» Interview with Tyler Ward

Interview with Tyler Ward

March 30, 2011

And now for Tyler’s interview.  He’s a little bit chattier than Kevin!

We caught up with Tyler on his way back from the gym one evening, once again at Celestial Café, where we both opted for a cup of decaf Earl Grey tea with a shot of vanilla flavoring.  Tyler is freshly showered, his dark curls are still damp, and he seems to be still on a post-work-out endorphin high as his smile is energetic and his chatter is effusive.

Jessica Skye Davies: Thanks for stopping to talk with us, Tyler.  We promise we won’t keep you too long.

Tyler Ward: No, it’s great, I’m totally down for a chat and Kev’s got the biz association meeting tonight.  I’d have probably just gone home and talked to Teddy – or sat here and annoyed the fu-…  um, annoyed Luke.

JSD: No need to censor yourself, Tyler, the editors will take care of that if they feel the need.

TW: Oh, thanks!  I sometimes don’t realize what I’m saying till I’ve already said it.  Luke sometimes tries to tell me what color my “aura” is, but I’m convinced all he’s seeing the air I’ve turned blue with my language.

JSD: That’s ok, Tyler, it’s all about being yourself.  So shall we start?

TW: Yeah, let’s do it.

JSD:  Great.  We had a good time talking to Kevin, so let’s jump right in.  You’re not from around here, are you?
TW: Nope.  Moved here from the UK about six years ago.  I’d just finished art school and decided I’d come here and try my “luck,” as it were.  My luck really sucked at first because one of the first things I did was end up in a bad car crash that really screwed up my back, but that’s what happens when you forget which side of the road to turn onto to I reckon.  Good things did happen though, too.  I made a friend from the “old country” here right off because the imports shop was one of the first places I found when I got here.  It was Danny who helped me get through rehab and then introduced me to Kev, and I can’t think of anything better than that in my life.

JSD: Do you visit home often?
TW: I’ve gone back a couple times, and my mum has come to visit Kevin and I here as well a few times.  My mum’s a former flight attendant, so she knows how to get the best deals on flights and stuff, a fact she’s frequently reminding me of!  But really, my home is here now, with Kevin.

JSD: We know Kevin is an artist and gallery owner, and you mentioned going to art school.  Do you and Kevin have similar artistic styles, and can we find your work in Kevin’s gallery?

TW: Our art is actually really different.  Kev likes his canvases and is really kind of more traditional in his style, kind of impressionistic at times.  My stuff is really… 3D.  I like to say that space is my medium, in a Zen sort of way.  I play with all sorts of materials and forms and love to create hanging pieces.  I also enjoy working in clay and really getting my hands into something.  I usually have several pieces up in the gallery at any given time.  As well as selling my work, I also help out frequently at the gallery.  Got to earn my keep so Kev doesn’t turf me out!

JSD: What’s your favorite book?

TW: William Shakespeare’s classic Gay Boys in Bondage.  A distant second favorite is probably The Bridges of Madison County.  Yeah, it’s pulpy, but the strength of Robert and Francesca’s feelings is so powerfully written.  What can I say, I’m a fool for love!

JSD: What’s something that nobody knows about you?

TW: That I’m secretly straight and just passing as gay because I don’t want to be singled out when they take over the world.

JSD:  Do you have a favorite childhood memory?

TW:  The best times I had as a kid were summer holidays.  Our whole family, aunts and uncles and cousins, the grandparents, we all used to go the beach for holidays.  We’d usually rent out a couple of beach houses for a fortnight.  It was a really big deal.

JSD:  At what point in your life did you first really think you were grown up?

TW:  When I left home for university.  The first couple weeks were brilliant, just like taking a holiday.  Then reality set in and I realized I didn’t know shite about life!
JSD: When and where were you the happiest?

TW:  As much as I enjoyed those beach holidays, I’ve never been happier than I am now.  I’m genuinely content every day and I don’t think anyone can ask for more than that.

JSD:  What is something that you dislike?

TW:  I don’t always have a lot of patience for all that superstitious hocus-pocus kind of stuff.  When people say something like finding a twenty dollar bill was “good luck,” I usually point out that their definition of good luck was clearly someone else’s bad luck, so isn’t the more logical explanation that someone just wasn’t paying careful attention to their money?  What I really dislike more than anything, though, is dislike itself.  There’s way too much hate in the world and I hate it!

JSD:  Who do you admire?

TW:  Anybody who lives their life their way without caring about other people’s criticism has my admiration.  There’s always going to be somebody who thinks “you’re doing it wrong,” but if it’s right for you and the people who matter to you, what anybody else thinks should be meaningless.

JSD: Are you afraid of anything?

TW:  In that sort of superficial way, mice kind of freak me out.  Fortunately our cat, Teddy spares me from worrying about that too much, and Kevin spares me having to deal with the remains.  On a deeper level, that’s kind of hard to say.  I think, deep down, we all really have the same fears, don’t we?  I think we all fear abandonment or loss, isolation.

JSD:  What’s your biggest vice?

TW:  Oh god, vintage clothes and shoes!  It doesn’t help at all that one of my mates is the owner of a vintage shop so I usually get first dibs.  Clothing is a form of self-expression to me.  Maybe it’s because I had to wear a uniform through most of my schooling until uni, but I just won’t wear anything that I don’t feel is me at the moment.  If I’m feeling shitty, I’ll hide in sweats and hoodie.  If I’m feeling confident, I’ll pick out my favorite jeans and a jacket that’s tailored to hell and back, an awesome pair of slick, square-toed loafers and a scarf for an accent of color….  Yeah, you get the idea!  Suffice to say, Kevin has totally learned to read my moods based on what I’m wearing at the moment.

JSD:  I think we might know the answer to this next one.  Tell us a bit about the most important thing in your life?

TW:  Yeah, I’m pretty obvious about that, right?  Kevin really is the best thing that’s ever happened to me though.  He’s been the most supportive partner I could imagine.  I definitely hit the relationship jackpot when I met him!

JSD:  What’s your favorite food?

TW:  I love sweets of any kind, but also good, fresh, healthy food as well.  Things taste so much better when they’re fresh.  That’s another thing I have Kev to thank for, because I used to survive on take-away and canned food until we met.

JSD:  And finally, what’s your favorite “couple” thing to do, besides the obvious?

TW:  That kind of goes with the last one, actually.  I really love spending time in the kitchen with Kevin.  I’m not much of a cook myself, but it’s really nice to be able to work together and sort of unwind at the end of the day, just chatting, sharing a drink or two.  That and working together in the studio, but that’s really almost the same thing, really, all very creative.  And really, it’s those little moments that make a life.

JSD: Thank you so much for sharing your time with us, Tyler.  We wish all the best for you and Kevin, and look forward to visiting the gallery to see some of your work.

TW:  You’re totally welcome, it was a fun chat.  Just let me know when you’re going to stop into the gallery and I’ll come round to give the grand tour, and another cup of tea as well.