These artists will also be sharing what moved them to participate in Papergirl Vancouver and any interesting experiences they may have had as a result of being part of the Papergirl movement. We are very proud of our Artist Interview Studio Visit Series and love that this is another opportunity for us to highlight Papergirl Artists.
We will be sharing these posts over the next few months, so be sure to check back regularly or watch for updates on our Facebook and Twitter accounts!
We would like you to meet Samantha Darling who currently lives in the United States! You can read her story about rediscovering her creativity through Papergirl Vancouver below. See more of Sam's work on her Supa'flous Etsy Page, her jewellery website and also follow along with her instagram and pinterest if you'd like.
I have always felt more comfortable thinking of myself as a creator rather than as an artist. I admire all things unique and peculiar, and love to collect all that is delightfully odd. As a creator, I love to dabble in anything and everything creative. I have been designing jewellery for over ten years, and in 2011 I started my own line of one-of-a-kind pieces for those who love to wear jewellery as an extension of artistic expression. My passion is deeply rooted in the beauty of transforming found objects into striking designs utilizing sterling silver, copper, brass and resin.
The 2014 Papergirl submission came at a time shortly after I moved from Canada to the United States. My creativity felt a bit stagnant, so I decided to let jewellery take a back seat, and set off in a new direction with a fresh perspective. While sifting through some old books, I found a tiny notepad that had a collection of sketches I had doodled in university during some intense bouts of procrastination. The inspiration for the drawings came from the exquisitely descriptive writings of one of my favourite books, Titus Groan, by Mervyn Peake. Each sketch was of a person’s face and followed the same theme: a large, protruding nose, tiny lips and an oddly shaped head with tufts of hair sporadically sprouting out of it. I decided to revive the peculiar characters, and thought it would be both fun and humorous to have them sketched and painted on cards as if it were their own personal portraits.
Compelled by my Papergirl Vancouver submission, I was inspired to open my Etsy.com store, Supa’flous, which features stationary decorated with the superfluous characters of my imagination. Connecting with new artists through Etsy has been truly inspiring. Thanks to Papergirl, I have discovered an exciting new creative outlet and a whole new online community to share my work with!
-Samantha Darling