Tess Guinery's Whimsical World

Lovers of Leisure

Tess Guinery

Photography by Anna Pihan

We meet with Tess Guinery and enter her whimsical world of art, poetry and visual expression. After living in Potsdam just out of Berlin, she settled with her lover and 3 girls in the quaint town of Murwillumbah in the Northern Rivers, Australia. With a sense of curiosity, she lives an artful life and leans into playfulness, experimentation and collaboration which is present in her work.

“My childhood was one large creative collaboration... it is impossible for my siblings and I to not turn ‘nothing’ into big beautiful ‘somethings’ when we get together.”

Hi Tess! Can you tell us a little about yourself?

Hello, I’m Tess, I am not a simple thing, but I am mostly simple when it comes to things.. I am artfully improvised, which is a poetic way of saying that I am mostly making things up as I go.

Strangely, I am also methodical, a pure oddity, a contradiction.

Woman, Lover, Mother, Artist.

I have found home amongst many places in the world but my current home is found with my lover and three daughters in the sweet and daggy little creative town of Murwillumbah, NSW, Australia. We have found a sincere sense of place here on the floors of mountains, ones that silhouette and make the shape of a sleeping giant laying gently on his back. His eyes are to the sky, almost as though he is teaching us how to be here.

My current medium and creative lean is in the expression of writing. I am in a spacious season that is allowing me to explore and further outwork my love for prose and poetry whilst delving into the new and unknown rhythms of long form writing. I am finding newer fulfilment in the artful expressions that allows me to practice film photography and marry language with its visualisations.

Within the melting pot of my ever evolving expression as an artist and writer, I have had a strong sense of communion with dance and movement since childhood. As a former dancer and choreographer, the art I produce today reflects a beautiful intertwining where movement intersects and holds hands with many other mediums I am drawn to, behaving almost like an electric undercurrent in the way I find myself using paint, or in the way I write, or how I capture photographically. Dance has become the heartbeat that subliminally moves my art from a static dimension into something that has a sense of movement—acting as an anchor, a catalyst and a faithful point of reference for my expression as an artist.

My longings to make art of my everyday has been largely explored in the fascinating places we have had the opportunity to live. Experiences that have sewn greatly into my practice as an artist.

Tenacious about growth, I am committed to being as water as I adhere to the ever-changing cyclical phases that come with choosing to embrace the creative process as a way of life. Creativity has always felt instinctive and in that I’ve adhered to the concept that creativity as a practice, is innately part of life rather than an extension of it. The pursuit of seeing beauty and being awake to it is the undercurrent and leading of all my work. I seek it through conversation and electric communion in my prayer life, it’s here, my eyes become awake to beauty and from this place, I create.

“Leisure can often lead to significant creative breakthroughs.”

How do you spend your leisure time?

A local town stroll is always time well spent. I make a leisurely habit of grabbing a coffee (and pastry) from my local coffee spot to indulge in a gentle and slow lap around my town-ship. With the ornate buildings, antique stores, art studios, op shops and the spontaneous bump-ins, I always feel purposeful and in rhythm when I spend a few hours strolling about delightfully in this old world. There’s something about a small town-ship that makes sense to me. It fits. I fit.

In what way is leisure time important for your creativity?

For me, it's about embracing improvisation, recognising that leisure can often lead to significant creative breakthroughs. Leisure and improvisation are integral to the art-making process—they're not separate from it. Sometimes, I find myself engaging in seemingly unnecessary tasks as part of my creative process, knowing that they ultimately contribute to what I hope to express artfully.

In my practice, I intentionally allow for this process, understanding that I may not immediately dive into my tools. Instead, I warm up in an improvised manner, connecting with my mind, body, and thoughts through seemingly unrelated leisurely activities that are, in fact, deeply intertwined with my creative process. This gradual transition helps me ease into the act of creating.

This is me meeting with space and time,

it’s an unwinding,

an exfoliation,

a stretching,

a warming up,

an undoing,

and then I can begin.

“A local town stroll is always time well spent. There’s something about a small town-ship that makes sense to me.”

Is there a project that has been inspired by leisure?

‘The Stars Nodded’ is a book I am really passionate about, one that I have dedicated to my daughters— it’s an ode to dreaming, one that visually made shape in Germany. The book leans into a 1960’s nod with a strong and striking colour palette paying tribute to the colours that returned to me that Summer. This book is a restoration of hope and of vision, it presents itself as a book for children, but I feel that it’s subliminally for adults.

"The Stars Nodded" was heavily inspired by my time in Germany, although it was written in Australia. The visuals came to life in Berlin/Potsdam, Germany.

During the writing process, we received an unexpected but very welcomed phone call—a call that offered us the incredible opportunity to live in Germany for 6 months. Our quick “yes” awakened every reluctant part of me, answering some desperate prayers. With only a week to pack up everything we owned and fly abroad, we landed in the summer flowers where I experienced a deeply personal revitalization of my imagination.

