Sylvia Zet Artist Spotlight
An interview behind the artist of Wee Stamps
New Whimsy Stamps Artist
that it took only few months to be contacted by one of the children‟s book publishers and to have my first contract signed.
How did you become a rubber stamp artist? I am very grateful to wonderful Tracey Feeger from Spesch Designer Stamps who introduced me to the stamping world. It was great pleasure to work with her and awesome new adventure to have my first designs available as digital stamps. What do you love most about illustrating rubber stamps? It must be the fact that I can set my imagination free and play with it as much as I want. There is no particular theme or text I need to follow so I just keep working on the endless image possibilities until I am satisfied or simply tired. The other thing that I love about it is an appreciation and kind feedback from my designs‟ fans. It is something completely different than when working on the children‟s books. I have not only a possibility to contact with Crafters but also to enjoy theirs– sometimes really mind-blowing - creations.
Tell us a little about yourself - anything you'd like to share about you personally. I love to share my artworks but speaking or writing about myself has been always a challenge. To start with I am children‟s book illustrator and I LOVE this work! Being a stamps designer is something that I love even more! I am very very lucky to live in one of the most beautiful cities I have ever seen - in Edinburgh but I am originally from Poland. I have moved to UK few years ago, just after graduating from University, where I was studying …Polish literature!:) How did you start your art career? Did you always want to be an artist? Drawing has been always my biggest love, but I kept thinking about it as an hobby not as a possible way of life. I had no money to afford to go to art school and I had no courage to follow my heart and intuition so - in consequences- I choose different and more “secure” career path. Few years later I realized though that the hunger for creativity became too big to overcome and that there is no other way to be happy and fulfilled but to follow my passion. I started my art career by setting up an online portfolio of my artworks and writing a few thousands emails to publishers and agents all around the world. It was only 5 years ago but the quality of my drawings and first digital artworks was really poor that time (I still need a LOT of practice) and I think I was very lucky
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What is your absolute favorite of the Whimsy Stamps that you've illustrated? I think it is Fluffy on the Lily and it should be released in Whimsy rubber soon. This adorable squirrel is absolutely the type of the pet I would love to bring to real life with some magic stick and play with :) Whenever I ask my husband similar question - which of my designs he likes the most – he says that the best ones are yet to come :) What inspires you? I like to say that my designs are dreamed up form fairy tales – and this is true actually. Fairy tales, legends and animated movies were my first inspirations. There is also the beauty of nature, the cuteness of baby animals and some very creative artistic minds out there that play a big part in my creating process. If you weren't an artist, what do you think you would like to do for a career? If I didn‟t draw I would deepen the other passions I have such as photography, sociology and psychology. These are only the few paths to start with. I believe there are many fascinating opportunities of career still being undiscovered, not only for me but for each one of us. As long as we have our ears, eyes and hearts wide open and we stay curious about life – it surely will amaze us with it‟s diversity. What is the one tool/supply you can't live without? I am not very demanding in this matter. Combination of a pencil and few sheets of paper is an ocean of endless possibilities…
Whimsy Stamps Inspirations Magazine October 2011, Issue 4
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