Emma Cowlam Prints at Liberty
In November we told you about our new Art & Design Print department on the fourth floor. This year the collection has continued to grow with the introduction of Emma Cowlam, a Chelsea Art School textile graduate whose work is both prize-winning and internationally exhibited.
“Emma is so talented, and her success is in not over complicating the work and sticking true to her design style. We’re thrilled to be stocking her work.” Michelle Alger, Buyer for Home, Liberty
As her gorgeous prints arrived in store, we caught up with Emma to find out more about her unique illustrative style…
How would you describe your work?
My work comprises of hand stitched and hand drawn illustrations, often figurative, on paper. Each illustration takes on a very strong and definite sense of its own identity. They are heavily inspired by my daily life and the images I see around me, becoming a visual record of my everyday.
How did your personal style evolve?
I graduated from Chelsea Art School in July 2009 having studied for a BA in Textile Design. I chose to study at Chelsea as not only did they offer a fantastic course in London but there was also the opportunity to complete a 5 month exchange placement at the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan during the second year, which luckily I was successfully awarded a place on. Whilst in New York I was able to take various classes other than those related specifically to textile design, of which illustration was one. Having always been passionate about drawing and image, the foundation of all my design work, I was truly inspired by this class and spent my time whilst in New York concentrating on developing and refining my illustrative style. The tutor of my class was truly wonderful, continually encouraging me to create a beautiful and captivating image. She advised us to use mediums to draw with that we were not familiar with and were not traditionally thought of as drawing materials. With textiles being my background I obviously had lots of thread! I feel so fortunate that I am still in contact with her now and she continues to inspire me.
Where do you look for inspiration?
I get inspiration from all over the place. I might sit and draw in a café in my sketchbook or sometimes I see an image in a magazine and straight away I just have to draw it. I buy a lot of magazines and seem to spend my life tearing our pages of images which I keep to illustrate. I can’t define precisely what it is that makes me captivated by an image; it might be the clothing and its detailing or the context that the figure is in. I am very selective though and if I am not immediately drawn to an image I don’t select it. My favourite illustrations that I have done are where I have turned the page and my heart has done a little jump at how much I am inspired by the image. For me each image that I am drawn to conjures up a little story in my head – it’s almost as if I know all about them and their lives, when really they are just my imaginings.
Do you have a favourite print or one with a particular story behind it?
I have 2 ultimate favourites in my portfolio. One is ‘NY Bike Lovers’ and the other is ‘Saturday Morning Market’. I particularly like ‘NY Bike Lovers’ as it captures such a moment in both the image and reminds me so fondly of the hot summer I spent living in Manhattan in 2010. The image for the illustration was printed in a newspaper which was found abandoned on a subway train. The other illustration is ‘Saturday Morning Market’. It is of a girl who has an entire life in my imagination and one which I want to be living! She lives in a beautifully shabby London mews house located along a cobbled street lined with geraniums of clashing colours in terracotta pots and enjoys nothing more than pottering around London on gloriously sunny mornings.
What’s your favourite place in London?
My favourite places in London tend to be places that are very well known, many museums and galleries etc. I particularly like The Mall and St James’s Park with its rental deck chair system that is great on a summer afternoon and then to hide from the sun you can walk to the big bookshop in Trafalgar Square and browse the books for hours.
What do you love about Liberty?
I love everything about Liberty! I love the historic old building with its iconic Tudor stripes. I love the old staircases and wooden panelling which continually reminds me of the grandeur of my old boarding school. I love the range of homeware products that Liberty stock and I will one day buy for my very own mews house. I love the scarves, of which I one day hope to own many. And mostly I love the way that Liberty always feels so lovely and cosy on a cold winter day in London.
Where would you most love to see one of your pieces hanging?
In a house with a studio of my very own which of course would be the beautifully shabby London mews house of ‘Saturday Morning Market’!
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