenging time and what she’s looking forward to in 2020 below.
How would you describe yourself in one sentence?
A passionate, loving and creative individual who is sometimes over critical and disorganised. The good and the bad!
Do you have any daily rituals?
Coffee.
What’s the first song you listen to in the morning?
Music communicates how you feel so it depends on how I wake up and what happens within the first hour of waking. I am loving Black Pumas at the moment though. They’re my favourite band to listen to while working – chilled, uplifting and talks to the soul.
What inspires you?
Generally absolutely everything, you never know where your next bit of inspiration will come from, so I like to keep my eyes and ears open. I love discovering things and listening to people’s stories. More specifically, Mother Nature plays a big role in my art – she is a genius designer, teacher and nurturer who never stands still.
How do you stay creative and motivated during this challenging time?
A lot of the day-to-day routine has been removed – the kids and I find creating together cathartic and fun. I have also made creative and administration goals for myself to achieve during this time. I keep a tab of how far I am progressing with these and make adjustments and changes if required. You need to keep yourself accountable – sometimes it is good to share your goals with a close circle of people, so you can keep each other accountable.
What’s the best advice you’ve been given?
The best was when I was facing a difficult career decision and it was given to me by my best friend, “Picture yourself in 10 years time and what would you regret more.” For me, it was a loss of a great career opportunity or time with my children. It seems like a no-brainer, but it was hard to let my career ambitions go. I obviously chose my children and it has led me here, and I couldn’t be happier.
One book that changed your worldview and how?
Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. I read this in Year 11 as part of my school’s English syllabus. It really struck a chord with me – it opened my eyes to those casually held attitudes about women around me, and also the real plights of women in other cultures around the world. My mum always talked about the importance of democracy growing up. I think the Handmaid’s Tale really painted a picture for me of how fear and complacency undermine democracy and allow us to be manipulated. Gosh, that’s a bit heavy!
What are you looking forward to in 2020?
I am looking forward to using the lockdown time to tighten up my business plan for the future. I have some new art releases and I am looking to expand my drawing workshops for the second half of 2020.
Update your space and explore our range of State of Eden prints here.