5fives

5fives with Phoenix H. Coverley

phoebird - self-portrait

Like all women, I’m the consummate multi-tasker. Perhaps as a result, I’m not satisfied with just one avenue for creativity. I enjoy photography, cooking and painting, as well as writing and print making. In the photographic medium I tend to focus on portraits and love to experiment with multiple exposures, adding texture and allowing for the occasional happy accident. I tend not to be too anal about making art. Rather than focusing on the product, I am interested in the process of seeing and allowing the medium or subject to guide me toward an end result.

You can find me as Phoenix H. Coverley or phoebird on flickr and Utata
I have prints available for sale at phoebird.imagekind.com/Caught
Also, I am a featured food writer at wineanddinedeals.com

Top five photographers:

  1. Mary Ellen Mark
  2. Sebastian Salgado
  3. Henri Cartier Bresson
  4. Sally Mann
  5. Dorothea Lange

Top five places I’ve lived:

  1. New York City
  2. In an aboriginal community outside of Alice Springs, Australia
  3. Santa Cruz, California
  4. on a sailboat in Indonesia
  5. Baja, Mexico
  6. Phoebird - Australia and Indonesia

Five favourite colours:

  1. Green
  2. White
  3. Black
  4. Sepia
  5. Peach
  6. Phoebird - Dancing Shoes

Five things you wanted to be when you grew up:

  1. fireman
  2. artist
  3. teacher
  4. lawyer
  5. cook
  6. Phoebird - Halloween Night (abstract)

Talk about disparate interests! I’ve never been one to be satisfied with just one focus in life. Wrestling with a mind that is both analytical and creative, I have spent most of my life with the feeling that I’m being pulled in many directions at once. Ironically, I’ve achieved all but becoming a fire[woman], although some say I can be a little fiery at times so I’m certainly thankful for those that have gone into that profession on the off chance I should spontaneously combust.

The five ways I re-energize:

  1. Being at the beach
  2. taking baths
  3. yoga
  4. dancing
  5. camping
  6. Phoebird - Hiking

I am lucky to have lived most of my life within walking distance of the beach. Both of my grandmothers were swimming instructors, so I learned to swim when I was 6 months old, became a swim and surf instructor myself and have always felt much more comfortable in water than out. Whether laying in the sand, surfing, open ocean swimming or just spending time with my toes in the sand, the beach is a place that always feels like home.
Other things that help me to re-energize include hiking, travel, spending time with friends and being creative.


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The power of lists

5fives is a series of interviews with heartfelt, creative people who are responding to five sets of five questions. Whether the answers are single words, essays or even images, together they are fascinatingly compelling and revealing. Contact me if you’d like to be next!

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5 Comments

  • Reply
    Ashleigh A. Coyner
    7 June 2011 at 04:13

    lovin’ this interview! I wish I could say I loved the water…where I grew up (Louisiana) almost every body of water had alligators in it. Unless you were at the pool.

  • Reply
    Angie
    7 June 2011 at 11:32

    Thanks Ashleigh :) – i think alligators would make me a bit wary of the water too!

  • Reply
    Cathy Coverley
    7 June 2011 at 18:53

    Wonderful interview! Love the pics! Thanks for sharing with me.

  • Reply
    Mark McLaughlin
    14 June 2011 at 20:56

    Hi Phoenix – Great pictures!

  • Reply
    veronica
    31 July 2011 at 03:39

    nice articles.I must say my art kind of happens like this alot. I begin working and sometimes, I just fall into a flow or idea and all of a sudden something awesome has been created. I really like this idea of reading about other creative individuals. Thank you.

  • Leave a Reply to Mark McLaughlin Cancel Reply