Profile of the Week : Rosanna Ceredig-Evans

Rosanna Ceredig-Evans is a British artist and textile designer. Her love for art started at an early age, causing her to pursue a degree in Printed Textiles and Surface Pattern Design. Her work aims to capture the movement and fluidity of a moment, inspired by her adventure while traveling. A longtime fan of FRONTRUNNER, Rosanna connected with us through our new online forum, giving us the opportunity to hear the story behind her work.

How has your upbringing influenced you as an artist today?

I grew up in a very creative home, My mother is an artist, and Father is a musician. If I wasn’t painting, I was playing music and visa versa. This creative freedom definitely allowed me to grow independently as all creative subjects are so personal. I believe that you are vulnerable from the start when you begin to express your own work because it’s coming only from you. I’m pretty strong minded, along with a healthy dose of competitiveness – maybe that’s come from growing up with two older (and very talented) brothers! But I wanted to do a lot of things ‘by myself!’ Not to say I don’t like teamwork or collaboration, it’s more that I love the challenge of tackling something with your own devices. Traveling solo, in particular, was the biggest thrill for me. It was terrifying, but completely and utterly exciting at the same time. I was given the freedom to do so from quite a young age, moving to Spain when I was 19 and then going on to Portugal. I like that my family knew I was capable, responsible but also adventurous – because they are too! All these experiences play a huge part in the fluid style of my work today.

As traveling is a big inspiration for your work, what do you attempt to capture from the countries you travel to?

I am definitely a big people person, and most of my travels have started out solo because I often felt I was able to integrate with communities in a more natural way and spend time getting to know the cultures and everyday lifestyle of wherever it was I was staying. The friendships I have built over the years from all the places I’ve travelled to play a huge part as emotions reside so strongly in my mind once I return home, and this is what affects my work. So, in fewer words, I guess people and places are what I enjoy recreating in my designs. Sometimes I hone in on a particular place and all the imagery within, such as the animals, the weather – was it really hot and dry..and therefore this is made apparent through the colour palette.

Why are you fascinated with capturing movement in your work?

For me, it’s more exciting and engaging to look at! It’s all subjective I know, but I am a huge fan of stories and storytelling and if I can depict the sense of narrative in my work and the audience feel there is more behind the painting than just the subject matter then I have achieved what I wanted in the design. Being able to capture what i’m drawing with a few lines is something I’ve tried to do for as long as I can remember. Drawing animals from life is probably the best way to practice this!

What differences do you see in your work with textiles compared to your sketches and paintings?

I see textiles as a way of bringing my paintings and drawings to life. I’ve so often admired some artists’ work so much that I just want to wear it, or have it in my home. I think that its harder than it seems to transfer the same image from paper to textiles because you need to think about the material and the way the fabric falls, is it for fashion or interiors, is the design delicate or more abstract and therefore considering the choice of product for print – it can make or break a final design.  This can create challenges in the process of the textiles however, I feel like I’m learning every day and still enjoying every second of it.

Collaboration yields ideas that may not be possible from an individual artist. How has collaboration influenced your work?

I think that collaboration is so vital for learning and expanding your creative mind. Being open to new ideas and concepts and allowing yourself to not always know the end result straight away but be confident in the journey process as this often leads to very exciting work. One collaborative piece I completed was working alongside a professional freelance dancer. It was a practical project that followed research into the ‘Physicality of Sound’ and how and the emotional response to a direct experience can influence the work of the artist and performer.  

This involved me painting the movements of the dancer in real-time while she performed. My research considered the heightening of senses during the direct experience for the artist and performer and how this can effectively create work that demonstrates movement in the artist’s final piece.

Being able to collaborate with someone so skilled in a completely different, yet very relative, creative field was so exciting and for sure opened my eyes to the possibilities of where my work could go in the future.

As the collaboration stemmed from my initial research, I naturally led the structure of the project, however, the skill and intuition of the dancer made the exploration flow so naturally and we both made room for each other to push the boundaries where we felt necessary.

How has your work or creative process changed during quarantine?

It was definitely hard at the start. I think the uncertainty was the worst, trying to plan and organise around something you have no control over made it challenging. However, I soon passed the creative block and have really enjoyed this time to put all my energy into developing my designs. Space is definitely an issue in my little house during quarantine so I’m just very thankful to my housemate for allowing me to spread my paints and sketchbooks everywhere!

What ideas, projects or collaborations do you hope to explore in the near future?

I am currently working on the development of my brand, in particular the textiles. It’s definitely the most challenging side to my work as it consists of a lot of external involvement from production and design, which in these current times is quite slow. However, I’m hoping to produce my first collection of fabrics this year.  I still paint every day and am always on the lookout for collaborative opportunities and would love to get involved in a project that I can offer my illustrations to. 

Rosanna Ceredig-Evans:
Website: https://rosadesign.uk/
Instagram:  @rosadesignuk