Getting to know Phoebe Smithies.

When and why did you start making art?

Children are the best at making art, they believe all the praise heaped on them by their parents and can be very prolific. I'd love to get back to creating as much as I did as a very young child.

What was your favorite Forest Collective project?

I loved playing Cat Hope's visual score Lampi, which scrolled across all our iPad screens simultaneously in beautiful colours. I love the flexibility of a work like that, that it allows any instrument combination to create music together. Also the potential for it to be read and interpreted by people who can't read traditional music notation.

What is a fun fact about you people may not know?

I'm a huge nerd for plugging up draughts in the home. I think it may be my secret life calling.

What is your favorite work of art?

Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet ballet, which I played the suite of on violin as a teenager. I've always been fascinated with the tragedy of it. West Side Story (based on the same themes) probably comes a close second.

What is one of your favorite pieces of music to play/sing/dance to?

Breakaway by the Beach Boys, such high contagious energy. It's a hidden b-side but definitely worth looking up!