Meet the Maker-Sophie Colette
We are excited to introduce Sophie as our newest member of Paper Plane, we love her print making skills and colour combinations. Here is a little more about her. . .
Please introduce yourself and tell us a little about your work? Hi I’m Sophie and I am a printmaker. I am originally from Cumbria but now live in Bristol. I mostly work from home but I also print at Spike Island Print Studio on the other side of the city, which is a really great space to have access too. There is a really friendly atmosphere and it’s a great experience and opportunity to work amongst so many great artists.
What inspires you to make what you do? Going back home to Cumbria inspires me a lot. Getting back to my roots of living in the countryside with nature just on your doorstep, it’s hard not to be inspired there. Visiting gardens is great too and I will collect many photos to work from later. Everything is inspiring, even just seeing a colour that I really like can spark all sorts of new ideas; I find I am constantly scribbling down thoughts and designs even when I should be doing other things! If I am in a creative rut though, sometimes I feel its best just to have a break and go do something else. I find during these times inspiration can come from somewhere you least expect.
What are you working on at the moment?
I am currently working on printing fabric for lampshades which I am really excited about. I really enjoyed printing and making these lampshades. Each one is entirely uniquely printed and a lot of thought has gone into each one. I have some ideas for other ones as well, based on some of my favourite plants. I am just in the process of working on the sketches at the moment.
What do you love most about working in your chosen discipline? I discovered printing at Spike Island after my tutor at University suggested it would be a good direction to take my drawings. After taking many workshops at Spike, I now work with lino, silk screen, woodcut and, most recently and most excitingly, textile printing.
Printing to me is all about the colour! I can’t adequately express the immense satisfaction that I get from seeing the transformation from my initial sketches into the final print. The process brings out such vivid colours that, in my experience, I have found is a special characteristic of print making.
How would you describe your creative process? I work in sketchbooks a lot because my second love to printing is drawing. I draw from real life plants, dried out seed heads and other treasures found upon journeys. It’s not unusual for me to arrive home clutching a fistful of leaves or twigs that caught my fancy. I also work a lot from photographs of flowers and landscapes from my travels. No matter which printing process I use there is always a lot of prep work required, whether it is the day spent cutting my design into lino or prepping my drawings and screen for screen printing. It is always a much longer process than you plan out in your head!
If you could peek inside the studio of any artist or designer, who would it be? I would love to go to New Mexico and see inside artist Geninne d zlatkis house/studio. She creates stunningly carved stamps, paintings and ceramics inspired by her surroundings of New Mexico. Her house/studio seems flawlessly thought out right down to every last detail. She works and lives in such a beautiful space. I highly recommend checking out her Instagram, every photo she takes is so captivating.
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Please introduce yourself and tell us a little about your work? Hi I’m Sophie and I am a printmaker. I am originally from Cumbria but now live in Bristol. I mostly work from home but I also print at Spike Island Print Studio on the other side of the city, which is a really great space to have access too. There is a really friendly atmosphere and it’s a great experience and opportunity to work amongst so many great artists.
What inspires you to make what you do? Going back home to Cumbria inspires me a lot. Getting back to my roots of living in the countryside with nature just on your doorstep, it’s hard not to be inspired there. Visiting gardens is great too and I will collect many photos to work from later. Everything is inspiring, even just seeing a colour that I really like can spark all sorts of new ideas; I find I am constantly scribbling down thoughts and designs even when I should be doing other things! If I am in a creative rut though, sometimes I feel its best just to have a break and go do something else. I find during these times inspiration can come from somewhere you least expect.
What are you working on at the moment?
I am currently working on printing fabric for lampshades which I am really excited about. I really enjoyed printing and making these lampshades. Each one is entirely uniquely printed and a lot of thought has gone into each one. I have some ideas for other ones as well, based on some of my favourite plants. I am just in the process of working on the sketches at the moment. What do you love most about working in your chosen discipline? I discovered printing at Spike Island after my tutor at University suggested it would be a good direction to take my drawings. After taking many workshops at Spike, I now work with lino, silk screen, woodcut and, most recently and most excitingly, textile printing.
Printing to me is all about the colour! I can’t adequately express the immense satisfaction that I get from seeing the transformation from my initial sketches into the final print. The process brings out such vivid colours that, in my experience, I have found is a special characteristic of print making.
How would you describe your creative process? I work in sketchbooks a lot because my second love to printing is drawing. I draw from real life plants, dried out seed heads and other treasures found upon journeys. It’s not unusual for me to arrive home clutching a fistful of leaves or twigs that caught my fancy. I also work a lot from photographs of flowers and landscapes from my travels. No matter which printing process I use there is always a lot of prep work required, whether it is the day spent cutting my design into lino or prepping my drawings and screen for screen printing. It is always a much longer process than you plan out in your head!
If you could peek inside the studio of any artist or designer, who would it be? I would love to go to New Mexico and see inside artist Geninne d zlatkis house/studio. She creates stunningly carved stamps, paintings and ceramics inspired by her surroundings of New Mexico. Her house/studio seems flawlessly thought out right down to every last detail. She works and lives in such a beautiful space. I highly recommend checking out her Instagram, every photo she takes is so captivating.
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