COMMISSIONS 2022-2023
Creative Youth Network | September 2023
I was fortunate to be selected for a three month studio residency with Creative Youth Network. The residency was designed to offer young people the time, space and funds to develop new work. This involved being in the studio for 8 hours a week and engaging in feedback sessions. I chose a project close to my heart, and dedicated the time to explore my feelings of homesickness and my personal connection to the countryside.
Using my own photographs, I explored the concept of landscape painting, using my own photographs as inspiration. The final images were sketched by hand and coloured in Procreate. I wanted viewers to feel immersed in the landscape, which was achieved by printing the images at A0 and mounting them on large wooden boards. I then placed ferns in front of the prints and provided a bench for visitors to sit on, where they could record their thoughts and reflections in a notebook. I also developed a soundscape for the work featuring rustling leaves, insect noises and birdsong. Finally, I provided a piece of creative writing explaining my reasoning behind the project.
This gave me excellent experience of hosting an exhibition and managing a budget. I also designed publicity materials for the event including posters, flyers and social media content.
“I want to be there. I can almost feel the sun on my face and the wind in my hair.” - Visitor
“Zoe was on the artists taking part in the Creative Futures commission (Sep-Nov 23), during this time, Zoe created a beautiful piece of illustration, transporting you to a place where you can observe and be part of nature without leaving the city. During her residency she was the most responsible and organised artist you could find, leading any communication or project in the group. It was a real pleasure to work her.”
- Ylvi Jara (Manager at Creative Youth Network)
“Makes me think about places in the countryside that are special to me - like my grans old house in Wales.” - Visitor
The Watershed | July 2022
“Zoe’s work has beautifully captured the energy and spirit of the change Watershed want to see”
- George Lovesmith | Senior Lecturer UWE Bristol
My internship at The Watershed involved visually interpreting a workshop about the building's renovation. The process involved live sketching at the event, and paying close attention to participants' thoughts, ideas and emotional responses. The drawings accompanied a written evaluation, bringing it to life and adding a layer of creative interpretation!
The workshop was titled ‘Wild and Generous’ and illustrations include words and moments of reflections experienced by participants. The larger illustration is a playful example of what a ‘future watershed’ could look like, including a roof garden, wild swimming, and cycle routes. You can see an example of this on the Watershed’s website where the illustration was used for a blog post.
Women in Film | May 2022
Women in Film was a project commissioned by Wendy Bevan-Mogg, to create a book about female filmmakers from the 1890’s to the present day. The book was inspired by Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls, and provided a life story and portrait of each woman.
I chose Agnés Varda and Choi Eun-Hee because of their fascinating backgrounds and striking appearances. Before creating the illustrations, I studied multiple photos of both women, noting their defining characteristics and items of clothing. I used these to create a selection of pencil sketches, eventually deciding on two head and shoulder images. As the book had no set visual style, I took the opportunity to illustrate each woman differently, highlighting their most notable characteristics. Both illustrations were completed on Procreate.
Agnés Varda (Film Director & Screen Writer)
“Zoe took part in a project to document Women in Film and produced two beautiful portraits, of Agnés Varda and Cho Eun-Hee. She fulfilled the brief superbly – her work was on time, right on spec and most importantly it is really gorgeous to look at! The portraits are modern and fresh but also warm – she really brings the two filmmakers to life. Zoe was lovely to work with, always communicating swiftly and clearly. I hope she’ll be able to do more work for us!”
- Wendy Bevan-Mogg | Senior Lecturer in Fiction Filmmaking, UWE Bristol
Cho Eun-Hee (Actress)
UWE Sustainability Committee | August 2023
I collaborated with the UWE Sustainability Committee to create Planet and Plate, a sustainable student cookbook. This involved working with students to select recipes and write content. However, I was responsible for the overall design, layout and illustrations. I also created publicity materials including tote bags, tea towels, stickers and a seasonal calendar. I wanted the book to be playful and user-friendly, using soft colours and textures that felt organic and natural. The book features two styles of illustration; detailed drawings of recipes (to give viewers a clear idea of what they’re making) and print style illustrations for instructions and decoration. I later turned the illustrations into a series of posters, featuring the title and list of ingredients.
The aim of the book was to make sustainable cooking accessible to young people by giving them basic information on how to shop for and cook healthy recipes. The book also offers tips on how to be environmentally conscious by reducing food waste and understanding labels. The recipes are broken down into three sections; Main Meal, Something Sweet, and From Scratch. The final book was printed by Park Lane Press (an eco-friendly printer in Corsham) who took me behind the scenes to discuss how the book would be made and ways to reduce its environmental impact. We chose to use wiro binding, so readers could lay the book flat when following recipes. This was demonstrated at my degree show by displaying the book on a wooden stand designed for kitchen countertops.
