Driftwood Boats
I am so pleased to be able to share the work of the talented designer maker Kirsty Elson with you all today. Her distinctive nautical style is naturally appealing, with boats made from driftwood that Kirsty finds on her local beaches, to cards, framed work and textile art.
But lets start at the beginning:
Kirsty studied illustration and printmaking at Anglia Polytechnic University, which is now known as Cambridge School of Art. Following the birth of her first child, her family made the move to Cornwall which is where she now lives and works.
Wanting to find something that was both flexible and creative to do whilst looking after her son, Kirsty began designing and making driftwood greetings cards...
Driftwood Boat Greetings Card
And that was just the start of things to come.
Her work has blossomed into a thriving business, and she regularly trawls beaches close to her studio for driftwood and found objects that she can turn into wonderfully unique pieces of sculpture or art.
She considers herself very lucky that part of her work involves wandering about on beaches for a living (I agree - she is!)
Driftwood Beach Huts ~ Framed Art
Working with driftwood is Kirsty's favourite medium- each piece is absolutely unique, embellished with cheery fabric bunting and other beach-combed objects. I love the recycled element of kirsty's work - something that has been thrown away or discarded, or washed up on the shore finds a new life in her bright, contemporary pieces such as this beautiful Driftwood Heart, or the Paintbrush Fish made from the handles of old paintbrushes!
Driftwood Heart
Paintbrush Fish
Kirsty is also a talented textile artist; polka dots and ticking fabrics feature widely in her work and she has designed and created the most covetable items in her studio ~ take a look:
'Cornish Harbour' Framed Textile Art
Sea Life Mobile
Kirsty is influenced strongly by her Cornish surroundings, especially the beautiful coastline ~ and the inspiration she draws from it is clearly reflected in the work she produces.
Lavender Fish
Love Birds
More recently, Kirsty has begun working on her collages again. She creates these beautiful one off pieces using magazines and builds up the most amazing visual art work of local coastal landmarks.
'St Ives' Collage
This is a personal favourite of mine. The attention to detail is absolutely amazing - I'm sure you will agree.
I have got to know Kirsty through Blogging, and am both inspired and awed by her outrageous talent. If you would like to see more of Kirstys' work, you are welcome to visit her brand new gallery website: Kirsty Elson Designs which was launched just this week, as well as the following online galleries which stock her work:
Kirsty Elson at Folksy
Not on the High Street
You can also find her inspiring Blog by visiting Sixty One A, and visit her Facebook Page for current updates on what she's up to.
I hope you have enjoyed this second Artisan Feature - I'll be hosting another one in March for you!
Julia x
