Voor de Flow Illustratiespecial tekende Amy van Luijk de openingspagina’s ‘Dit boek is van…’ en illustreerde ze een notebook die als extra bij de special zit. De hele maand september vertelt ze meer over haar werk, haar inspiratiebronnen en haar leven als illustrator.
I have always enjoyed making things with my hands. I often have multiple projects on the go including ceramics, embroidery or other textile techniques. I love the physical process of making things, getting lost in stitching or working with clay. It can require a lot of concentration but be relaxing at the same time.
I started making ceramics a few years ago. With ceramic processes you have to be very methodical and patient as each finished piece requires many stages of working and you can’t rush any of them. I love the challenge of applying my flat drawings and designs to three dimensional objects. It can be quite a surprise seeing your work when it comes out of the kiln, I’m still not at the stage yet where I can one hundred percent predict what It’s going to look like.
It has taught me not to be too precious about my work. I love the idea that pottery hasn’t changed much over thousands of years. You can go to a museum and see a pot from 3000 BC and they were using very similar methods to what we use today.
I have been embroidering since I was very young, I think what initially drew me in was all the different coloured threads at the sewing shop. Embroidering can’t be done in a hurry making the outcome so much more special.
That concludes my last blog post for Flow Magazine. Thank you Flow for giving me this amazing opportunity! I have really enjoyed it. Please do get in touch if you have any queries about my work.
Thank you for reading! All the best, Amy.
