Interview with Elise Marks Tomek - Part 4

[Internet Brothers] When Elise isn't talking to software, what do you like to do for enjoyment? Got any hot tunes or books you'd like to recommend to our readers? Where's your favorite place to vacation?

[Elise Marks Tomek] i read like a maniac. i'll read just about anything ... right now, i'm reading defending pornography by nadine strossen and the essential charles barsotti (he's one of my very favourite cartoonists). my recommended reading list would be too long to post here, but some all-time favourites are:

the tibetan book of living and dying by sogyal rinpoche
the secret history by donna tartt
the boy who saw true by an anonymous author
the gate to women's country by sheri s. tepper

favourite cds from '99:

grant lee buffalo's "jubilee"
lucinda williams' "car wheels on a gravel road"
mike ireland and holler's "learning how to live"
xtc's "apple venus, part 1"

my favourite holiday spot is cork city in ireland. i'd spend every summer there if i could get away that often. it's a brilliant place. do yourself a favour. pack one bag — jeans, sweaters, socks, unmentionables, comb, toothbrush — and just go. stay at least a month. and if you are a woman, do not respond to the question "have you any irish in you?"

[IB] We are beginning to see a number of outstanding collaborative efforts on the web these days. Do you have any favorites out there you would perhaps like to do some work with in the future?

[EMT] well, i love working with my fiance (now husband) - he's amazingly talented and creative, and the word "coffeebreak" has taken on an entirely new meaning since we've started working together. hehe. i'm (tentatively) looking forward to a collaboration with faith of hey-you productions; she's bid an exciting job, and if she's awarded, i'll take on just the print side of things. that will be loads of fun as she was one of my biggest inspirations when i first started out. i'd practically sell my soul to work with kimberly warzelhan someday. on something. on anything. she blows me away.

[IB] Where do you want to take Saucy Tomato Design?

[EMT] i want to move forward and grow - always - as an artist/developer, but i'm pretty happy with Saucy Tomato Design as it stands. i enjoy the informal partnership i have with largely productions (my husband's biz), and i'm very comfortable with the workload i carry right now. i believe i'll always want to continue free-lancing; i'm not interested in building Saucy Tomato Design into any kind of firm. i'd like to use flash a lot more; i enjoy it so much, but i haven't had too many clients interested in that sort of direction. my greatest worry/fear is always stagnation. in a perfect work environment, every new job i accept would include a groovy new challenge that would require me to learn and implement something i'd never before explored.

oh. and i'd like to come up with a hit cartoon character that would make me filthy rich. i'd play with some concepts/ideas i've had rattling round in my brain (the ones that seem to get put forever on hold due to the paying work!). and i'd have so much more time for learning! i'd paint more, and i would leave myself a little more time for travel - but i can't imagine not working.

even though i think it's very important to have a wide variety of skills, it's just as important to know one's strengths — embrace them — rely upon them. i love exploring - and implementing - new media, and i certainly never want to stop learning. at the end of the day, though, i am an artist. that's what is at my core, and that is the area in which i shine. i'm very happy with that!

[IB] Is the shift key on your keyboard broken? Just wondering.

[EMT] NOPE. and i need it ... to draw a straight line in photoshop. :-)

[IB] Thanks Elise. We know from experience that anything you undertake is guaranteed to be highly successful. For our readers out there, if you wish to thank Elise for her time and effort in this interview, please visit EliseTomek.com, and tell her the Internet Brothers sent you.

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"my favourite holiday spot is cork city in ireland. i'd spend every summer there if i could get away that often."

"at the end of the day, though, i am an artist. that's what is at my core, and that is the area in which i shine."