Q:  So, Candy – do you mind if I call you Candy?

A:  No, that’s fine.  I think you know me well enough by now.

Q:  I understand you’re very excited by your photography and design work at the moment.

A:  Yes, that’s true.  I’ve been working on a particular form of photography  I chanced across five years ago, and it’s taken me from then until now to be really happy with it.  So yes, I’m very excited.

Q:  Could you describe it to me?

A:  Well, as a writer, a photographer, and a lover of nature, I’ve always been interested in the energy that is contained within various forms.  It’s almost as if I’ve had a slightly different way of looking at life, and when I managed to combine movement into my photography it’s part of my philosophical outlook on life.  Something to do with energy, movement and joy…

Q:  Joy?

A:  Absolutely.  I believe life should be a joyous experience.

Q:  Do you still write as well?

A:  Yes indeed. I still use words in many through my workshops and through poetry and personal writing.  But somewhere along the line my interest shifted to the visual in all its forms, and immersing myself in visual art is absolutely essential to how I live my life.  Although while I say that, I must admit I’m toying with the idea of my next work of fiction.

Q:  I couldn’t help noticing the reoccurring theme of horses in your work.

A:  I’ve been a horse lover since I was born, I think.  Certainly my first memory was of sitting on a horse when I was less than two and crying when I was taken off.  For me they are the pure expression of the beauty, grace, movement and energy I’ve been talking about.  I love to ride them, hang out with them, or help my kids with their horses.  They are just pure pleasure for me.

Q:  What are you experimenting with right now?

A: Using my photography to print materials of all kinds, make lights and screens, put into design packages for housing, make ‘high-art’ installations and mixed media creations…almost anything you can think of really…

Q:  You mentioned that you give workshops – could you tell me a bit more about them?

A:  I help people discover what they are passionate about -- and to find ways to connect with that passion.   I find teaching people incredibly liberating and rewarding. 

Q:  Could you describe where you live?

A:  I moved to the Byron Bay area of northern New South Wales in 2004.  I live in the hills behind Byron Bay with my two children, and more than several horses.

Q:  Thank you.  That’s been very illuminating.

A:  Thank you.

Facts and Fictions

Candida Baker is the author of the critically acclaimed series Yacker – Australian Writers Talk About Their Work, which was published between 1985 and 1997.

She is also the author of two novels, Women and Horses and The Hidden, as well as a book of award-winning short stories, The Powerful Owl.  The Hidden is due to be made into a film in 2008.

Candida has also published two children’s books: I Know That, and The Baby Angels Counting Book, and an anthology, The Penguin Book of the Horse.

Media

As a journalist Candida has worked for many of the major media publications in Australia.

She was a Sydney-based feature writer for the Age for seven years, she has been Arts Editor of The Sydney Morning Herald, deputy editor of the Good Weekend magazine, and for five years she was editor of the Australian Magazine.

She has contributed stories and photographs to publications as diverse as The Times in London and Cosmopolitan in Australia.

Candida currently does media-consulting and design-packaging in northern New South Wales.

© Candida Baker 2007 ::::: design by ::::: Jason Hampton Taylor