Based in Stockport, a large town in Northern England, Heather Chambers is an illustrator and muralist. It is her hometown that is one of the biggest influences on Heather’s creative output; “I grew up quite working class. My background never fails to keep on impacting how I think about my practise and becomes fuel for projects and pieces.” Her fun and free illustrations demonstrate influences from everything from Brutalist architecture, to 90s Tribal and butterfly tattoos, and old rave flyers.
She studied BA Illustration at Stockport Art school for two years before transferring to the University of Sunderland to finish her degree. Heather comments; “I found the way Stockport taught me how to draw and design so natural and cathartic, they had a very experimental and hands on approach to teaching which I now realise is quite rare. Sunderland taught me a lot of practical design skills, and gave me an in depth understanding of how to be a Designer as well as an illustrator.” She spent a lot of time at Sunderland University printmaking, and even spent her summer break in the print room. Upon graduating, Heather went straight on to study an MA in Design at Sunderland. Her Masters focused heavily on printmaking and publication making, which was when her passion for Risograph printing and zines was ignited. After attending workshops run by Sunderland-based Foundation Press, Heather spent a lot of time with its founders Adam Phillips and Deborah Bower. She says; “They taught me everything I know about zines, book binding, and Riso!”
Today, Heather works as a freelance Illustrator, and owns her own Risograph printer and studio, Roots Riso, which is based at the studio collective she co-founded, Underbank Studios. Together with her fellow founders, Lily Windsor Walker and Luca Shaw, Heather creates infographics, posters, and typefaces to use for their studio.
Her creative process always starts with ideas which “compete for her attention”. Heather describes; “I can often let my ideas run away with themselves and see what they want to turn into”. This is likely why she finds herself dabbling in lots of different mediums and areas. She writes a lot of notes about her ideas and brainstorms them with friends, thriving in the hype one can experience with other creatives.
Choosing to use big, chunky, and often blunt pencils, Heather has developed a unique take on mark-making, with a trademark fluorescent element. She also paints in gouache and acrylics, and uses spray paints when creating murals.
Going forward, Heather is hoping to dip into the world of ceramics and train as a stick and poke tattooist. We can’t wait to see her practice develop even further!
www.heatherchambersart.com
@heatherchambersart
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