We met with artist/illustrator Sarah Clement of Light & Lines Studio at her home/studio space in East Van. Born in Vancouver, Sarah has recently returned to the West Coast after spending a year living in Berlin. Valuing craftsmanship and detail, her whimsical and colorful layered illustrations are inspired by the natural world, featuring flowing lines, trees, birds and other creatures. A lifelong drawer, Sarah realized that she is happiest using simple pen and ink after studying Fine Arts at Langara and then design for a year at Emily Carr. She missed tactile creation and the freedom of a piece of paper, so she switched to their Fine Arts program and subsequently discovered the realm of illustration. Sarah has exhibited in Vancouver and Berlin, and is currently working on several projects including illustrating a children’s book of old nursery rhymes.
You can see more of Sarah's work on her website and on her blog Light & Lines. You can also follow her on Twitter here.
Our Q&A with Sarah:
SC: I’ve always been inspired by nature - it an important part of my life, growing up I was always going camping, or for walks outside, or swimming in the ocean. I find that those elements are always present in my work. I’ve realized that it also influences the line quality that I use – even if the subject matter is not specifically natural I always have organic, very curvy lines. I don’t really go for angular shapes. That being said, I do draw a lot of birds and trees and other natural imagery.
PG: Do you remember the first time you created something?
SC: I do actually have a memory of being in preschool and drawing circles with different colored pens. I had a thing for rainbows back then. We were drawing on paper plates that a company would then turn into plastic plates. We still use them when we go camping!
PG: What is your creative process?
SC: I have my analog and my digital ways of working, so it depends on what I’m working on and how fast I need to be. For a long time I wasn’t using a computer at all up until scanning the piece in to make a digital image. My usual process is that I start out with my piece of paper, a pencil and an eraser then move into using micro pens and an x-acto knife to cut out pieces. I then layer my colored materials underneath. But now, for a few projects I’m working on, I do the drawing then scan it into the computer along with all of my collage and color elements that I then layer in Photoshop.
How I work can also depend on what mood I’m in, sometimes I just have to be away from the computer, which is part of why I couldn’t be a designer. I enjoy the process of actually working with tactile materials. Other times it is fun to see what I can do on the computer, like mirror imaging and color alternations. I do find that with my hand made pieces there is a sort of intrigue to it in real life because you don’t immediately realize that there are layers. I want to pursue emphasizing the layers and work more with actual light and shadow.
PG: Do you think about the relationship between artist and viewer when creating?
SC: Not usually - I feel like most of the time my process is pretty intuitive and I just sort of let the piece speak to me. But I am working on a children's book now so I am thinking about whether kids will like my illustrations. It’s been a shift for me because I haven’t really had to think like that up until now.
PG: What does community mean to you as an artist?
SC: I think community is having people that you feel connected to and that you can bounce ideas off and not feel like you’re totally alone in the creative process. It’s a common thing that artists say – that you’re mostly creating by yourself, so if you don’t have this larger network to connect to you can start to wonder why you’re alone in your room making things! I feel very fortunate to have met really great friends who are all have their own creative pursuits that I can meet for coffee to get perspective and encouragement from. It’s so important to have a support network of likeminded people.
PG: How are you supported as an artist in Vancouver? Are there changes or improvements you would like to see?
SC: In some ways I feel like I am new to Vancouver since I am just getting back to the city. But I have definitely felt support from Karen at Bird on a Wire; it is such an amazing resource for artists here.
I feel like it would be helpful to have more affordable studio space in the city. I want to have a space outside of my home that is shared with other creative people, a kind of activity hub, because I think it’s important (going back to what I said about artists often creating by themselves). It’s an expensive city though and there’s also not a lot of physical space. When I was living in Berlin I had a shared studio space with another artist that only cost 80 euros ($110 CAD) a month!
PG: What interests you about Papergirl?
SC: I just love the idea of spreading joy through giving art in general. You’re not thinking about how much money is attached to a piece or who should get it, and it’s poetic in a way. There should be more things like it, where you give things for the sake of giving them. I think it’s easy as an artist to get attached to a drawing or something you’ve made and it’s good to let go sometimes.
PG: At Papergirl, we are all about the art of giving art. What is the greatest gift you have ever received?
SC: I think it’s my friendships. I have some really great people in my life and I can’t ask for much more than that. I’m also very grateful for my family - they are creative each in their own way so I’ve always felt supported by them. My dad is a custom furniture maker; my brother and his wife have a business where they make aluminum picture frames for artists; and my sister is a luthier. My mom plays the piano and sings as a hobby as well so I definitely have creative people around me.
PG: To finish, a fun question: what kind of bike would you be?
SC: If it’s an imaginary bike I think it would have to have wings! I am always drawing feathers and birds, and observing birds flying, so it would have big feathery wings.