Stella Crowfield

What do you do and how would you describe your work?

My art is therapeutic and a hobby rather than a business as I have limitations due to disability. I like to draw portraits, make jewellery, upcycle furniture, craft in textiles, embellish wooden items with pyrography, illustrate, decorate and customise items like hand drums and giftware. I also like to learn new skills and experiment with new mediums, open and eager to try new creative endeavours and styles.

What are the materials/equipment you use?

I tend to mainly use pastels on velour paper for portraits, ink for illustration and all sorts of different mediums for other projects.

Where does your inspiration come from?

My work often tends to have a gothic, dark romantic feel to it, mostly due to my love of heavy metal, rock and dark electronica/synth music and the style that it promotes. I love fantasy artists like Brian Froud (concept and design artist for films like ‘The Dark Crystal’ and ‘Labyrinth’) and Alan Lee (who worked with Froud on the book ‘Faeries’ and was the illustrator for J.R.R. Tolkien’s work). I also get a lot of inspiration from the wildlife and nature, celtic knotwork and pagan, spiritual themed artwork. I regularly research online for inspiration, ideas, tutorials and tips too.

How does it feel being part of the Arts Central community?

Great! It’s a real blessing to have somewhere I can go to be creative and be surrounded by friendly people. I really enjoy the atmosphere and feel I can achieve more in this environment than I can do at home. The social aspect as well as the creative expression boosts my sense of well-being. I can work at my own pace and be flexible with the time I spend there.