Liane Rossler: Artist & Designer

Who

Liane Rossler

Location

Sydney, Australia

Profession

Artist & Designer

This week, we met with artist and designer Liane Rossler to chat over a cup of Apres Meal. Liane has worked in creative industries for over thirty years, and has spent the last decade focused on projects that intersect art, design and the environment. She’s also the founder of Superlocalstudio which inspires collaborative, socially engaged cultural and creative projects for diverse audiences. Other recent work include Here and Now, Supercyclers and Happy Talk; projects focused on clever and beautiful sustainable design practice. Liane was also the co-founder, former designer, and director of Dinosaur Designs for 25 years.

What attracted you to sustainable design practice?

I’ve always had a love for nature and the environment, and in the mid 2000s it became apparent that all our advances in the last 50 years had started to create problems that needed to change to create a better future. As a designer, I feel this is a great opportunity and I am constantly inspired by all the new challenges that are being presented.

Can you talk to us about your interest in the environment? Did it inspire your exhibition FOR GARDENING?

I love creating ways for nature to prosper, so I was very happy to be invited to create something for FOR GARDENING, which brought together designers to create something beautiful and useful for gardening inside or out. 

Can you tell us about some of the projects that Superlocalstudio are working on at the moment and what’s inspired them?

I have some new works on exhibition for Melbourne Design Week, experimenting with new materials which is something I love exploring. The focus this year is on how design can shape the future.

What was the most interesting social engagement project you’ve worked on?

Happy Talk was a design project inspired by the local Pacific region and resourceful, self sufficient, low impact, and beautiful ways that traditional skills could be used in contemporary ways that Heidi Dokulil and I worked together to create in 2011. We built a pavilion in Hyde Park that offered daily and weekly workshops, engaging community and encouraging collaborations between all ages, professions, and skill levels while building new conversations between the creative industry and wider community. Hundreds of people joined us over the month. 

Can you share with us any of your favourite daily rituals? Perhaps a morning or evening routine you couldn’t live without?

I have a few things that are a constant every week. First thing in the morning I make myself a stovetop coffee and then I love to look at everything growing in the garden. On weekends, I start the morning walking around Centennial Park which is always a joy, and midweek training with Michael at Bondi Gym. The weeks can be different depending on what project I’m working on, but those few daily rituals are a constant.

Is it possible to name the most valuable lesson you learned during your 25 years at Dinosaur Designs? Perhaps something that helped you to found Superlocalstudio…

I enjoy the creative process of creating something from nothing, so it was rewarding to work to establish and grow the company over that time from a small market stall to an international design company. The experience I gained over the 25 years is applied in so many ways, and I look forward to the next 25 years and beyond.

Do you have a favourite time of day to drink tea and where would your most ideal spot be to enjoy the perfect cup?

I love to drink tea at any time, and I particularly love sharing a pot with someone else. Whenever I have guests to the studio or at home, we always sit down with a pot of herbal tea, and as a family we enjoy a pot of soothing tea together after dinner.

Tell us about your home/studio - the plants, decor and styling - where do you get your inspiration?

I like to create spaces to both live in and work in that focus on light and space and air and interesting objects. The studio is a neutral calming backdrop that is adaptable to change depending on the project going on at the time. It’s filled with plants in ceramics I have made and I’m inspired to a create space that is timeless, calm, beautiful and useful.

What are your favourite places to eat and drink in your neighbourhood?

Some local favourites are Nalinis, Ichi Ban Boshi, Tucker and Belagio Tuck Shop.

What’s your favourite organic product and what makes it so special to you?

I like to buy organic products whenever I can, both what we put in our body such as food and drink as well what we put on our body. As our skin is our biggest organ it’s important to consider what we’re absorbing, so alongside daily use products such as toothpaste and deodorant, organic washing powder is important to me, both for us and for the environment.

Can you share with us something you read, saw or heard recently that resonated with you?

I’m inspired by the leadership of Jacinda Ahern and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and feel very hopeful for the future with the rising of these kind of strong and compassionate voices.