My creative process is ever-changing, but what stood out about this project was how the words came before the visuals, which is unusual for me. Typically, I see the colours and visuals first, with the words following later. Now, I understand the intention behind this creative unfolding. It became clear that there was still some untangling to do, and this untangling happened in Germany—a place where colour and breath returned personally, and where the book materialised.

Do you have a favourite leisurely destination and what made it special?

So many places, but Potsdam, Germany really was an alternate universe that I thought only existed in my imagination. Cobblestone streets, accordion players, bakeries, coffee and art—it was all my town-strolling dreams amplified in real time.

Your favourite tune for leisure?

I love this song by Rex Orange County — It speaks into how I like to spend my leisure time.

Sunrise, midday or sunset?

Sunset (that little pocket of time right before it) — dusk. It’s the way the light sits.

If you could spend the day with any artist or creative person, who would it be?

My siblings.

My childhood was one large creative collaboration. Collaboration is where I find my most lively self, creatively. Early on, I learnt that a collective and artful kind of satisfaction happens in togetherness.

To this day, it is impossible for my siblings and I to not turn ‘nothing’ into big beautiful ‘somethings’ when we get together. Our conversations are some of my favourite in the world, ones full of “what if’s?” with ideas transpiring into visions that come to life through speech. Together we see things that could be or become, we cheer each other on, we help each other grow ideas from their early beginnings. There is this beautiful under-girding sense of inclusiveness and an eagerness to co-create even if it's just in the exchange of an idea or in the backing of one. Collaborative language and conversation is something I attribute to my mother, a beautiful thread sown by her and carried into my adult life and creative process as an artist.

Have you ever travelled to a place that completely exceeded your expectations?

You’ll see a pattern weaving through-out my liaison here. Germany was never a place I had on my list of countries to go—it was a happenstance that took us there, but it significantly changed my life. I’m not sure if it was the context that surrounded the trip for me intimately and emotionally, but I have never witnessed so much beauty—the flowers, the buildings, the townships, the open fields, the smells, the architecture, the food—the entire experience revitalised my imagination. I write a poem about this experience here.

What’s in your carry on?

I have many times over travelled with my bright yellow moccamaster when I am not sure if the coffee in a location will be sufficient.

Most treasured souvenir...

Everywhere I visit, I love to find a vintage piece of clothing with a story to take home — a way to wear my memories from past travels in new lands.

I have this beautiful burgundy two-piece satin set that comes with a funny story.

While in old town Lecce, Italy, we stumbled upon the most charming little store down an alleyway. The owner was incredibly enthusiastic, exuding her love and passion (I adore the Italian way of being), wearing her big, abundant heart on her sleeves as she poured her romance generously over us and our three daughters — hugging them, trying to kiss their cheeks, and singing "Bella, Bella" over and over. I love that creativity and generosity can transcend language barriers. In the midst of this pouring out, I found myself pouring over the beautifully curated vintage pieces on display — each surely with its own story. The language barrier on this trip led to some very funny stories, particularly in this scenario. When I asked about the prices, I was astonished at how inexpensive each garment was. Thinking I'd stumbled upon a European treasure, I eagerly began filling up a bag of vintage treasures. However, my excitement was short-lived when she tallied up the total at the end of my thrift scouting adventure (or so I thought). It turned out her use of sign language to express prices in the tens was missing quite a few zeros. What I thought would add up to a neat hundred-figure turned out to be far beyond my understanding. Laughing and trying to explain with my limited Italian that I could only afford one piece was an art in itself. Choosing which piece to keep was easy; explaining it was not. I went back to the first love that caught my eye — a handmade Italian fabric sewn together as a two-piece ensemble, covered in flowers, of course!

I adore the next part of the story where I asked if I could take a photo of her holding my purchased vintage (for my memories), and she decided to put on the entire outfit and dance around the shop! I found myself laughing excessively for two reasons — the love of this experience in its entirety and how uninhibited she was — it was so pure and beautiful. I often think, "Thank you, beautiful shop lady, for adding a wonderful memory to my travel diary forever," and to this day, I still think of her whenever I wear the set.

“The pursuit of seeing beauty and being awake to it is the undercurrent and leading of all my work.”

Dream hotel you’ve stayed at?

It wasn’t a hotel but a little Air Bnb, in an unsuspecting and humble little village on a hill in Italy.

We spent a huge day driving from Salzburg, Austria to Varano, Italy. We arrived just in time for dinner to a set table in this sweet little Airbnb on the hillside of the Ancona coastline. We unpacked, walked 30 metres from the front door down a cobblestone street to get cheese, bread and vegetables for an easy dinner by candlelight (vino of course) & the feeling of the home and town has never left me!

Waking up to the smell of fresh bread from the bakery just outside our front door—quintessentially old world Italy and a memory we will never forget.