Tools & Talismans #81 Laura Stoddart
Years ago I was given a book called Up the Garden Path by Laura Stoddart, and I can honestly say it changed the direction my life was going in. At the time, I was working full-time as an in-house designer with a gift publisher and had drifted away from my brushes and my pencils and creating off of a screen.
Something about her style, something about her whimsy, her point of view and her focus and attention to the details totally captured my attention. As I paged through the book, I was remembering the feel of a brush in my hand, and how the paint moves with and against the bristles and how a pencil feels as it scratches across the surface of paper, and how much at home they make me feel. And so with a quick trip to the art store I was sketching again. Awkwardly, but I was sketching, and haven't stopped. Here's Laura:
My objects are my tools rather than talismans. Even though I love that sort of connection to an object and I collect many things, I don’t carry them with me or invest more in them at this point in my life.
My tools are my box of watercolours given to me by my mother, who is also an illustrator, for my 21st birthday. It is Windsor and Newton and I never clean it, the colour underneath add to the new colours mixed on top; although red has always been in the same spot. My brushes are a mixed bag, not especially expensive but always better when old and down to fewer hairs. This is also why I use a rotering pencil because the leads can be really fine and draw as small as I need them to. My rubbers (erasers) always end up in tiny pieces from being cut down to form clean sharp edges, I always have a few at the bottom of my handbag.
My watch was given to me by my father for my 40th birthday; it still feels very grown up. My glasses are a new addition and I keep forgetting to wear them. Cologne no.4711 is the perfect smell and I love the pocket-sized bottle. It makes me want to draw all these things too!
Laura Stoddart . • illustrator.
Tools & Talismans is a personal painting project where I document {in watercolor} the tools and talismans of 100 different women — creators and healers, thinkers and makers, wordsmiths and visionaries. Join me — I'll be sharing a new painting with you every Wednesday.
Would you like to have your very own Tools & Talismans painting to inspire, support and remind you of all the things that make you “you”, as you go about your days, grow your business and create your life? Get in touch so we can talk, I'd love to hear from you!