Artist Spotlight: Abi Ruddock
At Wuzci it is our ambition to create a platform for Artists to showcase and sell their work. We love to uplift our creators and provide our customers with the very best designs. To celebrate the fantastic creators we have in our network, we wanted to give them the opportunity to talk about their work in a little more detail and shed some light on the process behind each of our card designs.
So without further ado, our first Artist Spotlight is the hugely talented Abi Ruddock. There is a design for everyone in her card collection – from Gin Queens to those hitting those special milestone birthdays. Keep reading for some insight into her work and top tips for pushing your creative journey.
Hello Abi! Tell us (and our lovely readers) a little bit about yourself..
Hi I’m Abi, a textile and surface design graduate from Huddersfield University and a lover of all things patterned!
Looking on my website you would say that my print work is abstract and it is normally inspired by nature or naturally occurring patterns with minimal colour. My day job is quite different though: I am a senior designer at a company that designs doormats for high street and blue chip retailers across the country. My responsibility doesn’t just lie with designing the product; packaging and marketing the product to the customer also falls under my role. Photography is another one of my passions and I use that to help develop my design work.
Where did your creative journey start – did you always want to do this?
Textiles has always been part of my family and I remember my grandma trying to get us (my sister and I) to draw, cross stitch and knit from a young age! That developed through school and I completed my foundation degree in Art and Design and found my feet as a designer. When you spend all day doing what you love you just know that it’s what you want to continue to do in the future.
Do you think greetings cards are important in the world today?
I think anything that can put a smile on someone’s face is very important. Cards and correspondence with loved ones is extremely valued by lots of people and the joy of a card dropping onto the doormat almost makes your friends and family feel closer than they may be! If they are responsibly produced and discarded they can’t damage our environment and can only add to a world that could always do with an extra smile.
What inspires you to keep creating? Do you ever get stuck with drawing block?
I think having varied design products helps me to stay inspired. From womenswear to doormats, card design to branding and marketing.
Working in so many different areas means my research is always wide which helps with ideas. I tend to deal with blocks by either swapping to another project or taking some time away from designing – such as walking the dog with camera in hand!
Who are your favourite artists/creators at the moment?
I’m really inspired by ceramists at the moment, Hannah Tounsend has always been one of my favourites. I am also really inspired by processes. The naturally occurring patterns in Raku pottery is my absolute favourite, Old Brewery Pottery In Keighley always brings a smile to my face when I see them in person.
Can you tell us a little bit about your process? How do you create your work?
When I’m designing I like to start with a trend, commercialise that through research and then draw and design. If I was designing fashion prints i would have to create repeat designs but for cards and doormats these are normally placement prints! Repeat designs are formed using computer aided design tools such as Adobe and I work on producing collections.
If there was one piece of advice you could give to a creator at the beginning of their journey, what would it be?
My once piece of advice would be to get as much commercial experience as possible, whether that is volunteer work or a job that enables you to develop your commercial awareness. My work has changed dramatically through learning in my full time design position.
Finally, do you have any projects in the works or exciting things you would like to tell us about?
Not right now but I have lots of new ideas on the horizon that I can’t wait to get started on when time allows! I’d really love to grow my following on social media though so please give me a follow on Facebook and Instagram and let me know what you think of my work!
Thank you so much to Abi for being the first of our Artist features. Check out her amazing collection of cards and be sure to sign up for your first month free!
We love your feedback – if you have an artist suggestion or any ideas for how we could improve our service, let us know below!
